Brands everywhere are cringing at the prospect of nasty—or even friendly—tweets coming their way from Donald Trump. But it's incoming press secretary Sean Spicer who's been waging a weird war on an ice cream brand for almost seven years.
In April 2010, Spicer mysteriously took aim at the Paducah, Ky., company—in particular, its advertising slogan, "The ice cream of the future."
Dippin dots is NOT the ice cream of the future
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) April 8, 2010
As the A.V. Club reported this week, it was unclear what provoked Spicer. But the following year, again apparently out of the blue, he repeated his claim.
I think I have said this before but Dippin Dots are notthe ice cream of the future
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) September 22, 2011
Six weeks after that tweet, Spicer rejoiced at the news that Dippin' Dots had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Continuing his obsession with the brand's slogan, he appeared to improvise his own headline for The Wall Street Journal story he linked to, cleverly calling Dippin' Dots the "ice cream of the past."
Ice Cream of the Past: Dippin' Dots Files for Bankruptcy http://t.co/xPifdujD
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) November 4, 2011
Four years went by, and it seemed like Spicer was over it. But no—here he is bashing Dippin' Dots again in 2015, apparently due to a shortage of the stuff at a Washington Nationals game. (This tweet, oddly, seems to combine his chronic hatred of the stuff with a weird yearning for it when it isn't around. Or maybe his kids just love it.)
If Dippin Dots was truly the ice cream of the future they would not have run out of vanilla cc @Nationals
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) September 7, 2015
With Spicer front and center in the news this week, his tweets have finally gotten the attention of Dippin' Dots CEO Scott Fischer, who posted an "open letter" on its website, asking Spicer for a truce.
Fischer wrote:
Dear Sean,
We understand that ice cream is a serious matter. And running out of your favorite flavor can feel like a national emergency! We've seen your tweets and would like to be friends rather than foes. After all, we believe in connecting the dots.
As you may or may not know, Dippin' Dots are made in Kentucky by hundreds of hard working Americans in the heartland of our great country. As a company, we're doing great. We've enjoyed double-digit growth in sales for the past three years. That means we're creating jobs and opportunities. We hear that's on your agenda too.
We can even afford to treat the White House and press corps to an ice cream social. What do you say? We'll make sure there's plenty of all your favorite flavors.
Yours,
Scott, CEO of Dippin' Dots
Late Monday night, Spicer replied to the Dippin' Dots tweet. He appears open to mending fences with Dippin' Dots, but only if the brand helps out America's veterans in the process.
Sorry for the delay How about we do something great for the those who have served out nation & 1st responders https://t.co/G9BPmVAXKS
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) January 24, 2017
To which Dippin' Dots replied:
Is this a trap? More on this strange story as it develops.