Dairy Air Ice Cream's Owners Are Tweaking Controversial 'Sexy' Cow Packaging

A New Jersey-based ice cream parlor is making changes to its packaging after receiving community backlash over the brand's cartoon logo — a seductive-looking pink cow in pigtails, braids, and a beret with a prominent rump branded "DA" within the confines of a heart. The shop's marketing strategy and social media presence rely heavily on posterior puns. Some menu items are called: "Peppermint Fatty," "Oprah's Favorite Fanny," and "Muffin Top Money Maker."

"Dairy Air was created with one goal in mind — to make delicious dairy desserts for our customers. To us, it's all about the ice cream and serving it in a super unique, family-friendly store, with awesome customer service," Dairy Air co-owner Anthony Tortoriello said in a release.  "We simply created a fun illustration to complement our fun name. In 'hindsight,' however, we realize that the illustration may have been offensive to some. In light of that, we are working now to tweak it."

Tortoriello and partner Jeff O'Neill say they never intended for the brand's identity to become a controversial issue within the community. Tortoriello continued, "We want the awesome taste of our ice cream to unify — not divide — our community. We stand by our product 100 percent, but we're OK with putting the cow out to pasture." 

But reactions to the cow caricature haven't all been negative. O'Neill says the positive feedback "has actually been overwhelming," but ultimately, he wants to "end the battle over the cattle." Dairy Air and its branding team are currently sketching new variations of the illustration and expect to publicize it soon. For more unconventional desserts, here are America's 13 wildest and weirdest ice cream trucks.