How Dove learned calling New Jersey an "armpit" does not wash

Here's one thing Unilever (UN) learned this week: Don't mess with New Jersey.

The company's Dove brand is scrapping plans to post billboards that were slated to (humorously) urge Garden State residents to embrace the familiar insult.

"Dear New Jersey, When people call you 'The Armpit of America,' take it as a compliment. Sincerely, Dove," the text of the advertising campaign read. Next to the text was a smiling woman with her arm raised to expose her armpit.

Instead of spurring New Jersey residents to embrace the negative stereotype, Dove found itself on the end of a "soap-a-dope" situation, with dozens of Garden Staters complaining about the use of the insult. Dove quickly backtracked, writing in response to complaints on Facebook it had decided to cancel the billboards and hadn't meant to offend anyone.

Dove, known for its unusual marketing campaigns, may have gone one step too far by poking fun at New Jersey's image. While parts of the New Jersey Turnpike aren't exactly scenic, Garden Staters are proud of their state, which has miles of beautiful shoreline, horse country, and scenic lighthouses.

"For a company that tries to be so politically correct with its 'Beauty Is' campaign, I think you really screwed the pooch on your anti-New Jersey billboard," one woman wrote on Dove's Facebook page. "Jersey Girls have a lot of pride in their state."

As a former Jersey girl myself, it always seemed like out-of-staters were the ones to call the Garden State an "armpit" and to ask what New Jersey Turnpike exit I came from. Still, Dove tried to earn back a bit of cred by noting in its apology that it's also a New Jersey-based company. (Unilever's North American headquarters is in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.)

"Our intent with the "Dear New Jersey" billboard, which was one of many ads for our campaign, was to call attention to the fact that armpits can and should be considered beautiful," the company wrote.

For some residents, the ad message just didn't smell right.

"It's insulting. That we stink? We don't stink. We're a great state. In fact, everyone wants to live in this state," New Jersey resident Joan Gazello told CBS 2 in New York.

Dove said it would donate the billboard space to a New Jersey charity.