Ben & Jerry's refuses to change 'Hazed & Confused' name

Hazed & Confused — insensitive slogan or ingenious marketing campaign?

South Burlington, Vt.-based ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s says the slogan is a pop culture reference, but parents nationwide are crying foul.

The company says the newest ice cream flavor – which debuted about 6 months ago and includes fudge chips and a hazelnut fudge core – is a play on word from “Dazed and Confused,” the  phrase made famous by a Led Zeppelin song and a 1993 coming-of-age film comedy. However, a couple from Florida say the name is insensitive toward students who have been the subject of college hazing, such as their son.

Bloomberg reports their 19-year old son died of a head injury during a fraternity “hell week” hazing ritual at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C. The couple sued for wrongful death and won an out-of-court settlement.

The father, Brian Kowiak, spoke with Bloomberg.

“The company completely avoided and didn’t take into consideration what are the unintentional implications of this chosen name,” he said.

The company has since received 11 complaints about hazing and condemned the practice in a public statement, but said it wouldn’t be chaining the name.

According to Bloomberg, this isn’t the first time the company has had trouble over its witty and often pun-related names for products. Its shops in Boston apologized in 2012 for a handmade flavor called Linsanity – named for Chinese-American basketball star Jeremy Lin – that contained fortune-cookie pieces. Its Schweddy Balls flavor, which riffed on a risque “Saturday Night Live” skit, was protested by the group One Million Moms.

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