Color Me Controversial

Gyro sparks controversy with "too white" campaign.

Gyro, a Philadelphia-based agency, has a few choice words for pop star Michael Jackson and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich: "Get a tan!"

The two media darlings unwittingly star in a new campaign from the agency for Sun Worshippers, a tanning salon in the City of Brotherly Love. The ads are headlined: "Some People Are Just Too White."

Steven Grasse, the agency's president, said the phrase refers to those who are "a little too uptight"- not any racial characteristic.

Timid advertising executives might wonder if Grasse is concerned about the possibility of legal action. On the contrary, he seems to be inviting it. An agency press release reads: "...to actually invite legal action, we're sending the pictured celebrities free tanning coupons."

Remember, Gyro is the shop that featured the images of mass murderers Jeffrey Dahmer and Charles Manson in a campaign for Zipper Head, a Philly clothing shop specializing in S&M gear.