‘Target troll’ returns to confront people upset over Doritos’ rainbow chips
The so-called “Target Troll” is back with vengeance.
In early August, Mike Melgaard posed as a Target representative on Facebook to confront people upset with the retail chain’s decision to make its toy department signage gender-neutral. He successfully trolled outraged shoppers from his own account, which was made to look like an official Target Facebook page, complete with the trademark bullseye as his picture (much to the chagrin of Target).
The hijacking made him briefly Internet famous, and now it looks like he’s back for more. This time around he’s pretending to represent Doritos on Facebook, which last week unveiled a limited edition rainbow-colored chips in support of the gay community.
Frito-Lays’ collaboration with the It Gets Better Project apparently left a spoiled taste in some people’s mouths — a taste not associated with the chips, that is. They voiced their discontent online calling the initiative “disgusting” or “ungodly,” according to Logo, the cable network devoted to gay themes and issues.
Activate Melgaard. Under the name “Doritos ForHelp,” he wrote cheeky responses to anti-gay bigots who said they were disowning the chip company.
Here’s a sampling:
As you can see, people fell for it even though his account doesn’t have the verified check mark that Doritos’ page has. The fun didn’t last more than day, Melgaard writes on Facebook, before the account was deleted. Digiday has reached out to Doritos for comment but has not yet heard back.
Despite the fact that Melgaard’s shenanigans didn’t reach the viral popularity that his Target stunt did, this troll holds importance to the comic. He addressed people who are actually upset with Doritos in a Facebook message saying the initiative is about bringing awareness to suicide among LGBTQ teens.
“Anyone being ‘upset’ over this issue is really just slowing down the collective progress for all of humanity,” he writes. “And you’re doing it for no reason other than your personal bias.”
Photo via Facebook.
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