Laughing Cow Learns to Talk

That talking cheese (and it learns to rock, too) on display on a shelf at a French franchise supermarket
Cell phone picture by Don Schumann


The company, Bel Group, was giving away ink stamps for children in France this summer. One read: "Des vacances de malade mental"


Meaning loosely "having a mental holiday" or literally "holidaying like a mentally ill person"

Company narrowly avoids boycott in France after promotion slammed as offensive to people with learning difficulties.

French associations for parents of children with learning disabilities immediately expressed outrage and threatened a boycott of the company and all its products, including Boursin soft cheese and the foil-wrapped Kiri cheese, a French children's staple.

Parents' groups only backed down from their plans for a boycott and a possible legal complaint after the cheese company, which was founded in France, issued a public apology.