The boycott battle wages on.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio today called on Arizonans to boycott Mexico following two versions of a "threatening" ad published in the Arizona Republic over the weekend, which were paid for by Sonora Tourismo, the Sonora tourism board.
The original version ran on Friday and features what appears to be a Mexican soldier looking through binoculars with the words "in Sonora we are looking for people from Arizona."
In the Republic's Saturday edition, the second version appeared. As you can see in the above photo, it looked the same as the earlier one, except that it contained the words "who want to have a great time," as well as the reflection of what appears to be a kick-ass, Mexican beach party in the soldier's binoculars.
Referring to the ad, Arpaio says it "went well beyond being irresponsible. It appears to threaten Arizonans -- a very valid concern given the current political climate.
"Any ad threatening or frightening Arizonans who are considering vacationing in Sonora is in very poor taste," Arpaio says. "Until that country's government apologizes, I sincerely hope Arizonans look elsewhere for a quick vacation spot."
We contacted the Republic to find out why the ad was changed and were told (with a moderate dose of attitude) that it ran exactly as Sonora Tourismo intended.
We sent an e-mail to Adolfo Salido, spokesman for Sonora Tourismo, asking if the original ad was meant to be threatening, thus the switcheroo. He did not immediately get back to us.
