Grandmother wants apology over 'Mee Maw Smell' advertisement

GRANITE BAY, CA (KTRK) -- A California woman is going to great lengths to get an apology from Proctor and Gamble over a laundry detergent advertisement in a local newspaper.

Randee Reidy, 67, tells KORV-TV she came across the ad while reading the Sacramento Bee. The ad pokes fun at grandmother smell.

The ad has text that reads "smells like mee-maw" with a bag of potpourri above it. Next to that is a photo of Gain detergent with text that reads "smells like yee-haw!"

"It leaves a lasting clean scent so your clothes smell garden-fresh, not grandmotherly," Reidy said reading the ad. "It's so disparaging. It's so ageist. And I just thought it was awful... When did grandmothers start smelling bad?"

Reidy has started a grassroots campaign to end the ad.

"I've contacted my local congressman, my state senator, I sent a message to Hillary Clinton. I think she might be interested. And I don't know. I'll just keep on going with it, because it's just not right," Reidy told KOVR-TV.

Procter & Gamble issued a statement that read in part, "Please know we thoroughly test our advertising with a broad group of consumers before airing it."

Reidy says that's not good enough. She's now calling on the company to make a public apology to grandmothers everywhere.