Shaw's Supermarkets, Deli

In a stunt similar to the 1980s TV show "Bosom Buddies," two men who work for a grocery store are cross-dressed as women to spy on the competition -- one in a short black wig, the other in a long blonde one. The ad is part of a campaign series of six.

The two are standing at the deli counter as a child starts pulling on the blouse of one of them, demanding, "I'm hungry!"

The blonde tells the other, "He thinks you're his mother." So the brunette asks the deli woman in a falsetto voice if her "son"could have a cookie. The rugrat then insists "I want a muffin!"

The deli woman is now unsettled by the situation but offers a muffin.

The real mother (who is wearing the same blouse as the infiltrator, which is why the kid was confused) then shows up and says to her son, "Honey, don't bother the nice lady." She looks up, sees they're cross-dressed men, grabs the child's hand and runs away.

The brunette, unaware of the woman's fear, then calls after her to say, "Love your outfit..."

The ads have caused some uproar in the transgender communities in New England, were the chain operates, and were pulled after just a few days.

Said a store spokeswoman, "The 'Choice is Yours' ads were created to raise awareness and build our variety and range image. The characters are meant to be perceived strictly as spies 'checking out Shaw's.' No other implication is intended."