|
|
|
 |
USA |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Mars withdrew this commercial for their Snickers Bar following complaints from gay rights organisations that it was homophobic. The advert, which was made by TBWA/Chiat Day New York, received its first screening during the 2007 Super Bowl; at the end of the ad, viewers were directed to a tie-in website on which were shown alternative attempts by the two mechanics to “do something manly” to make amends for their accidental kiss. Following its high-profile first airing, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Human Rights Campaign complained to Mars’ subsidiary Masterfoods that the advert encouraged anti-gay sentiments. According to the Human Rights Campaign’s president, the advert and tie-in website “fuels the kind of anti-gay bullying that haunts countless gay and lesbian school-children on playgrounds all across the country.” A GLAAD spokesperson described the “prejudice” displayed in the ad as “simply inexcusable”.
In the face of these objections, Masterfood decided to discontinue both the advert and the website and issued the following statement: "As with all of our Snickers advertising, our goal was to capture the attention of our core Snickers consumer. Feedback from our target consumers has been positive. In addition, many media and website commentators of this year's Super Bowl commercial line-up ranked the commercial among this year's top ten best. USA Today ranked it 9 of its top ten picks. We know that humor is highly subjective and understand that some people may have found the ad offensive. Clearly that was not our intent."
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
