I'm appalled at the ad and its variants, one of which will run when the Daytona 500 airs. And I'm astounded that such a large company would have the stupidity necessary to run the ad. I plan to write both Snickers and the NFL, which allowed its players to be shown on the Snickers Web site reacting with disgust to the same-sex "accidental kiss" in the ad.
You can go here to complain to Mars. To complain to the NFL, don't use the e-mail contact form at NFL.com; that's only for messages about the Web site. Instead, snail-mail, call, or fax the NFL:
280 Park Ave.
New York, NY 10017
phone: 212-450-2000
fax: 212-681-7599
Updated 2/5/07, 3:09 p.m.: The Mars family, by the way, is a major contributor to conservative Republican causes.
Updated at 4:59 p.m.: The Human Rights Campaign, the largest gay and lesbian civil rights group in the U.S., is demanding that Mars pull the ad and its variants.
Updated at 5:46 p.m.: You can sign a petition here calling on Mars to pull the ads and stop running homophobic ads.
Updated at 7:07 p.m.: The Snickers site for the ads has been pulled; the old address for the ads redirects viewers to the main Snickers Web site.
Updated at 7:27 p.m.: Mars, the company that produces Snickers, says to a prominent blogger that it will not ever run the offensive ad or its variants anywhere. I'm still inclined to boycott Snickers; it's bad that the company thought the ad was funny enough to run in the first place.
homophobia advertising Snickers Mars NFL EditorMom
8 comments:
Oh my god. We missed the first half hour or so of the game, so missed this one. I agree, it's disgusting. The Bears' reactions aren't any better. Thanks from bringing this to my attention. I'll be forwarding the info to everyone I can think of.
Please sign our petition!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/457885009
How reprehensible that, of all methods Mars could use to promote itself, it would choose this.
Well, I used to like Snickers bars and M&Ms, but now that Mars has figuratively squished them onto the pavement...yech.
Hurray! The Power of the People -- it's an awesome thing.
Good grief! It was not as much homophobic as much as a parody of men 'acting manly'. If anything it was largely forgettable and boring. Get a life peeps, there are real issues out there that need your attention before this drivel!
Anon, I think of that commercial the same way I think about sexist language: Each commercial is an isolated incident, and each instance of sexist language is an isolated instance. But put instance after instance after instance together, and there's a whole culture that teaches children and teens that homophobia is okay, that sexism is okay. I grew up hearing sexist language, and it led me to believe, as a girl, that I couldn't do a lot of things because I wasn't a boy. As an adult who's learned otherwise, I try to stop individual bullies, corporate bullies, and governmental bullies. I can't stand bullies of any kind and won't let bullying go uncontested.
Katherine, here's an 'instance' that promotes a bit of humor on this whole topic -- after watching the Snickers Wrench ad, I didn't feel 'homophobic,' but certainly felt "Snickerphobic!" LOL! Yes, down with corporate bullies. Time to take a step back and laugh at ourselves for a change.
I just learned over at www.gaymarketnews.com that Omnicom who made this disgusting ad also has its own specialist gay PR division called Outfront at Fleishman Hillard - an Omnicom agency.
That really annoys me - they bash gays in one moment but then try to make money out of them the next.
These people have no shame.
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