Heinz Homophobic?

International News, By Christian Taylor, 25th June, 2008

UK gay rights group Stonewall is urging people to boycott Heinz after they withdrew an ad for mayonnaise which featured two men kissing.

While it was groundbreaking that they created the commercial in the first place, it would seem that they buckled under the pressure from “”consumer feedback”. According to the Guardian, the Advertising Standards Authority received almost 200 complaints about the commercial, making it among the top five most offensive ads this year.

With gay people having civil union rights in the UK, you’d think such complaints would be a thing of the past.

The commercial was meant to run for five weeks, but it only ran for just over one. The commercial basically features two kids and a dad running into their kitchen to grab sandwiches made by mum with Heinz deli mayo. But “mum” actually turns out to be a man from a New York deli. The message isn’t about gay families, it’s about the deli mayo being so good, it’s just like having a New York deli in your kitchen. That message may have gone over some people’s heads, however.

Watch the commercial here:

Ben Summerskill from Stonewall has urged gay people globally to stop buying Heinz products. “We’re shocked that an innocuous ad should have been withdrawn in this way. Our phones have not stopped ringing with supporters who are deeply upset. I think people are a surprised they have responded so swiftly to what appears, on the face of it, to be organised complaints, a campaign by people who are determined to be outraged whenever there is any reference to homosexuality, however light hearted.” He went on to add, “The biggest irony of all is, by responding to claims it damages children, Heinz has drawn attention that it is actually not allowed to be shown around children’s programmes because it is so unhealthy.”

A spokesperson for Heinz said that the ad was meant to be humorous and was not meant to offend. “Clearly it failed in its intent to amuse and that is why we took the decision to withdraw it.”

Will you be boycotting Heinz? Vote now.

All About

Your Thoughts

Hey there, you need to be logged in to get involved with SameSame, click here to login if you're already a member, or here if you need to become a new member.