King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Homophobic Snickers ad campaign pulled amid howling, but not unanimous, protests. Plus: Wrong about Peyton Manning? Us?
Read more: Sports, Advertising, Gay Culture, TV, Super Bowl, Homophobia, Football, NFL, King Kaufman, Sports Daily
Feb. 6, 2007 | Afterthekiss.com is no more.
Masterfoods, the division of Mars Inc. that makes Snickers bars, has pulled the entire campaign surrounding the "Wrench" Snickers ad that played during the Super Bowl. The campaign brought protests that the TV spot and accompanying Web site were homophobic.
The ad depicted two mechanics chomping on opposite ends of a Snickers bar, meeting in the middle in an accidental kiss, then overreacting. "Quick, do something manly," one yells. Then they both rip out a handful of their own chest hair.
The spot directed viewers to the Web site, which offered three alternative endings and video of Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts players reacting to the ad. All of the players said the ad was funny, but a few were clearly disgusted at the idea of two men kissing. The site invited viewers to vote on the four ads to determine which would be shown during the Daytona 500 later this month. The URL now redirects users to Snickers.com.
Masterfoods spokeswoman Bertille Glass said the campaign has been halted and the spot won't run during the Daytona 500. The company released a statement saying it hadn't intended to offend anyone.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Matthew Shepard Foundation released a joint press release Monday condemning the campaign and asking for a meeting with Mars and the NFL "to address our concerns and give them an opportunity to raise public awareness about the destructive impact of these kinds of anti-gay images and comments," said GLAAD president Neil Giuliano in the release.
The release included this interesting tidbit about TBWA/Chiat/Day, the advertising agency that created the Snickers campaign: "In early January, TBWA/Chiat/Day New York asked GLAAD to review and provide analysis on a Snickers spot. GLAAD agreed. The next day, the agency abruptly withdrew its request without having shown GLAAD the ad."
Glass said she hadn't been aware of that charge.
Judy Shepard, Matthew's mother, said in the same release that she was outraged at the campaign, which she said "encourages the same type of hate that led to the death of my son Matthew. It essentially gives 'permission' to our society to verbally or physically harass individuals who are gay, lesbian or bisexual."