Ads Pulled Over Anti-Gay Concerns

e-mail article |  print | post comments | NEWSLETTER

Keywords: Nike, Snickers, hyper dunk, LGBT, gay, HRC, Human Rights Campaign, diversity, DiversityInc, Mr. T

Mr. T's tough-guy persona may have gotten a lot of laughs on TV's "The A-Team," but when he is perceived as advocating harm to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) people, suddenly he's not so funny.

Mr. T was featured in a Snickers commercial ridiculing a man who was speed walking in an exaggerated manner--a manner which the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, a LGBT civil-rights advocacy organization, said conjured up stereotypes of gay men. Exhorting him to be a "real man," Mr. T then shoots Snickers bars at the speed walker out of a gun. Mars Inc., maker of Snickers, pulled the ad after discussions with HRC.

This is the second time HRC has asked Mars to pull an ad, and it's the second time this month that HRC has involved itself in discussions with a major company about the negative depiction of LGBT people in its advertising.

HRC also asked Nike to cancel an ad campaign that showed two men who are in the midst of a slam dunk. In the print campaign, the dunker's crotch hits the defensive man's face and different captions read, "That ain't right," "Isn't that cute," and "Say hello."

"The ad can be seen as humorous but it crosses a line and almost depicts violence against someone who is GLBT," says Eric Bloem, deputy director, Workplace Project for the HRC Foundation. "The ad's message … perpetuates the notion that GLBT people are less than other people."

Mars pulled the ad after HRC contacted the company. This incident follows Snickers' 2007 Super Bowl commercial, in which two men kissed as a result of eating a Snickers bar. Mars immediately pulled that ad after HRC complained, and then met with Mars to discuss its internal policies.

"Specifically [Mars is] working with their domestic partner benefits to get them implemented," says Bloem.

But this second mistake indicates Mars' senior leadership must make it plain that it will not tolerate stereotypical images in advertising, says Bloem.

"There should be some communication coming down from senior leadership on these issues," says Bloem. "Regardless of what the ad agency comes up with, it's the decision of the company to run the ad or continue on with a particular ad campaign."

Nike's senior leadership pulled its ads for its hyper-dunk shoe after similar objections from HRC and other LGBT-community organizations.

"It perpetuates a pervasive stereotype of homophobia in the sports world," says Daryl Herrschaft, director, HRC Workplace. "Nike did act quickly to remove the ads."

Nike's hyper-dunk print ads don't show the hoop or the upper body of the man dunking the ball, though their bodies are positioned to imply that one man is jumping over the other in order to dunk a basketball.

The type of picture combined with the text crosses the line, says Herrschaft.

"By just showing the one half of a player, I think the ad loses its effectiveness when a great many people who view it don't understand the humor. Not only that, but [they] begin to read things into it around the homophobia. It seemed a little crude," says Herrschaft.

When making the decision to pull the hyper-dunk ad, Nike consulted its LGBT-employee-resource group and its marketing group and realized that, "To remove any possible confusion, they ought to pull the ads," said Herrschaft, who said Nike's track record told him to expect a swift resolution.

"Nike has an unparalleled record of supporting the GLBT community internally and externally in supporting legislation in D.C. and in Oregon. The company supports the employment non-discrimination act, as well as equal rights legislation in Oregon."

Click here to go to Human Rights Campaign's web site.

Click here to read about Nike's hyper-dunk ad. 

e-mail article |  print | post comments | NEWSLETTER

Send Your Comments About This Article Now