LGBT advocates in the U.K. are urging supporters to boycott Heinz products after the company pulled an ad that showed two men kissing. The TV spot for Heinz Deli Mayo, “Mayo with a New York Deli Flavor,” shows two siblings getting ready for school and asking their mum for their lunches. Thing is, their “mum” is a man with a gruff New York accent, dressed as a New York deli worker. Their male dad then comes in and kisses mum goodbye.
The understated humor of the ad works well. It’s the incongruity of the New Yorker in the British household that makes me laugh. I’m not the only one who sees the same-sex relationship here as incidental: GLAAD reports (citing the U.K.’s Guardian) “the agency said the concept behind the campaign is that the product tastes so good, ‘It’s as if you have your own New York deli man in your kitchen,’ and the ad was not intentionally meant to represent same-sex parents.”
Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, however, ranted about how gay (and therefore offensive) it was. The ultra-conservative American Family Association (AFA) sent out an action alert urging supporters to protest to Heinz about the ad. (Why the American Family Association should care so much about an ad in the U.K. is a mystery to me.)
Looks like the conservatives are going to have to play ketchup, though. U.K. Gay News says that an online petition to reinstate the ad has nearly 4,800 signatures, vs. the 202 complaints received by the Advertising Standards Authority.
Still, AFA’s Randy Sharp told CNN the ad was “an attempt to advance the homosexual lifestyle in the United Kingdom.” Yep, that lifestyle of making sandwiches for our kids is clearly a threat to civilization.
If the ad is going to advance anything, though, it’s our waistlines. The spot already carries an “ex-kids” restriction that prevents it from being shown during children’s programming, because it breaks television advertising rules for products that are high in fat, salt and sugar. I’ll agree with that kind of limitation. If O’Reilly and the AFA really want to help the youth of the world, they’d be better off promoting good eating habits rather than trying to ban depictions of loving families. Now there’s a thought to relish.