Yet another ad that offends the sensibilites of viewers in the UK has been pulled. Adweek talks about the AMV BBDO’s ad for Snickers that shows Mr. T launching Snickers at a man that is speed walking in short shorts and suggesting that he “run like a real man” and “get some nuts”. Some believe the ad is anti-gay. Earlier in the week Matt posted about the concerns that this spot, as well as a couple of other Omnicon spots, have raised. According to Adweek, The Human Rights Campaign Foundation says that the Mars Corporation agreed to stop airing the spot after discussions with the HRC Workplace Project.
It seems a bit ironic though that this ad is taking just as much heat as their ad for Heinz. That spot took the opposite approach and was said to be inappropriate for viewers to see. So, I’m confused, should they show the gay lifestyle or not? I guess the thought is that they should ignore it all together. First Heinz, now Snickers. It has to sting that AMV BBDO keeps getting ads pulled. Maybe they should stay away from advertisements that reference sexuality in any way.