A popular condiment company is falling out of favor with slews of its most loyal fans for airing a commercial that has some seeing red.
Heinz Co. announced yesterday that it plans to pull a TV ad for mayonnaise that shows two men kissing.
The company says the commercial was only run on British TV, but received enough negative feedback that it prompted Heinz execs to yank it.
If you haven’t already seen the ad for Heinz Deli Mayo (it made its way onto YouTube in record time and was still there as of today) you aren’t missing much.
The commercial starts off in a kitchen and involves two kids, a father and a male deli worker with a New York accent, whom the children address as “Mum.” At the end of the commercial, the cook kisses the father as he leaves for work.
The Advertising Standards Authority said it received hundreds of complaints soon after the ad hit the airwaves in Britain. According to the reports, most of the angry viewers commented that commercial was “offensive,” “inappropriate” and “unsuitable for children.”
A few days later Heinz pulled the ad (the company cited “consumer feedback” as the reason for doing so) and issued an apology to anyone it had “offended in the process.”
Despite the fact that the ad did not run in the United States, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly says he counts himself as one of those who was “deeply offended” by the lack of discretion used by the ad’s creator… and Heinz, which he considered to a “respectable company” prior to the commercial brouhaha.
The infamous conservative talk show host complained about the mayonnaise commercial last week during his show, “The O’Reilly Factor.”
“I just want mayonnaise. I don’t want guys kissing,” O’Reilly told viewers.
Meanwhile, a British gay rights group said it was shocked and appalled that Heinz yanked what it called an “innocuous” ad and urged gay consumers around the world to boycott the company.
Have you seen the ad?
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