Gaydar Radio joins call for Heinz boycott over axed ad
By Nikki Sandison, brandrepublic.com, Wednesday, 25 June 2008 02:10PM
LONDON - Gaydar Radio is following in the footsteps of gay rights group Stonewall by calling for a global boycott of all Heinz products in protest against the withdrawal of its Deli Mayo ad, which showed two men kissing.
The radio station said that Heinz's decision to pull the ad, after more than 200 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, had caused uproar at the station.
Gaydar Radio has posted the ad free of charge on its sister website GaydarNation.com to ensure it gets continued exposure.
The ad, created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, shows a family going about their morning routine with the twist that the mother making the sandwiches is replaced by a New York deli chef to get across the authentic nature of the product.
The chef reminds the father to give him a kiss before he leaves for work and the pair kiss as if the chef were his wife.
The station said that listeners have been emailing in their protests via the Gaydar chatrooms. One listener said: "I am appalled that a company such as Heinz should bow down to such homophobic behaviour. I am incensed by their attitude and such a small number of complaints by comparison."
Some chatroom users have also posted the phone number of Heinz's director of corporate affairs and are encouraging people to call him to protest.
Simon Le Vans, a Gaydar Radio presenter who is leading the boycott campaign, said: "This is gutless to say the least and extremely homophobic. Some viewers who complained said that they didn't want to have to explain to their children why two men were kissing.
"Aside from the fact that they could have explained the 'joke' within the premise of the commercial to their children they plainly felt it inappropriate that their children might ask about homosexuality in general."
According to its own research, the station claims a weekly audience of 340,000, although it does not subscribe to official audience figures from industry measurement body Rajar.
This article was first published on brandrepublic.com
Related articles
- GaydarRadio celebrates 10 years
- First gay FM station to introduce ads next month
- Heinz appoints Haygarth on baby food brief
- Police apologise for puppy ad that offended Muslims
- Gay rights group urges boycott of Heinz for pulling 'male kiss' ad
- Heinz pulls male kiss ad after hundreds of complaints
- Heinz 'male kiss' TV ad sparks hundreds of complaints
- Gaydar boosts sales and marketing team
- Heinz Farmers' Market soup commercial cleared by ad watchdog
- Complaints against ad tackling homophobic bullying rejected
Additional Information
Campaign Jobs
- Designer / Creative Artworker David Thatcher Recruitment £25-30k, Wantage, South Oxfordshire
- Senior Account Manager / Account Director David Thatcher Recruitment 335-60k dep experience, Milton Keynes
- planning Director Twist Recruitment £80000 - £100000 per annum, London
- Digital Account Manager [Beauty Account] - Excellent London Agency - to £30k Fill Recruitment Ltd to £30k + great benefits, Central London
- Account Manager - Superb Central London Agency - to £30k Fill Recruitment Ltd to £30k, Central London
Most viewed
- Blippar connects disjointed families, says MEC executive
- Nature Valley awards integrated business to start-up
- LMFM challenges bakers to be Brave on World Baking Day
- Fans take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Twitter-powered tennis game
- Samsung strikes placement deal with The Wanted
- Jaguar readies global campaign for F-Type launch
Most commented
-
What we can all learn from how Daft Punk won the web
For an industry supposedly in demise, the music business is leading the way when it comes to generating social currency. And, for the savviest of social marketers, generating sales as well.
