re: Pulled Snickers Ad

This is kind of a response to Stephy’s blog on the Mr T speedwalking ad at http://shylilsweety.blogspot.com/2008/07/pulled-snickers-ad.html.

Just read an interesting article about the Snickers ad – basically no LGBT groups in the UK complained, and the ad was only pulled because of pressure from the US. Surely if something targeted a British audience is seen as inoffensive by that target audience, it’s wrong for a completely unrelated third party to barge in and demands its removal?

I also found this highly amusing – there’s a group in the US called the “Human Rights Campaign” – which claims to represent LGBT rights. They then published this press release: http://www.hrc.org/10880.htm, which is absolutely hilarious. “speed walking in an exaggerated manner – conjure up stereotypes of gay men”. I’m sorry but what, since when has speed walking ever been linked with a “stereotype of gay men”? Certainly never in the UK where the ad was created and published. As someone who has occasionally speedwalked I find the suggestion that the activity is “gay”, and surely it’s completely inappropriate for a supposed LGBT rights group to be creating these stereotypes.

We all know that America is a far-right, near-facist state with very conservative thinking, who reckon themselves to be the “world police”, but when ad created in a centrist country for a more liberal audience is pulled because of offence from some conservatives in the States, what’s the world coming to? Next thing you know having photos of women not wearing hijabs in Rimmel commercials will be pulled because it offends Iranians.

The advert in question: