Men kissing Men and other Offensive Things

It’s funny the kind of things that can offend people. Take for this instance this marvelous advert for Heinz Deli Mayo.

I found myself giggling with joy. It’s so rare to see an advert that shows a man doing anything other than gaze admiringly at a car, buy life insurance, spraying deodorant or drinking buckets of beer. Most adverts for household goods usually center around the woman, and how the products enable them to be a better mom, wife etc. If there is a man present, it is to show how easy using a particular product is.

Take a look at this fabulous advert from the 70s, where a dove tells a woman that a dishwashing liquid is as good as a hand lotion. She then begins to soap dishes and looks with glazed eyes at her hands. Yay! Now you can be beautiful and wash all the dishes at home – at the same time!

Anyhow, back to Heinz. Turns out that the commercial has annoyed some folks.

The Heinz Deli Mayo ad has been pulled after less than a week on air after viewers complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that it was “offensive” and “inappropriate to see two men kissing”.

Other complaints include that the ad was “unsuitable to be seen by children” and that it raised the difficult problem of parents having to discuss the issue of same-sex relationships with younger viewers.

I am not entirely sure why discussing same-sex relationships is so taboo. The kids’ classmates probably have gay parents, they see people of the same sex holding hands on the street. You can probably tell them the same thing that you use to explain heterosexual relationships with. Two people like each other and kiss each other. I think what worries people is that it legitimizes homosexual relationships. Had the advert shown a man and woman expressing that nano-second kiss, not a single eyebrow would have been raised. Sigh.