We’ve all seen the Snickers adverts with the likes of Elton John that basically show people acting ‘out of character’ because they are hungry until they get a Snickers in them.
Well, Snickers seems to have taken things a bit further in Spain and got well and truly burned for it. In the advert, Spanish influencer Aless Gibaja is seen flirting and exuberantly ordering a ‘sexy orange juice’ from a nonplussed waiter.
He’s given a Snickers and then as if by magic he turns into a straight acting bearded guy in the same pink tee-shirt and the classic Snickers tagline ‘You’re not yourself when you’re hungry’ pops up. The idea, of course, being that you wouldn’t ever want to be effeminate as there’s clearly something wrong with it.
In response to the advert, Spain’s equality minister Irene Montero (no relation to Lil Nas X) said: “Who would think it is a good idea to use homophobia as a business strategy. Our society is diverse and tolerant. Hopefully those who have the power to make decisions about what we see and hear in commercials and TV shows will learn to be too.” If that doesn’t melt your Snickers we don’t know what would.
After the backlash, Snickers parent company Mars Wrigley have now pulled the advert, apologising for any ‘misunderstanding’ and saying that they ‘got it wrong’. What boggles our mind is how this went all the way from inception to production to release without anyone on the team thinking that it might be a touch offensive. They must be nuts.
El REPUGNANTE anuncio PLUMÓFOBO de Snickers. pic.twitter.com/bxtgMHh44e
— Gato (@gamomena) August 4, 2021