Updated: Mars Scraps Snickers Spot

Mr. T took aim, but this controversial Snickers spot became a target....

Mars issued this statement late Thursday: "This ad is the second in a series of U.K. Snickers Ads featuring Mr. T which are meant to be fun and which have been positively received in the U.K. However, we understand that humor is highly subjective, and it is never our intention to cause offense. Accordingly, we have pulled the Mr. T Speedwalker ad globally."

[Gary47]

some people need to geta sense of humor.

[Bob]

This is lunacy. I'm more offended that they pulled it and listened to the madness spouted by the PC brigade.

[Mark]

Hey Bob, how would you feel if Mr. T was out attacking all Frenchmen, using stereotypes? Still funny? How would you feel if violence against random men who were obviously French increased? What about if you were attacked? Still funny?

Being against violence and those who encourage isn't "PC" - it's human and humane.

[fuzi]

I found the ad offensive on an intellectual level, it was simply so stupid it was an insult to any intelligent person. But "anti-gay"? Not at all. I feel that claiming the ad is "anti-gay" is a detriment to our cause, it is essentially "crying wolf". It is akin to some blacks who cry racism over things that have no racial overtones... it cheapens the claim of legitimate offenses, making all seem less important.

[THEAprof]

I'm thrilled that they pulled the ad. I don't see how it can be seen as anything but homophobic!

[nhjeff]

I was neither offended nor amused. The ad was just dumb and somewhat annoying, which makes it pretty average.

I think the swishy walk and the theme were more offensive to speed-walkers than to gays. I think some are looking too hard for insults.

[Occono]

As a gay person I still don't get why people found that ad homophobic. I don't think that's where energies should be focused.

[James - Dallas]

Pull your head out. This ad was totally anti-gay from the yellow shorts to the hip shaking... Put a guy that doesn't look stereotypical and the ad would be just stupid. Use a stereotype and it's homophobic. This is the second homophobic ad that I know of to come from Mars/Snickers. I don't need to get fat from their products that bad!!

fuzi wrote:

I found the ad offensive on an intellectual level, it was simply so stupid it was an insult to any intelligent person. But "anti-gay"? Not at all. I feel that claiming the ad is "anti-gay" is a detriment to our cause, it is essentially "crying wolf". It is akin to some blacks who cry racism over things that have no racial overtones... it cheapens the claim of legitimate offenses, making all seem less important.

[Keikue]

http://www.youtube.com/watch ... this is a you-tube video showing the proper way to speed walk notice the simularity in the way they walk

[Ken]

Why can't people try to imagine life from a different pespective? Why is that so hard? If this were any other stereotype, the ad would never have been aired in the first place. But, as we know, it is open season on GLBT people and nothing is too horrible, too humiliating or too sub-human.

[Disgusted American]

Why Snickers just doesn't have an Ad stating WHY it's a Good candy bar? Taste,Ingredience etc? Seem they were OVER-reaching, and TRYING TOO hard to be funny..instead of just promoting thier candy bar on it's own merits.

[Dasein9]

Well, this ad won't exactly make me boycott M&M/Mars. But then, that's mainly because I've already boycotted companies whose chocolate comes from cocoa farmed by slaves.

Funny, the chocolate that's fairly produced is much better stuff. Sure, a candy bar is more expensive, but I eat less of it, because of the higher quality, and so even manage to save money.

[Boony68]

Im just glad that they listened to the people and pulled the ad.

[fuzi]

James - Dallas wrote:

Pull your head out. This ad was totally anti-gay from the yellow shorts to the hip shaking... Put a guy that doesn't look stereotypical and the ad would be just stupid. Use a stereotype and it's homophobic. This is the second homophobic ad that I know of to come from Mars/Snickers. I don't need to get fat from their products that bad!!
<quoted text>

I'm offended that you think this is anti-gay. You just insulted millions of gay people by claiming some imagined association to yellow shorts and speedwalking as being intrinsically gay.

You've done far more damage to gay people than this ad could have ever done.

[McMike]

fuzi wrote:

<quoted text>I'm offended that you think this is anti-gay. You just insulted millions of gay people by claiming some imagined association to yellow shorts and speedwalking as being intrinsically gay.
You've done far more damage to gay people than this ad could have ever done.

The ad was homophobic. With Mr. T saying 'be a real man' it could easily be interpreted as him saying "don't be gay, be a man". Sorry half you guys think this isn't worth fighting for but go ahead and sit this one out. If anything is in the grey area then I'm gonna push to make it black and white. Obviously our pushing is working.

[fuzi]

McMike wrote:

<quoted text>
The ad was homophobic. With Mr. T saying 'be a real man' it could easily be interpreted as him saying "don't be gay, be a man". Sorry half you guys think this isn't worth fighting for but go ahead and sit this one out. If anything is in the grey area then I'm gonna push to make it black and white. Obviously our pushing is working.

Again, your assumptions are far more offensive than this advertisement. I would never assume anyone saying "be a real man" has anything to do with being gay, since I am gay and I am a real man. There was no homophobia in this ad. You're becoming the Al Sharpton of homophobia, trying to place the label on even the most remote association, which cheapens the term and makes TRUE cases of it seem less important simply because they get buried under an avalanche of triviality.

[Running Man]

As a lifelong runner, when I saw this commercial, I simply thought, "oh, this guy is a just one of those jogger types, and not a serious runner". Somehow someone in the gay community was "looking" hard for something to complain about, and put a big SPIN on this advertisement, making it seem like it was poking fun at gays. Football is about the most "macho type" sport on earth; why don't they make some claim that "football makes fun of gays." This commercial was nothing short of just funny.
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I sent a note on the internet to tell Mars that I'm going to boycott their products, because like so many companies these days, they are lying down and playing door-mat to any group that whimpers about somehow being offended.
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Here is the link where you can tell Mars what you think about playing "door-mat" to these groups.
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http://www.snickers.com/contact.asp
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[Ernie Scinto]

McMike wrote:

<quoted text>
The ad was homophobic. With Mr. T saying 'be a real man' it could easily be interpreted as him saying "don't be gay, be a man". Sorry half you guys think this isn't worth fighting for but go ahead and sit this one out. If anything is in the grey area then I'm gonna push to make it black and white. Obviously our pushing is working.

That is because this is what you want to see. Get over it, because this isn't a shot at gays. If anything it pokes fun at race walking, which is sort of an odd sport, but it is in the Olympics as one of the sports.

[Rick in Kansas]

I don't think that the ad was intentionally meant as homophobic but a parody that many could see as crossing that line in a bad way. An apparently effeminate looking man being targeted for what could be seen as a violent attack because he wasn't behaving in a fashion deemed "manly" enough by the uber-masculine could really hit home in the wrong way for a lot of people. My opinion is that they just didn't ask the right question before running with this, that being, could anyone possibly find this thing offensive?

The problem with all of the reaction to this ad is that it has now been seen by many more people than were ever going to otherwise. If you'll notice from the article, the ad only ran in the U.K. and wasn't ever part of their American advertising campaign. Now the ad is on the net and millions of Americans have now seen it who wouldn't have otherwise. the people who campaigned to have the ad pulled over there won their battle but can be seen as having lost the war...

[OkieDarren]

Bob wrote:

This is lunacy. I'm more offended that they pulled it and listened to the madness spouted by the PC brigade.

Reminding us, once again, that "PC" means "Hateful and offensive towards people I don't give a darn about." To racists, people objecting to racism is "PC."