Snickers
Spain has issued an apology after it faced widespread criticism on social media
for airing a ‘homophobic’ advertisement. The commercial has since been taken
down.

Here’s what
happened:

According
to The Independent, in the 20-second commercial, a Spanish influencer named
Aless Gibaja is shown eating Snickers ice cream before he transforms into a man
with a beard and a deep voice.

Gibaja is
shown at a beach bar with a friend, where he asks for a “sexy orange juice with
vitamins A, B and C”. The waiter looks at him in a confused manner and instead
gives him a Snickers ice cream. Gibaja then takes a bite, following which he
turns into the bearded man.

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“Better,”
he says in response to when his friend asks him if he was feeling better. This is
then followed by the Snickers slogan, “You’re not yourself when you’re hungry”.

The advert
has been heavily criticised on social media, with many people calling out for
its purported homophobic angles.

“Snickers Suggests
A Bite Of Their Bar Can Make You Straight,” a user tweeted.

The State
of Federation of Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals also tweeted against the ad,
saying it was “shameful and unfortunate that there are companies that continue
to perpetuate stereotypes and promote homophobia”.

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“If you
need some training for next time, we are here #Snickers,” it tweeted.

Spain’s minister
for equality Irene Montero has also criticised the ad, saying, “I wonder to
whom it might seem like 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.” 

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Snickers have since aplogised for the
commercial, with a spokesperson for Mars Wrigley, the company that owns the
brand, saying, “We would like to whole-heartedly apologise for any harm caused
by a recent advert for Snickers Ice Cream in Spain.”

“We
recognise that we got it wrong and have removed the online content immediately.
We take equal rights and inclusion seriously, we want a world where everybody
is free to be themselves and we believe that as an employer and advertiser we
have a role and a responsibility to play our part in creating that world. We
will take the opportunity to listen and learn from this mistake and do better
in the future.”