Snickers Pulls Spanish Advert, Apologises After Backlash Over ‘Homophobic’ Advert

Snickers has pulled a 20-second commercial and apologized after the advert was heavily criticized for being homophobic. The TV advert showed Spanish influencer Aless Gibaja flamboyantly ordering when the waiter offers a Snickers ice-cream bar. After a bite of Snicker, Gibaja transforms into a bearded man with a deep voice. When asked about how he is feeling, the man replies “Better,” followed by the slogan of Snickers – “you’re not you when you’re hungry” – flashing on the screen. The video soon went viral on social media platforms with many calling for a boycott of the product.

Commenting on it, Spain’s minister for equality Irene Montero said that it is hard to understand for her who would have agreed to such an idea to use homophobia as a business strategy. “We have a very diverse and tolerant society. I hope that those who are behind these commercials would learn to be too,” she added. Several organizations have slammed the company for perpetuating stereotypes and homophobia. The left-wing party Podemos was quick to highlight that how the advert had followed several homophobic hate crimes lately. The party said that the commercial resulted in several injuries and even murders.

After the uproar, the company said that it was removing the advert. Snickers Spain also apologized for ‘any misunderstanding’ the advert might have created. In a statement, the company said that the intention in the TV advert was to convey that a person’s character can be changed because of hunger. “We wanted to portray it in a very friendly and casual way. It was not at all our intention to stigmatize or offend any person or group,” the statement reads. Mars Wrigley, the parent company of Snickers, too apologized for the advert. A spokesperson of the company said that the advert ‘got it wrong’. Earlier in 2008, the company had to pull an advertisement after accusations that it was offensive to gay people.