Masterfoods shut down the voting on two Web sites late Monday, after fielding complaints from the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Matthew Shepard Foundation that the ad was anti-gay.
Masterfoods said in a statement that the spot, created by TBWA/Chiat/Day, wasn’t meant to be offensive.
“We know that humor is highly subjective and understand that some people may have found the ad offensive,” Masterfoods said. “Clearly that was not our intent. Consequently, we do not plan to continue to air the ad on television or on our Snickers Web site.”
The ad shows two mechanics working on a car engine. One pulls a Snickers bar from his pocket and as he munches on it, the other man chews the bar from the other end until their lips touch. “I think we accidentally kissed,” said one. “Quick! Do something manly!” replied the other, and they both tear out a handful of chest hair.
The tagline sent viewers online to vote for one of four endings, three of them variations on “something manly,” and the fourth featuring a third mechanic who asks, “Is there enough room for three in this love boat?”
The voting took place on a dedicated site, AfterTheKiss.com, and on Snickers’ flagship Web site, SnickersSatisfies.com. Masterfoods wouldn’t say how many votes were cast before the sites closed.
Mars has rerouted AfterTheKiss.com to Snickers.com, and has replaced the vote on SnickersSatisfies.com with a link to an expired NFL instant-win game. That promo, called “You Could Win NFL Prizes Every 60 Minutes,” ended in October.
“We’re in the process of repurposing the site,” said Masterfoods spokesperson Alice Nathanson.
GLAAD said that New York-based TBWA/Chiat/Day asked the advocacy group in early January to preview the ad, then “abruptly withdrew its request” the next day.
GLAAD also objected to video clips on Snickers’ site that showed five Bears and Colts players’ reactions to viewing the TV spot. Reactions ranged from amusement to “overt prejudice,” GLAAD said in a statement. The clips disappeared when Masterfoods shuttered the AfterTheKiss.com site.
Ironically, The Kiss was one of viewers’ favorite spots from the Super Bowl, ranking No. 9 out of the top 10 in a USA Today poll.
“As with all of our Snickers advertising, our goal was to capture the attention of our core Snickers consumer,” the company said in a statement. “Feedback from our target consumers has been positive. In addition, many media and Web site commentators of this year’s Super Bowl commercial line-up ranked the commercial among this year’s top 10 best.”
Fans can still see the original spot on YouTube in at least 15 postings. The inevitable parodies on YouTube include a movie-trailer parody called Brokeback Snickers that uses footage from the spot.
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