Flora puts ‘immediate stop’ to ad comparing coming out as gay to putting a bullet in a parent’s heart

PinkNews logo on a pink background surrounded by illustrated line drawings of a rainbow, pride flag, unicorn and more.

A recent advertisement for margarine giant Flora, which compares coming out to your father to being shot through the heart, has been pulled by Unilever after complaints accusing it of homophobia.

The advert, which features a bullet, made up of the words “uhh dad I’m gay”, flying towards a heart made of china, came under heavy criticism with Twitter users calling it homophobic, vile, and an abomination.

However, a Unilever spokesperson recently released a statement which reads: “This advert was prepared by an external agency in South Africa and was not approved by anyone at Unilever. The advert is offensive and unacceptable and we have put an immediate stop to it.

“Unilever is proud of the support that our brands have given to LGBT people, including our recent campaign for Ben & Jerry’s on equal marriage.”

Lowe and Partners in Johannesburg, reportedly put together the campaign, which also features another controversial advert referencing the Kama Sutra.

Flora is sold in the UK, Czech Republic, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia, and previous advertising campaigns have associated the product with wholesome family values.

Comments (0)

MyPinkNews members are invited to comment on articles to discuss the content we publish, or debate issues more generally. Please familiarise yourself with our community guidelines to ensure that our community remains a safe and inclusive space for all.

Loading Comments