Flora Margare's Anti-Gay Ad Sparks Controversy, Parent Company Unilever Speaks Out | HuffPost Voic

Contents:

• 'UH DAD, I'M GAY': UNILEVER DISTANC SELF OM ‘HOMOPHOBIC’ FLORA ADVERT
• FLORA MARGARE'S ANTI-GAY AD SPARKS CONTROVERSY, PARENT COMPANY UNILEVER SPEAKS OUT
• UNILEVER REMOV FLORA’S ‘DAD I’M GAY’ AD, SAYS DIDN’T APPROVE

'UH DAD, I'M GAY': UNILEVER DISTANC SELF OM ‘HOMOPHOBIC’ FLORA ADVERT

For ee real time breakg news alerts sent straight to your box sign up to our breakg news emailsSign up to our ee breakg news emailsAnglo-Dutch pany Unilever have whdrawn a Flora margare advert South Ai after was nmned as advert seemed to suggt that receivg the news that your child is gay was parable to receivg a bullet to the heart. Imposed on a pk background the mercial featured a bullet wh the words “Uhh Dad I’m Gay” flyg towards a heart ma of and Partners, an advertisg agency based Johannburg are the pany rponsible for the sign of the advert, though was Unilever, the firm that owns Flora that was cricized for the pany’s twter feed apologised for the mpaign, sayg:“This advert was prepared by an external agency South Ai and was not approved by anyone at Unilever.

Stonewall, a UK-based gay rights pany who had earlier scribed the advert as “offensive and napropriate”, said was pleased by the pany’s cisn to whdraw .

FLORA MARGARE'S ANTI-GAY AD SPARKS CONTROVERSY, PARENT COMPANY UNILEVER SPEAKS OUT

Unilever, the multatnal food pany, has been forced to apologise for an advert for Flora margare South Ai that implied learng your child is homosexual is as trmatic as beg shot through the mercial, ma by an agency Johannburg, featur a bullet wh the words: "Uhh dad I'm gay, " hurtlg towards a heart ma of cha. Unilever, which owns Flora, was acced of homophobia.

Eebi McKaiser, an openly gay thor and rad host, tweeted: "Apparently #flora hat me. Unilever is proud of the support that our brands have given to LGBT [lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr] people, cludg our recent mpaign for Ben & Jerry's on equal marriage.

"Last month Ben & Jerry's, a Unilever-owned ice-cream brand, me out support of gay marriage Atralia, renamg s Cookie Dough flavour "I Dough, I Dough" Flora mercial was signed by the Johannburg branch of ternatnal advertisg firm Lowe and Partners, which said was "very sorry". Stonewall, a gay rights group based the UK, nmned the Flora ad as "offensive and appropriate" and weled s whdrawal.

UNILEVER REMOV FLORA’S ‘DAD I’M GAY’ AD, SAYS DIDN’T APPROVE

"Perhaps Flora should have a chat wh their Unilever lleagu, Ben & Jerry's, about how bt to produce gay iendly advertisg f for the 21st century, " 2006 South Ai beme the fifth untry the world, and the first Ai, to allow legal marriag between same-sex upl. But homophobia is wispread wh numero lbians subjected to so-lled "rrective rape" has long promoted s margare as helpg nsumers mata a healthy heart. Anglo-Dutch firm Unilever has e unr fire after an advertisement for South Ai-based Flora margare (owned by Unilever) appears to equate havg a child e out as gay wh beg shot the heart.

The advertisement, reportedly ma by an agency Johannburg, picts a bullet wh the words "Uhh Dad I'm Gay" propelled at a heart ma of cha, wh the phrase "You Need A Strong Heart Today" as the tagle:Lowe and Partners, the ternatnal advertisg firm that reportedly veloped the "You Need A Strong Heart" mpaign, spoke out about the backlash ed by the advert. Margare firm unr fire for homophobic advert that par a son g out to a father beg shot through the heartThe advert picts the words 'uhh dad, I'm gay' the shape of a bulletThe bullet, on pk background, fli through air at a human heart of chaBelow, next to Flora logo, is the tch-le: 'You need a strong heart today'Twter alive wh anger as ers claim ad is homophobicOwner Unilever says ad was ma by external agency and was unapprovedSpokman says: 'It is offensive and unacceptable and we have put an immediate stop to ' Published: 12:01 BST, 2 September 2013 | Updated: 14:26 BST, 3 September 2013 Margare giant Flora has bee embroiled a homophobia row after lnchg an advertisg mpaign that appears to liken a parent's perceived anguish at beg told their child is gay to a bullet through the a pk background, the advert picts the words 'uhh dad, I'm gay' fashned to the shape of a bullet as fli through the air towards a human heart ma of the bottom of the poster, next to Flora's famo logo, appear the words: 'You need a strong heart today. ' Homophobic: On a pk background, the advert picts the words 'uhh dad, I'm gay' fashned to the shape of a bullet as fli through the air towards a human heart ma of cha 'Edgy': The mpaign, by Lowe + Partners Johannburg, also has a siar advert referencg the Kama Sutra Flora, which is owned by nsumer goods firm Unilever, has e unr a barrage of cricism om gay rights groups who claim the advert, which is believed to be om South Ai, is homophobic.

A spokman for gay rights group Stonewall said: 'Many people will clearly fd this advert offensive and appropriate.