Honey Maid redefines "wholesome" for the modern world #thisiswholesome

This is a sweet little campaign. Jumping on the bandwagon with Oreo, Cheerios and others, Honey Maid (Nabisco) is the latest brand to give mainstream validation the kind of family diversity that has become the new normal in the West:



Not exactly Earth-shattering stuff, just keeping up with the times. But that doesn't keep reactionaries like One Million Moms from ordering a boycott:

Right away it shows two men with a baby, followed by other families, and ends with different families pictured including the one with two dads. This commercial not only promotes homosexuality, but then calls the scene in the advertisement wholesome. The ad states, "Everyday wholesome snacks for every wholesome family. This is wholesome." 

One Million Moms stands up for Biblical truth which is very clear in Romans 1:26-27 about this particular type of sexual perversion. 

Honey Maid is also using the hashtag #thisiswholesome. There is concern about the way this ad is pushing the LGBT agenda, but an even greater concern is the way that they are changing the meaning of the word "wholesome."

There are more videos, showcasing the different families:











Oh, the sin! Loving families, showing more similarity than difference in their values.

The product is just a line of packaged, junk snack foods for kids. It's not exactly what I'd call "wholesome".

But the ads? (By Droga5 N.Y.) They're pretty well-intentioned. Nicely done.

One Million Moms against sexualized men

One Million Moms have their hands full these days, as advertisers keen to tap into the demographic of aging, sexually confident, women create "equal opportunity" objectification ads starring men.

Case in point is this Ktaft Zesty Italian campaign (above) which also has a video component:



Of the campaign, they write:

Last week's issue of People Magazine had the most disgusting ad on the inside front cover that we have ever seen Kraft produce. A full 2-page ad features a n*ked man lying on a picnic blanket with only a small portion of the blanket barely covering his g*nitals. It is easy to see what the ad is really selling. A person has to look closely to see the item the company is marketing because the salad dressing bottle is so small next to the male model, picnic basket and other food items. There is also a small Kraft logo in the upper corners with the words "Silverware Optional - Let's Get Zesty." The website getmezesty.com is listed in the bottom corner. 

Kraft has gone too far and will push away loyal, conservative customers with this new ad campaign. Christians will not be able to buy Kraft dressings or any of their products until they clean up their advertising. The consumers they are attempting to attract - women and mothers - are the very ones they are driving away. Who will want Kraft products in their fridge or pantry if this vulgarity is what they represent? 

One Million Moms cannot get over the gall of this company. It is unnecessary for Kraft to use s*x to sell salad dressing! (An asterisk is used to ensure our emails get through to those who have signed up to receive our alerts. Otherwise, referencing specific words would cause our emails to be blocked by some Internet filters.)

This is not the first time that OMM have been upset at "s*x" (even str*ight s*x) in ads. Last August, they called for consumer action against Ragu for showing a boy accidentally walking in on his f*cking parents. And there was that time they complained about the double ent*ndres in this Liquid-Plumr ad:



More recently, the moms tried to rally the troops against Philips Norelco, for the latest in their series of humorous manscaping ads (see the classic one here):



Of this outrage, OMM writes:

The new Norelco commercial goes beyond a close facial shave to body grooming well below the chest and back. This commercial went WAY TOO FAR! During the commercial, it shows a man trimming hair in different areas of his body. Toward the end, it shows him standing with his boxer shorts down with hair falling to the floor as he uses the hair trimmer. It is implied that he is shaving in his private area. The dialogue in the ad is equally offensive. "I'd wink at me; I'd hug me," he says. Then he looks in the mirror, admires himself, and says, "I'd F*** me." The F-word is bleeped out. But then they display their website, www.IdFAQme.com. This is clearly a play on the F-word.

Clearly.

The most interesting thing about One Million Moms, at this point, is that their protests draw positive attention to the campaigns — like a reverse Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.

Me, I just want to note how men's sexuality in advertising is so often displayed in an ironic, goofy and self-aware way, compared to the un-ironic and unaware meat display of many (most?) sexualized ads with women.

"One Million Moms" are against married sex now, too

"That's a weird way to kiss..."

I don't like jarred tomato sauce. Tastes like ketchup.

I do, however, love this ad:



My friends at One Million Moms, however...

In the newest Ragu commercial, a young boy barges into his parents' bedroom without knocking. We don't see what he sees, but the cringe on his face and wide eyes tell us enough. This boy catches his parents in the act and walks away in shock. 

"Parents in bed, but it's just eight o'clock; that's why they taught, you should always knock," a singer tells us. "He needs Ragu, 'cause growin' up's tough. Give him Ragu, he's been through enough." The parents then give him a plateful of spaghetti to calm him down. The Ragu is supposed to make him feel better. It's all part of Ragu's "Long Day of Childhood Calls for America's Favorite Pasta Sauce" campaign. 

This entire ad not only makes someone lose their appetite, but Ragu is also being irresponsible in their new campaign. Instead of being helpful, it is harmful to children in the name of so-called humor. The Ragu commercial is inappropriate and tacky. The commercial has aired during the Olympics when families are likely watching.

I'm not really sure how this ad is "harmful" to kids — seems like pretty good advice to me.

Mike Dwyer, U.S. foods director for Ragu-owner Unilever, told AdAge "We didn't want to come out with another utilitarian food ad."

That's for sure. These ads appeal to me both as a parent and as a former kid. (Note to self — buy lock for bedroom door.)

Check out the other ones in this great campaign by BFG9000:

Oreo does its part in the mainstreaming of gay pride

According to AdFreak's David Griner:

Around 8 p.m. Eastern, Oreo posted a gay-pride-themed picture featuring a six-layer cookie colored like a rainbow, with “June 25” and the word “Pride.” The caption said “Proudly support love!” (The significance of the date is unclear, at least to me. San Francisco’s famous Gay Pride Parade was the 24th, as was the one-year anniversary of New York’s Marriage Equality Act.) 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the tipping point for gay acceptance in the United States is well behind us. Marketers know this, which is why you'll see big suburban, soccer-momin', minivan-drivin',  Fifty-Shades-of Grey-hidden-in-the-bedside-table-readin' brands like JC Penney are standing up to the anti-gay lobbies.

Besides which it's not as if Kraft has anything to fear from "One Million Moms". They already pissed off those fundamentalist astroturfers when they used the colloquial euphemism "shut the front door!" in an Oreo ad last winter.

The response, both positive and negative, has however made the Oreo Facebook page blow up real good...

Although when I visited it, I discovered that this wasn't the first rainbow Oreo:

Is "One Million Moms" a PR agency in disguise?

You know, I'm starting to wonder if this "One Million Moms" organization is really a brilliant PR agency that creates strawman (or rather, straw women) that put their clients' brands in the media, leading to great success.

Seriously, everything they protest turns to gold. Look at Ellen and JC Penney. You cannot buy that kind of media and consumer love.

Their latest coup (if indeed I am correct) is getting the "gay wedding" issue of Archie to completely sell out, by demanding that Toys R Us pull it from their shelves.

I mean, here is a comic book franchise that lost its relevance to pop culture decades ago, when the characters were kidnapped by fundamentalist Al Hartley and turned into my generation's version of Chick Tracts.

Times sure have changed, and now the mainstream series embraces diverse sexuality. And this is there moment.

Here is the press release call-to-arms about the Archie issue:

Toys 'R' Us Selling Same-Sex Marriage 'Archie' Comics 

Select Toys 'R' Us stores are now selling 'Archie' comic books with a same-sex wedding displayed on the front cover. The front cover reads "Just Married" with two men marrying and one is wearing a service uniform. This comic book is being sold in select stores across the country. One example is the Queensbury, NY location in the upstate New York area.
Toys 'R' Us employees do not actually set up the displays; they leave this up to the vendor, but they should be aware of the merchandise being sold in their stores nonetheless. These comic books are sold at the front checkout counters so they are highly visible to employees, managers, customers and children. Unfortunately, children are now being exposed to same-sex marriage in a toy store. This is the last place a parent would expect to be confronted with questions from their children on topics that are too complicated for them to understand. Issues of this nature are being introduced too early and too soon, which is becoming extremely common and unnecessary. 

A trip to the toy store turns into a premature discussion on sexual orientation and is completely uncalled for. Toys 'R' Us should be more responsible in the products they carry. 

TAKE ACTION 

Please send Toys 'R' Us an email letter requesting they remove all the same-sex "Just Married - Archie" comic books immediately from their shelves.

 Now, in case you want to start investing in the next brands to benefit from the OMM treatment, they are demanding to protest Clorox over the threesome implied in the hilarious new Liquid Plumr ad, and Disney/ABC over the "anti-Christian" TV program Good Christian Belles.

Ellen DeGeneres, 1; One Million Moms, 0

From One Million Moms:

Recently JC Penney announced that comedian Ellen Degeneres will be the company's new spokesperson. Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families. More sales will be lost than gained unless they replace their spokesperson quickly. Unless JC Penney decides to be neutral in the culture war then their brand transformation will be unsuccessful. 

Their marketing strategy is to help families shop and receive a good value for their money. Degeneres is not a true representation of the type of families that shop at their store. The majority of JC Penney shoppers will be offended and choose to no longer shop there. The small percentage of customers they are attempting to satisfy will not offset their loss in sales.
JC Penney has made a poor decision and must correct their mistake fast to retain loyal customers and not turn away potential new, conservative shoppers with the company's new vision. 

"Importantly, we share the same fundamental values as Ellen," said Michael Francis, president of J.C. Penney Company in a press statement. "At JC Penney, we couldn't think of a better partner to help us put the fun back into the retail experience. Moving forward, we'll be focused on being in sync with the rhythm of our customers' lives and operating in a 'Fair and Square' manner that is rooted in integrity, simplicity and respect. We're thrilled that she's joining our team to help convey the exciting transformation under way." 

"They have an incredible vision for the future and are completely re-inventing themselves to become America's favorite store," said DeGeneres in a press statement.

By jumping on the pro-gay bandwagon, JC Penney is attempting to gain a new target market and in the process will lose customers with traditional values that have been faithful to them over all these years. 

TAKE ACTION
Make a personal phone call to JC Penney's customer service department. Their numbers are 972-431-8200 (customer service) and 972-431-1000 (corporate headquarters).
Ask JC Penney to replace Ellen Degeneres as their new spokesperson immediately and remain neutral in the culture war. 

"Neutral"? Hilarious! Neutrality would mean accepting that sexual orientation has nothing to do with the issue.

But I love the way OMM quote JC Penney and DeGeneres as if we're supposed to be outraged. JC Penney has made an excellent move in striking up a partnership with a celebrity who gay and straight people alike love for her humour and intellect.

According to Reuters:

"DeGeneres' daytime talk show has more viewers than the American Family Association has moms. Between January 16 and January 22, "Ellen" averaged 3.38 million viewers -- or 2.38 million more people than the AFA has moms."

And then she totally owned them with this statement:

Give it up, one million morons. Your relevance has passed.

F'd Ad Fridays: Tobias Fünke just blue himself at Ben & Jerry's

Just a couple of weeks ago, One Million Moms (part of the American Family Association) was calling for a boycott of Ben & Jerry's for the corrupting influence of their new Schweddy Balls flavour.

But instead of indulging the testicle-obsessed moms with a retraction, B&J (bless their hearts!) are sticking it to them once again. In fact, they're upping the game.

NY Mag reveals the latest in-your-face flavour, above, which is released in honour of Arrested Development's return to TV. If you aren't familiar with the Tobias Fünke character (played by David Cross), he is an analyst/therapist ("Analrapist") who is obsessed with the Blue Man Group and contantly makes Freudian slips that reveal his presumed (but unrealized) homosexuality.

Trust me, this is hilarious. And I'm sure the AFA will think so too.