The ad, in which two auto mechanics bite into a Snickers bar from either end and inadvertently end up lip to lip, clearly rubbed some people the wrong way. Three gay rights organizations condemned the commercial as homophobic, arguing that the men's reaction (they tear out their chest hair to prove they're really "manly") demeans gay men.
Worse, the groups said, were the alternative endings that Snickers included on its Web site as part of a contest to determine which version would air during the Daytona 500 later this month.
In one ending, one of the characters grabs a wrench to beat the other, who responds by slamming a car hood down on the other guy's head. A second ending shows members of the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears reacting with amusement and disgust to the "kiss."
"I don't know what kind of mind-set it takes to think it's okay to slug another guy because of a mistaken kiss," said Neil G. Giuliano, president of Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which objected to the ad. "It's just unacceptable."
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