Magnum has been forced to apologise after its advertisement was branded offensive for comparing the “guilty pleasure” of eating an ice cream to gay people being imprisoned.
In the ad, heard by listeners on Spotify, a man talks about not being able to hug his partner for fear of being imprisoned, Pink News reported.
He tells the listener: “A hug for my boyfriend. That’s my guilty pleasure.
“Because in my country, just a simple hug with the man I love could send me to
prison for more than 10 years.“
A Magnum spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “Magnum has a history of championing LGBTQ+ rights and Pride Month is a moment when lots of us celebrate progress.
“We’re sorry for any offence caused by the advert, which aimed to bring awareness to the injustices people still face around the world.”
The advert provoked widespread criticism from listeners.@MagnumIceCream your advert comparing the potential to be killed if you're gay to the guilty pleasure of eating a magnum is disgusting, racist and homophobic. Please withdraw it immediately.— nell blane (@firegoat67) August 5, 2019The @MagnumIceCream ad on @Spotify is 😳 Talking about LGBT people hugging/kissing as a guilty pleasure in countries where it is illegal so buy a Magnum? I thought it was an awareness campaign or call to action on LGBT rights. No. Buy the guilty pleasure that is Magnum ice cream pic.twitter.com/8tShXpRgFl— Lara 'Uppity' M (@BlewishAnd) August 5, 2019An ad for #Magnum ice cream bars just popped up on my #Spotify and it is the cringiest/funniest gay baiting ad ever. A foreign accented man laments how dangerous it is to hug his boyfriend in his country, but he won't get arrested for eating a Magnum! pic.twitter.com/S6WdzW9p51— Christa Blackmon (@TheOdalisque) August 2, 2019In a statement released to The Daily Star on Thursday, a Magnum spokesman said they “wanted to remind people that what is considered a guilty pleasure isn’t always what you would expect”.
A recent Stonewall report revealed that one in five LGBT people in
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