Snickers ad accused of prejudice

A commercial for Snickers candy bars launched during the Super Bowl broadcast was benched after its maker received complaints that it was homophobic.

The ad showed two auto mechanics accidentally kissing while eating the same candy bar and then ripping out some chest hair to do something “manly.”

One of the alternate endings on the Snickers Web site showed the men attacking each other.

The Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation complained to the maker of Snickers, Hackettstown, N.J.-based Masterfoods USA, a division of Mars Inc., which also makes M&M’s and other candies.

The Web site also featured video of players from the Super Bowl teams reacting to the kiss.

“This type of jeering from professional sports figures at the sight of two men kissing fuels the kind of anti-gay bullying that haunts countless gay and lesbian school children on playgrounds all across the country,” Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said in a statement.

GLAAD spokesman Marc McCarthy added that his group believed “this kind of prejudice was inexcusable.”

Masterfoods issued a statement saying the company would stop running the ad on television and the Web site.

“Feedback from our target consumers has been positive,” said spokeswoman Alice Nathanson, noting that the ad ranked No. 9 among USA Today’s annual Top 10 Super Bowl commercials.

However, she added: “We know that humor is highly subjective and understand that some people may have found the ad offensive. Clearly that was not our intent.”