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Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

By Jim Edwards | January 6th, 2009 @ 9:15 am

Campbell Soup has placed an ad in gay magazine The Advocate. The ad, which shows two lesbian parents and their son, touts Campbell’s Swanson line of broth.

swanson122208big1.jpgPredictably, the placement has stirred a ludicrous “controversy,” with the right-wing American Family Association accusing the company of embracing the “homosexual agenda.” Campbell has brushed off the criticism.

The ad was created by the magazine’s staff, and has a text-heavy, lopsided feel to prove it. It suggests a recipe for Swanson’s, answering the age-old question, What type of soup do lesbian mommies like best? The answer: Butternut squash bisque with roasted garlic and fresh sage.

The AFA took this position:

Campbell Soup Company embraces homosexual agenda

Campbell Soup Company has openly begun helping homosexual activists push their agenda. Not only did the ads cost Campbell’s a chunk of money, but they also sent a message that homosexual parents constitute a family and are worthy of support. They also gave their approval to the entire homosexual agenda.

It’s worth quoting the AFA spokesperson in full, if only for the news that his name is Randy Sharp:

“When you specifically target a homosexual magazine, then your company is basically endorsing these activities; you’re endorsing the lifestyle,” claims Sharp. “And in one ad, which … clearly shows two lesbians who say they are married, who say they have a son together, … the Campbell Soup Company is saying ‘we approve of homosexual marriage.’ There is no question whatsoever of what the intentions of the company are.”

As these commenters note, Campbell is probably not supporting “the entire homesexual agenda” with just one ad for soup. Rather, it’s taking note of the fact that lesbians buy soup just like everybody else. Campbell’s sells soup. Gay dollars turn out to be indistinguishable from straight ones.

The company isn’t backing down:

“Our position on this is pretty straightforward. Inclusion and diversity play an important role in our business, and that fact is reflected in our marketing plan,” he said. “For more than a century people from all walks for life have enjoyed Campbell’s products, and we will continue to try to communicate in ways that are meaningful and relevant to them.”

Hat tip to BNET Food, which noted this story first.

Tags: Advertisement, Soup, Campbell Soup Co., Campbell, Campbell Soup, Jim Edwards

Jim Edwards, a former managing editor of Adweek, has covered drug marketing at Brandweek for four years, and is a former Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia University's business and journalism schools.

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  • 1

    theCandyStore

    01/06/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    Hmmm...Why is the American Family Association reading the Advocate?

    Go figure. Go Campbell!

  •  
  • 2

    Coach James

    01/06/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    Ah yes, the "right wing" AFA. I just recently started reading BNET. Do you also identify organizations as "left wing"?

  •  
  • 3

    mensoelrey

    01/06/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    Exactly what I was thinking. Tell them to mind their own.

  •  
  • 4

    ljthorsen

    01/06/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    Knowing that Campbell's recognizes the diverse nature of
    today's families makes me more likely to buy from them.

  •  
  • 5

    jules4848

    01/06/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    Go Campbell Go!!! Thank goodness that someone in corporate America has a soul.

  •  
  • 6

    jules4848

    01/06/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    I'm happy to know that there are a handful of people in corporate America who have souls.

    Go Campbell's go!!!

  •  
  • 7

    tamsenr

    01/06/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    As a lesbian mother, my two well-adjusted beautiful children would take offense to a comment that might allude to an opinion we are not a family. We deserve today and will always be worthy of support. Thank you Campbell's.

  •  
  • 8

    lilesj

    01/07/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    Let's not get too carried away praising Campbell's support of the gay agenda.

    I think the author nailed Campbell's "support" with this line:

    "...lesbians buy soup just like everybody else. Campbell???s sells soup. Gay dollars turn out to be indistinguishable from straight ones."

  •  
  • 9

    rortega@...

    01/07/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    Gays are consumers also, number wise a very important
    segment. I think Campbell is just treating them with
    respect, something people like those on AFA need to
    learn.

  •  
  • 10

    maggiebmay

    01/07/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    I think I'll be cracking open a can of tomato soup for lunch today and toasting Campblell for their inclusion of everyone in their ads. As a lesbian with a family, I don't require anyone to "support a gay agenda" - all I need is to be treated like any other consumer would be treated, which effectively means being included in their marketing efforts and not marginalized by being ignored, as if I don't exist. The AFA should spend more time worrying about the demise of their own families and should probably also eat more soup.

  •  
  • 11

    Graphicsman

    01/07/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    @candystore (comment#1) excellent point, like they were looking for an advertiser to "fry".

    Maybe now they fear that eating Campbell's soup might "turn you gay"?

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  • 12

    kebnabi

    01/07/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    How thoughtful of the AFA to take the time to read The Advocate, a publication whose very existence they must oppose. Are they really suggesting that Campbell's run an ad with a traditional mom and pop family in a GLBT publication? That would be a stupid economic move in addition to being offensive to readers.

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  • 13

    SteveLanning

    01/07/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    Agree with Coach James,

    I, too, just started subscribing to BNET. And now I ask BNET, are you going to start identifying left wing groups as left wing?

  •  
  • 14

    cdubsr@...

    01/07/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    Is BNet a "predictably" left wing organization?

  •  
  • 15

    wmenez@...

    01/07/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    AFA, espousing the ideals of hateful, reactionary crankdom since the 1980s...it's not just BNET that identifies AFA as "right wing."

  •  
  • 16

    g-force-d

    01/07/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    Why the fuss. THE AFA has rightly pointed out the facts; Campbells is pushing the gay agenda, giving support to 'normalising' the gay movement and is assisting with the attempt to redefine what constitutes a 'family'. It will, inevitably, loss the support of the traditional family consumer. Well done AFA.

  •  
  • 17

    HealthcareRN

    01/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    Why does BNET refer to the AFA as "right-wing" and call a supposed controversy "ludicrous"? That sounds suspiciously biased. As a regular reader of BNET as both a graduate student and a healthcare manager, I take offense to that approach.
    On a personal level, I am disappointed Campbell's is using a gay couple in an ad. They could have used a group of children, a community group or even a bunch of senior adults in an ad. I do believe they are silently giving approval of homosexuality by specifically targeting a gay couple in a gay magazine, even if they are hiding behind that all-powerful word "diversity". It is one more attempt to portray gay couples as "normal", which Biblically they are not. Will it cause me to boycott Campbell's soup? No. But I will support the AFA in their stand for Biblical principles. America was founded on strong Biblical principles. Watching the news on any given day will reveal we have strayed a bit too far from that foundation. Marriage is and always has been between one man and one woman, ideally with God as their Head. That will not change no matter what they eat for lunch.

  •  
  • 18

    wallstephen

    01/08/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    What's the dilly? Gay's have been dosing themselves with Campbell's sodium ever since Andy Warhol cut the silk screen. AFA is a typo. Its actually the AHA attempting to protect lesbians from an early MI

    If you are going to support Campbell's becuase they are inclusive then please make your primary physician a cardiologist.

    Mmm mmm salt, chicken fat, cooked mechanically separated chicken, monosodium glutamate, sodium phosphates, hypertension, deep vain thrombosis...

  •  
  • 19

    David P Hamilton

    01/09/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    @HealthcareRN: "BNET" isn't calling anyone anything. Jim Edwards, a BNET blogger, is -- and he has every right to do so. Blogging is, by nature, much more conversational in tone and approach than mainstream journalism, and as a result our writers are much freer than, say, newspaper reporters to call things as they see them -- subject, of course, to strictures of accuracy, legality and (relatively) good taste.

    You, of course, also have every right to complain about our bloggers and their posts. I just want you to be able to direct your vitriol appropriately happy.

  •  
  • 20

    janie638

    01/11/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Campbell's Gay Soup Ad Causes Storm in a Bread Bowl

    My hat off to Campbells!!! I can not understand why people are so against gay couples having a family like everybody else. I am Catholic and I don't always agree with the church on certain subjects. I think that as long as two people create a loving and nourishing home why should their sexual preference be consider? How many children have died in heterosexual homes at the hands of their parents? Sex preference should not play a role. Left wing or right wing what does it matter; I think Campbell is addressing the ignorance society seems to dwell in. Whether it is your sexual preference, your race or your the size of you portfolio it all boils down to pure ignorance!!

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