Heinz has pulled its Deli Mayo male kiss TV ad after around 200 outraged viewers complained that it was "offensive" and that it inappropriately raised the "difficult subject of same sex relationships".
Yet to watch the light-hearted ad it all seems a like a bit of a storm in a tea cup - begging the question of whether viewers are perhaps not as tolerant as they like to think?
The ad itself features a family going about their daily routine with "mum" replaced by a deli worker with a New York accent.
At the end of the ad "mum" kisses, or rather pecks, the father on the lips.
It couldn't be further from the deliberately feather-ruffling league of, say, a Trevor Beattie FCUK special featuring two women in a violent martial arts fight ending in a "lesbian kiss".
Yet in the space of only a few days the Advertising Standards Authority received close to 200 complaints leading Heinz to apologise and pull what was meant to be a five week campaign.
One theme of the complaints was that it was "unsuitable to be seen by children", from parents uncomfortable about being asked questions about same sex relationships.
Yet the ad had an "ex-kids" rating on it and was not even running in or around children's shows - though by virtue of promoting a product that was high in fat, salt or sugar, not because of the same sex kiss.
The question here is was the ad really offensive and should Heinz have moved to pull it or stuck by their guns?
