The Hallmark Channel gave into pressure from a small conservative group and pulled an ad that showed a same-sex couple getting married. The group, One Million Moms, complained:
“Hallmark Channel has always been known for its family friendly movies. Even its commercials are usually safe for family viewing. But unfortunately, that is not the case anymore.”
While the group doesn’t actually have anywhere near a million members and just got 25,000 people to sign a petition, they got Hallmark to quickly agree to their request to take the ads off the air. The New York Times writes:
Asked to explain why the ads had been rejected, an employee of Hallmark’s parent company said the channel did not accept ads “that are deemed controversial,” according to an email exchange shared with The New York Times. A spokesman for Hallmark said the women’s “public displays of affection” violated the channel’s policies, but he declined to comment on why a nearly identical ad featuring a bride and groom kissing was not rejected.
Buzzfeed reports:
In response, a spokesperson for Zola told BuzzFeed News the company had decided to stop advertising on Hallmark entirely.
“The only difference between the commercials that were flagged and the ones that were approved was that the commercials that did not meet Hallmark’s standards included a lesbian couple kissing,” Mike Chi, Zola’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement.
Well done, @hallmarkchannel! You got #boycotthallmark trending because you caved to "One Million Moms."
FUN FACT: "One Million Moms" added <300 followers in the past 3 years and still doesn't have 4,000 followers. It's probably some dude sitting at a card table in his undies. pic.twitter.com/v7r06Yu0sa
— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) December 15, 2019
The reaction over pulling the ad seems to be louder than the complaints over actually airing it. Now #BoycottHallmark is trending on Twitter.
I married my husband in 2009, and we raised 5 children together. The @hallmarkchannel’s decision to cave to pressure from homophobes is very sad. Until they affirm the equality of LGBTQ families, we will #BoycottHallmark. LOVE MAKES A FAMILY. ❤️ https://t.co/IYmEQiF39Q
— Jon Cooper ?? (@joncoopertweets) December 15, 2019
This is the lovely ad that @HallmarkChannel pulled from their broadcast after conservatives complained. A simple kiss by lesbian newlyweds. Same-sex marriage has been the law of the land for four years. LGBTQ families are beautiful.#BoycottHallmark pic.twitter.com/4UFDiebBVi
— Charlotte Clymer?️? (@cmclymer) December 14, 2019
The commercial is posted above.