Gay couple to still appear in McCain chips advert after homophobic abuse
McCain Oven Chips has clarified the situation regarding a same-sex couple in their latest TV ad.
Two gay dads faced a torrent of online abuse after they appeared on an advert with their baby.
Lee and Mat Samuels-Camozzi were subject to a number of horrific slurs on social media after appearing in the McCain chips advert with their young son Carter.
People compared the two to paedophiles, labelled them as sick and accused them of neglecting their 19-month-old son Carter for not having a mother present in his life.
Last week the couple said they had received dozens of abusive comments on social media, including one person who called them “sick”.
It was reported by the Guardian that the couple had been edited out of a new, shorter version of the advert.
However a spokesperson for the oven chips company has told PinkNews that this won’t be the case.
The original 60-second version of the advert will soon finish broadcasting, after which two 30-second editions of the advert will air.
The gay dads are due to appear in one of the two shorter clips.
McCain also said the decision regarding the shorter ads was taken before the longer advert had aired, and was not affected by the online abuse.
A McCain’s spokesperson said: “Our campaign is all about celebrating the diversity of family life and not everybody’s a normal family.”
The couple from Cheshire told the Daily Record that they were horrified and saddened by the vicious attacks directed at them online.
Lee, 35 and a customer relations manager, said that they had received dozens of hateful comments.
“One of the most hurtful compared us to perverts, saying ‘Whatever next, society accepting paedophiles?’ We are shocked this kind of attitude exists in the 21st century. We’re proud of our little family and we have nothing to be ashamed of.”
In the advert the voiceover goes: “When it comes to family, what’s normal? Normal isn’t normal.”
It continues: “Grans who put you to bed and tell you not to believe in ghosts. Or maybe it’s dad who tucks you up. Dad. Daddy. Two daddies. Long-distance daddies.”
The chips brand previously hit back at the homophobic haters.
McCain marketing director Mark Hodge told the BBC: “We have received overwhelming support for the campaign, but we are disappointed that there’s a minority of individuals who have been verbally abusive to the real families that feature in our advertising.”
It added that the ad campaign was intended”to shine a light on and celebrate families of all shapes and sizes… and celebrate the diversity of UK families”.
Update:
This article was updated on 2 October, as it originally claimed the couple would not be included in a shorter version of the advert following comment by McCain spokesperson, which was later clarified.
