• USA Today, Thursday, January 28, 2010 10:51 AM

Three years after coming under fire from gay activists for a Super Bowl commercial that showed two male mechanics who accidentally kiss, Mars will announce today that it is ready to return to the field, Bruce Horovitz reports.

Carole Walker, the company's vp of integrated marketing, says that the new commercial has been vetted by a panel of 1,000 consumers. There's no kissing whatsoever, and "nothing that the gay community would find offensive."

Instead, it will use a spot featuring octogenarians Abe Vigoda and Betty White to appeal to its 18-to-49, male target. This we gotta see -- particularly since the only details Mars will release is the tagline: "You're not you when you're hungry."

Meanwhile, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation spokesman Richard Ferraro says, "We'll be watching all the ads to make sure gay and lesbian stereotypes are not used."

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