• Associated Press via MSNBC.com, Wednesday, February 7, 2007 11:45 AM

A Snickers ad launched during the Super Bowl broadcast has been pulled after complaints that it is homophobic. The spot had two mechanics accidentally kissing while eating the same candy bar -- and then ripping out chest hair to shown they were "manly." The Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation complained to the Snickers parent, Masterfoods USA, a division of Mars Inc.

An ad on the Web site also had video of players from the Super Bowl teams reacting to the kiss. "This type of jeering from professional sports figures at the sight of two men kissing fuels the kind of anti-gay bullying that haunts countless gay and lesbian school children on playgrounds all across the country," says Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese.

A spokeswoman for Masterfoods confirms the company would stop running the ad on television and the Web site: "As with all of our Snickers advertising, our goal was to capture the attention of our core Snickers consumer," she says.

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