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MR. T'S SNICKERS AD PULLED IN UK: Mars scraps spot after receiving complaints in the U.S. that it was homophobic.

(July 31, 2008)

*Candy giant Mars decided to pull its UK TV ad for Snickers after receiving complaints in the U.S. that the spot, featuring Mr. T harassing a male speed walker, was offensive to gays.

The commercial features Mr. T in the back of a flatbed truck barreling through a quiet suburban neighborhood to catch up with the speed walker, a white male dressed in tight yellow shorts.

"Speed walking? I pity you fool. You a disgrace to the man race. It's time to run like a real man," Mr. T yells at the man before shooting Snickers bars at him with a huge machine gun mounted on the truck. The ad closes with Mr. T saying: "Snickers! Get some nuts!"

The commercial, by ad agency AMV BBDO, does not air here in the States, and has barely ruffled feathers in the U.K. The country's Advertising Standards Authority received just two complaints since its debut on July 13 and did not investigate the commercial for a possible breach of the advertising code.

However, the ad caused an uproar on U.S. soil. The Human Rights Campaign criticized Mars for perpetuating "the notion that the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community is a group of second class citizens and that violence against GLBT people is not only acceptable, but humorous".

Mars said that the ad was supposed to be "fun," that it never intended to cause offense and has pulled the campaign.

"This ad is the second in a series of UK Snickers Ads featuring Mr T, which are meant to be fun and have been positively received in the UK," said a Mars rep. "However, we understand that humor is highly subjective, and it is never our intention to cause offense. Accordingly, we have pulled the Mr T Speedwalker ad globally."

Mr. T's Banned UK Snickers Ad