Campbell's Soup launched its Star Wars themed canned soup with a cute ad of two dads mimicking Darth Vader's line for their toddler. The ad is part of the campaign for the much awaited Star Wars: The Force Awakens set for release in December.
"Cooper, I am your father" "No, no, no, I am your father," Larry Sullivan and David Monahan say as they take turns feeding their son. The real-life married couple are professional actors who have been together for over ten years and, yes, the adorable Cooper is really their son. Their ad is also a part of Campbell's campaign "Made for Real, Real Life," which is the company's effort to represent modern American families at its most authentic.
"We wanted to show actual families, which means families of different configurations, cultures, races and life choices," Vice President for Marketing Activation Yin Woon Rani said in a statement on Campbell's soup company website. Campbell's other ads under the "Made for Real, Real Life" campaign are also presented in humorous ways, though this is the first commercial under the campaign that has Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning and Asexual/Allies (LGBTQA+) representation.
The company, along with its creative agency, BBDO New York, cast real families to add a sense of authenticity in the interaction.
Unsurprisingly, Campbell's received flak for the ad and how it is "normalizing sin." This criticism came from the group "One Million Moms," a division of the American Family Association. The group is also responsible for complaints against Chobani for featuring a same-sex couple and the American Broadcasting Company's (ABC) "The Muppets," for its "perverted nature."
The group also threatened to boycott JCPenney in 2012 when Ellen DeGeneres was hired to be its spokesperson.
It's one battle for Campbell's Soup Company and just another day for the LGBTQA+ community.
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