GLAAD CALLS OUT RAINBOW WAVE AT SUPER BOWL LIV AND CLAIMS VICTORY AGAINST AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION ONE MILLION MOMS ANTI-LGBT PROJECT

At least six LGBTQ-inclusive ads from Pop Tarts, Sabra, TurboTax, Doritos, Olay, and Amazon Alexa set to air during the Super Bowl as out Offensive Assistant Coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Katie Sowers, readies to take the field

GLAAD Launches Petition for Monica Cole and the American Family Association’s ‘One Million Moms’ Project to Call it Quits

New York, NY – January 30, 2020 – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, today celebrated an unprecedented level of LGBTQ inclusion scheduled for the broadcast of Super Bowl LIV on FOX. At least six LGBTQ-inclusive ads will air and Katie Sowers, the trailblazing gay Offensive Assistant Coach of the 49ers, is set to take the field. 

LGBTQ-inclusive ads are below and in GLAAD’s twitter thread: https://twitter.com/glaad/status/1222993131861422099

GLAAD also launched a petition today calling on the American Family Association’s ‘One Million Moms’ (OMM) project, and its executive director, Monica Cole, to call it quits after the AFA project spoke out against just one of this year’s LGBTQ-inclusive ads. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the American Family Association as a designated hate group for its anti-LGBTQ activism. The AFA’s OMM project counts under 5,000 followers on Twitter and has a long list of failed online actions against LGBTQ-inclusive brands including Disney, Mattel, P&G, and more. The AFA’s OMM project most recently spoke out against a Burger King ad that included the word ‘damn.’ 

GLAAD’s petition available here: http://glaad.nationbuilder.com/onemillionmoms

At least six LGBTQ inclusive ads are set to air during Sunday’s broadcast including appearances by: 

• Pop Tarts: Jonathan Van Ness, nonbinary star of Netflix’s Queer Eye 
• Sabra: Drag queens Kim Chi and Miz Cracker, former contestants on VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race
• TurboTax: Transgender actresses Trace Lysette (Transparent, Hustlers) and Isis King (When They See Us), as well as other LGBTQ members of the ballroom community
• Doritos: Lil Nas X, out Grammy Award winner
• Olay: bisexual Lilly Singh, host of NBC’s A Lilly Late with Lilly Singh, and the host of the GLAAD Media Awards in New York on March 19 
• Amazon Alexa: Ellen DeGeneres and wife, actress Portia de Rossi 

“Leading brands have learned that fringe anti-LGBTQ organizations like Monica Cole and her American Family Association so-called One Million Moms project, are not a reflection of where Americans are,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “The level of diverse LGBTQ inclusion from at least five advertisers during advertising’s biggest night, coupled with Katie Sowers’ trailblazing role as Offensive Assistant Coach of the 49ers, mark a rainbow wave at the Super Bowl this year. We can’t wait for American families to see and cheer on LGBTQ icons like Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Lil Nas X, Lilly Singh, Trace Lysette, Isis King, Jonathan Van Ness, Miz Cracker, and Kim Chi – it’s about time.” 

GLAAD advocates for brands and companies to include LGBTQ people and families across advertising media. GLAAD also tracks LGBTQ inclusion in advertising and during major cultural moments like the Super Bowl. 

In 2007, Snickers pulled an ad after it aired during the Super Bowl and depicted two men who accidentally kiss, and then become disgusted. An alternative version of the ad had the men begin to beat each other. 

In 2014, Coca-Cola was celebrated for an ad featuring a diverse collection of American families, including a family with two dads. LGBTQ celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres and Neil Patrick Harris have also appeared in Super Bowl ads over the years. DeGeneres appeared in a Beats Music ad in 2014 and Harris appeared in an ad for Heineken Light in 2017, as well as a CBS teaser ad for the Super Bowl in 2013. 

Monica Cole and the American Family Association’s ‘One Million Moms’ project claims their mission is to “stop the exploitation of children,” however nearly all of their public work and actions center on targeting brands/networks that include LGBTQ people in programming or ads. Last night, the AFA OMM project spoke out about one Super Bowl ad. Over the past year, the AFA’s OMM project failed numerous times after speaking out against many leading brands for including LGBTQ people in advertising and programming. 

In December 2019, the AFA’s OMM project spoke out against ads from Zola, which featured a same-sex couple on their wedding day, on the Hallmark Channel. After The Hallmark Channel pulled the ads, GLAAD and many in the LGBTQ community responded. GLAAD worked with the Hallmark Channel to educate them on the AFA’s OMM project and the decision to pull the ads was shortly reversed. 

Super Bowl LIV airs at 6:30pm ET this Sunday, February 2 on FOX.

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