Eat Bertolli not That

Pasta makers Barilla are apparently stuck in the 1950s, in a world where all families look exactly the same, modern family doesn’t exist, and gay people are welcome to eat other brands of pasta.  So much so, in fact, that the company chairman Guido Barilla told a radio station:

Ours is a classic family where the woman plays a fundamental role,(if gay people )…like our pasta and our advertising, they’ll eat our pasta. If they don’t like it, then they will not eat it, and they will eat another brand.”

The Chairman didn’t seem to get the memo that a flippant attitude will hurt the company in the long run. Is the attitude both homophobic and slightly sexist? It appears even more so when other companies use the opportunity to say that everyone can enjoy a romantic meal, regardless of your gender or sexual orientation, like Bertolli did.  This ad is from a couple of years ago!

A Bertolli rep told Adweek:

We just wanted to spread the news that Bertolli welcomes everyone, especially those with an empty stomach”

Cheers!