"Not That There's Anything Wrong With" Mr. Sub's Gay-Dad Ads

Mr. Sub should have talked to Snickers. He might have learned: if your brand is not directly tied to or targeting the gay community, it's best to avoid gay jokes in your advertising.

Instead, the Canadian sandwich restaurant brand got a tough lesson. To highlight Mr. Sub's reliability -- "not everyone likes surprises" -- they ran an ad in which a father cheerfully informs his wife and numerous small children that he's "super, super gay."

Mr. Sub pulled the ad and fired the its agency, BOS, who defended the ad in terms that echoed an infamous Seinfeld episode: “Nor did we mean to imply that it was a bad thing. In fact, we were very careful to downplay the reactions of the family members so the father’s announcement would not be perceived as being catastrophic.”

Oh, OK: Not that there's anything wrong with that -- but not everyone likes surprises.

One would think by now that brand professionals would be able to immediately spot offensive material and go with something else. On the other hand, maybe it's a hard lesson after all. Snickers had to learn it twice.