Anyone targeted by the ultraconservative U.S. group “One Million Moms” usually finds themselves in influential company. Whether it’s drag queens in Super Bowl adverts, a transgender woman in a soap-commercial, or TV shows featuring queer characters, the Christian fundamentalist faction — which, despite its name, is largely steered by activist Monica Cole and the infamous evangelical American Family Association (AFA) — casts every turn of the wrist or rainbow flag as evidence of the collapse of Western civilization.
“One Million Moms” outraged by homoerotic craving
Their moral radar has sounded again. This time the offense is an advertisement for salty cheese crackers. At the center of the uproar is the spot titled “The Boyfriend” from Cheez-It’s current ad campaign. The campaign motto reads: “Cravings Can Happen Anywhere.”
In the 30-second spot, a young woman introduces her new boyfriend to her father for the first time. But the boyfriend is seized by an insatiable craving — because, in the father’s imagination, a golden-brown Cheez-It cracker hovers in front of his face. Completely mesmerized, the fiancé leans forward, murmuring, “Oh wow. You’re even tastier and saltier in real life” — and reaches out to grab the cracker. For a moment it seems as if the future son-in-law intends to kiss the startled father on the lips, before the scene cuts away and the man savors the cracker as the father and daughter stand stunned.
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“Sensual message between two men”
What the creative team at FCB New York conceived as harmless slapstick has sent the “One Million Moms” into a frenzy. On their website the group launched a petition calling for the ad to be pulled from U.S. television immediately. In their statement, they fume: “Unfortunately, the campaign’s theme includes explicit sexual innuendo with a highly sensual message between two men.”
The group fears that children will now start kissing their future fathers-in-law: “Apparently Cheez-It executives don’t care how harmful and destructive such advertising is for children. Everyone knows that kids imitate what they hear and see,” the release adds. It would, they warn, “stick a knife in the back of families.”
A Paper Tiger with Tradition
Among queer communities and in U.S. media, the latest boycott call mostly evokes amusement. “One Million Moms” has, for years, been known for loud campaigns against queer visibility and progressive pop culture — often with little to show in terms of real impact. Civil rights groups like GLAAD have long pointed out that the supposed mass movement is largely a paper tiger, built on a steady stream of outrage that funds fundamentalist umbrella groups through donations.
But there’s a real fear that the new conservative wave sweeping the United States could lead to broader state censorship. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has discussed requiring warnings for queer content on broadcasts and even threatened to revoke licenses for showing “woke” content. Such moves would mark a notable expansion of government control over media and public culture.
