The advert initially launched during the Super Bowl. (Volkswagen USA/YouTube)
Homophobes are once again raging over a minor moment of LGBTQ+ representation. This time, it’s after a new car advert showed lesbian newlyweds for a literal second.
Anti-LGBTQ+ Christian organisation One Million Moms (OMM) has rejected the Volkswagen advert after it showed a lesbian couple. The pair left their wedding hand-in-hand before jumping into the vehicle — which said “Just Married” — and shared a kiss before driving off into the sunset.
Volkswagen’s advert was originally released during the 2024 Super Bowl, and showed the development of the company’s vehicles from 1949 to today. In its statement against the car brand, OMM said that the car giant should be “shamed of attempting to normalise sin” and “pushing away conservative customers”. They even dubbed homosexuality as “unnatural”, despite scientists debunking this with historical sightings of gay animals in the wild.
However, the organisation failed to recognise that another scene in the advert depicts five children dressed up as Darth Vader — the Star Wars villain who famously kills young children, tortures a princess, and kills countless innocent characters as collateral damage.
The 29 February statement read: “Volkswagen is using its ad to subject families to the decay of cultural morals and values while belittling the sanctity of marriage and attempting to redefine family.
“Even though homosexuality is unnatural, this advertisement is pushing the LGBTQ agenda. An even greater concern is that the controversial commercial is airing when children are likely to watch television.” OMM also claimed the ad has also been targeted at “unsuspecting young audiences” watching Disney+.
They cited Romans 1:26-27, a New Testament Bible verse which says: “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another”.
OMM — a sister organisation of the anti-LGBTQ+ American Family Association — then encouraged its followers to sign a petition demanding the company remove the progressive advert. They claimed they have already garnered over 13,000 signatures to date.
PinkNews has contacted a representative of Volkswagen for a comment on the matter.
The backlash from queer-critical activists comes amid a wave of boycotts and negative reactions to companies including LGBTQ+ people in their marketing.
In April, trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney partnered with Nike, where she wore Nike Women’s leggings and a sports bra in just one paid partnership Instagram post. Both the TikToker and the brand faced vile backlash for the collaboration.
Nike, however, doubled down in the face of the fallout and backed the LGBTQ+ community.