The commercial’s diversity has stirred many customers to call for a boycott.
It’s turkey lurkey time for Tesco.
As part of its #EveryonesWelcome campaign, the British supermarket chain’s new holiday ad prominently features a gay couple.
Called “Turkey, Every Which Way,” the commercial shows a variety of families preparing a festive dinner, including two men with a baby. Looking through the oven door at their cooking bird, one man asks his partner, “You did take the giblets out?” But it’s pretty clear from his partner’s response that he’s not even sure what giblets are.
The commercial, which currently has more than triple the amount of dislikes as likes on YouTube, has come under fire on social media for its promotion of diversity. In what the Evening Standard calls a “racist backlash,” many Tesco customers have called for a boycott of the chain, largely due to the ad’s inclusion of Muslim families.
“Everyone is welcome at Tesco this Christmas and we’re proud to celebrate the many ways our customers come together over the festive season,” responded a representative for Tesco, a past sponsor of London Pride, adding that the campaign “will celebrate the many ways we come together at Christmas, and how food sits at the heart of it all.”
Rival supermarket chain Sainsbury’s featured a lesbian couple in its holiday ad last year.
