Hallmark Channel is facing criticism on multiple fronts over an advertisement featuring a lesbian couple on their wedding day.
The ad is for Zola.com, a wedding planning and registry company, and shows two women exchanging vows and later kissing to celebrate their nuptials. It was one of six commercials for the website that Hallmark began airing on December 2.
Conservative group One Million Moms took aim at Hallmark for airing the ad, which it said was not “family friendly.” The group launched a petition earlier this week, pressing the cable network to pull the commercial and other LGBTQ content.
Hallmark bowed to the group’s complaints and stopped airing the ad, saying it violated the cable network’s policies. In a statement issued to the New York Times, a spokesperson for Hallmark insisted the public display of affection violated the cable channel’s standards.
Meanwhile, Zola stated that its same-sex commercial was intended to be inclusive, and the company vowed to continue to feature “all kinds” of couples in its advertising.
https://deadline.com/2019/12/hallma...-featuring-lesbian-brides-kissing-1202809545/
Could other advertisers flee the channel? Could it hurt the channel's ratings? Could the channel get dropped by cable/satellite providers?