Over 24,000 people have put their signatures on a petition against the Crème Egg advert by Cadbury. The issue of contention is that the ad features two men kissing each other.

The ad was released by the company in celebration of 50 years of this beloved chocolate treat.

The two men featured in the ad as gay are a real-life gay couple, Callum Sterling and Dale Moran. The pair can be seen sharing a Crème Egg through a kiss.

After the ad, many people applauded Cadbury for its inclusivity. However, there were also 20,000 people trying to get the ad banned.

Apparently, the ad is offensive to Christians.

The petition was posted on CitizenGO, a campaign website that often opposes LGBTQ+ rights and abortions based on its conservative views.

Ad Is "Highly-Charged" And "Sexually Provocative"

The petition claims that the kiss in the ad is a 'highly-charged sexually provocative act' and should therefore be removed from all platforms.

The petition claims that Cadbury is using underhanded means to promote the wrong agenda:

"By choosing to feature a same-sex couple, Cadbury's are clearly hoping to cause controversy and escape criticism, by claiming that any objections must be rooted in 'homophobia,' but members of the LGBT community have also expressed their dislike for this campaign."

The petition also argued that Cadbury's should not be trying to hide under LGBT rights to promote a campaign that sexually objectifies individuals. The petition argued that if the couple were heterosexual, the ad would in all likelihood get banned due to the sexually explicit nature of the kiss.

Also, the petition claims that Cadbury understands the importance of Easter and is therefore intentionally trying to offend the Christian community during the most important feast on their calendar.

The petition also claimed that the ad is also trying to groom children by promoting the highly sexualized content.

Sterling, one of the kissing partners, responded to the backlash on his Instagram account:

"So it's OK when an advert sexualizes a woman… to benefit the male gaze and make other women feel inadequate if they do not live up to this beauty standard."

He went on to say:

"But it's not OK."

He laments that in the year 2021, having a multi-racial, gay couple kissing is such a no-no. He added:

"Does anyone see how ridiculous this is?"

Cadbury's Response

Cadbury has tried to defend its ad saying that it is a "progressive brand that spreads a message of inclusion."

They claimed to be proud of their advert, which demonstrates that everyone can enjoy a Cadbury Crème Egg. That is the reason they chose to include a real-life couple sharing a Cadbury Crème Egg in the ad.

The controversy about this Crème Egg ad is far from over, and it remains to be seen how things will turn out for Cadbury after this ad.