Gay Pride rainbow Oreo sparks 20,000 Facebook comments, debate

By Tiffany Hsu

June 26, 2012 10:14 AM PT

It’s not the stack of six crème patties that’s whipped up a frenzy at Oreo’s official Facebook page: It’s that together, they form a rainbow in celebration of gay pride.

The image of the multi-layered Kraft cookie appears above a date – June 25 – and the word “pride.” A caption declares “Proudly support love!” The cookie isn’t available for purchase.

Of the profile’s nearly 27 million fans, more than 154,000 liked the Pride post. Not all the nearly 20,000 comments, however, were quite as supportive.

“Bye Bye OREO!,” wrote user Jeni Friedersdorf. “Why can’t companies stay neutral on such things?” A few quoted the Bible; several swore to boycott the snack.

In response came an outpouring of Oreo love. One user, Matthew Merix, wrote: “Homophobes = tacky. Kraft Foods = progressive. Cookies = AWESOME.” The debate quickly spilled onto the rest of Oreo’s Facebook profile and also onto Twitter.

Hordes of commenters pledged to buy the cookies, marketed through Kraft’s Nabisco brand, to show solidarity. That lead some users to question the company’s motives.

“What’s funny is the fact that people are congratulating ‘Oreo’ for taking this stand and ‘not caring about profits,’ wrote Facebook user Dennis Archer. “This will do nothing but cause an influx of sales, which Nabisco was well aware of.”

Other major companies have also gone public with their backing of the LGBT community. Searching for the word “gay” in Google brings up a scalloped, rainbow-colored ribbon under the search bar.

Many firms and brands, such as Bud Light, Wells Fargo, Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola, sponsored or sent representatives to the equal rights events scheduled around the country this past weekend.

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