This archive report was first published on 16 December 2019.
On Sunday, Hallmark Cards, the parent company of Hallmark Channel, reversed its decision to pull four television ads featuring same-sex couples after facing days of backlash from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.
According to a statement from Mike Perry, the president and CEO of Hallmark Cards, the company had been 'agonizing over this decision' and realized it was the wrong one. 'Our mission is rooted in helping all people connect, celebrate traditions and be inspired to capture meaningful moments in their lives,' he said. 'Anything that detracts from this purpose is not who we are.'
Hallmark said it would work with GLAAD, a national LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization, to 'better represent the LGBTQ+ community across our portfolio of brands.' The company also planned to contact Zola, a wedding website service, to 're-establish our partnership and reinstate the commercials.'
One of the six ads pulled by Hallmark featured a same-sex female couple celebrating their marriage. The ads were first aired on December 2, and most of them featured a mix of same-sex and heterosexual couples. The channel pulled the ads after a targeted campaign by a conservative group, One Million Moms.
However, the decision sparked outrage from the LGBTQ+ community, with many calling for a boycott of Hallmark Channel. By Sunday, the hashtags #boycotthallmark and #BoycottHallmarkChannel were trending on Twitter, with thousands of posts from users identifying themselves as LGBTQ+ families, allies, and Hallmark viewers.
GLAAD's president and CEO, Sarah Kate Ellis, welcomed Hallmark's decision, saying it 'sends an important message to LGBTQ+ people and represents a major loss for fringe organizations like One Million Moms.'
