Cadbury’s Creme Egg ad featuring gay couple draws online criticism

The ad was released for the Creme Egg's 50th anniversary.

Cadbury UK, in the first week of January, released a special ad for its Crème Egg brand as it was intended for the egg-shaped chocolate’s 50th anniversary.

Created by agency Elvis and titled “It's the Creme Egg Golden Goobilee!” (As in Golden Jubilee) the ad celebrates the different kinds of people who eat them: lickers, bakers, eggsperts, dippers, discreaters, and sharers.

It was the sharers who fell afoul a few people online. Featuring real-life gay couple Callum Sterling and Dale K Moran, we saw them take a bite while the Crème Egg was held between their mouths as the voiceover says: "Sharers? We are down with that."

Here’s what people online had to say about this ad:

I am not Homophobic but I just think the New Cadbury Egg advert to be shown on ITV is totally unnecessary. Showing two men passionately enjoying a Cream egg that Children love to eat will only confuse children as such a young age. Why?? pic.twitter.com/b7dZ5WTGQa

— Philip Hall (@PhilipH21343285) January 10, 2021

I am not Homophobic but I just think the New Cadbury Egg advert to be shown on ITV is totally unnecessary. Showing two men passionately enjoying a Cream egg that Children love to eat will only confuse children as such a young age. Why?? pic.twitter.com/b7dZ5WTGQa

— Philip Hall (@PhilipH21343285) January 10, 2021

I don’t want to see a heterosexual couple doing it either. Why the hell is it necessary to sexualise an advert for a bloody chocolate egg?

— Explodogmax (@xam459) January 10, 2021

Ok I get that people are being homophobic about the Cadbury creme egg thing, but can we just not have this because it's gross? I do not want to see gooey food being passed between anyone's mouths thankyou pic.twitter.com/Kvqi21LXxL

— Dream Expert (@tealandpurple) January 11, 2021

Let's not sexualise chocolate eh..😂#CREMEEGG pic.twitter.com/rcS1dvLpOW

— ★ (@gowerjack64) January 10, 2021

In a statement emailed to Ad Age, Cadbury said: "Cadbury has always been a progressive brand that spreads a message of inclusion, whether it is through its products or brand campaigns. We are proud of our Golden Goobilee advert which celebrates the many ways that everyone can enjoy a Cadbury Creme Egg. To illustrate this and showcase the joy our products bring, a clip of a real-life couple sharing a Cadbury Creme Egg was included in the advert."

And, on the subject of whether the ad was safe and hygienic in COVID-era Britain, Cadbury responded: "The actors featured in the film were from the same household, so they were egg-static to share a delicious Cadbury Creme Egg together! We also ensured that social distancing and stringent hygiene measures were taken when shooting the new advert."