Bayer Pulls Inappropriate Ad Less Than One Day After AFA/OneMillionMoms Call for Action

TUPELO, Miss.—Fewer than 24 hours after making an online plea to its friends and supporters to contact Bayer about an impropriate ad, American Family Association (AFA, www.afa.net) and OneMillionMoms.com (www.onemillionmoms.com) has heard back from the pharmaceutical company, which has immediately pulled the commercial.

On Wednesday, OneMillionMoms and AFA posted an alert about Bayer’s ad, which featured Bayer’s Lotrimin product, clearly implied masturbation and aired early in the evening when children were likely watching television with their families.

Bayer’s statement today said the ad was intended to use surprise and humor to dramatize the issues of Athlete’s Foot, but, wrote Anne Coiley, director of global communications for Bayer HealthCare, LLC, “we completely understand that the use of surprise and humor in this commercial did not appeal to some viewers. Please be assured we do not want to offend our valued customers, and so the commercial has been discontinued.”

“We applaud Bayer for making the right call to pull this ad so quickly, and we appreciate Bayer’s listening to the many families it serves” said AFA President Tim Wildmon.

OneMillionMoms Director Monica Cole added, “We thank all those who took time from their day to inundate Bayer with phone calls, emails and Facebook posts to let them know that the American public desires family-friendly advertising.”

After OneMillionMoms issued its alert, concerned Americans mobilized immediately, flooding Bayer with requests to pull the inappropriate commercial. Wildmon added that the company’s immediate response reflects the impact individuals can have when they make their voices heard.