Inclusive Doritos Ad Prompts Some in Israel to Call for Boycott

An inclusive Doritos ad posted to social media in advance of "Family Day" in Israel has sparked outrage among religious conservatives, with some calling for a boycott and others chiding the company for not staying in its snack food lane, The Times of Israel reported.

"The ad was posted last week on Doritos' Hebrew-language social media accounts ahead of Family Day, or Yom HaMishpacha, which will be marked this Tuesday," the Feb. 1 article said.

"The holiday began in Israel as Mother's Day, but was later expanded to honor the contribution of all parents in raising a family."

The inclusive ad shows couples in which one is religious and the other is not, as well as a same-sex female couple with a young child and a single father with two children.

According to The Times, the ad's voiceover notes that "there are some families that do choose to be families. There are families created by the complex reality."

In what might be a reference to surrogacy, the ad also shows a same-sex male couple with a young child as the narrator explains, "There are families that traveled to the other side of the world on the path to family."

"There are many families and they are all special," the narration adds as the ad draws to a close, "and even if it takes courage to dare in all choices, all families deserve to be families."

But not everyone agrees with the sentiment.

"It is forbidden to recognize those who live like this as a family," declared Rabbi Baruch Efrati of the West Bank settlement Efrat, who called the ad "evil."

Meanwhile, The Times relayed, "The editor of the religious Zionist B'Sheva weekly said snack manufacturers should not weigh in on 'controversial moral issues.'"

A tweet from that editor, Emanuel Shilo, declared, "Judaism only recognizes a family with a man and a woman."

"I won't get involved in the life of someone who chooses to live differently," the tweet added, "but I won't give my money to a company that uses it to harm my values, Jewish family values."

The deputy mayor of Jerusalem, Aryeh King, who is a fringe-right politician, called for consumers to avoid buying the company's goods, declaring, "For the sake of the mental and spiritual health of the coming generations, we must boycott Doritos, which is trying to influence the natural family group," The Times reported.

Doritos, however, is holding firm. The Times said that the company has no "plan to remove or change the ad."

"We respect all views, beliefs and the diversity of Israeli society and have no intention to harm any group," Doritos stated.

The company has made headlines before with its inclusive advertising in international markets. Last year saw the debut of a moving ad – based on a true story – of a father coming to terms with his gay son coming home from college with a special friend in tow and offering the young man acceptance and love.

Last fall, the company released another ad in Mexico for the country's celebration of "The Day of the Dead," in which a family making a pilgrimage to a grandfather's grave are startled to see the departed patriarch's ghost – along with a male companion he has met in the afterlife.

Watch the video, which is in Hebrew, below.