[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/zola-unsure-it-will-run-ads-on-hallmark-channel-following-same-sex-wedding-commercial-controversy\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/zola-unsure-it-will-run-ads-on-hallmark-channel-following-same-sex-wedding-commercial-controversy\/","headline":"Zola unsure it will run ads on Hallmark Channel following same-sex wedding commercial controversy","name":"Zola unsure it will run ads on Hallmark Channel following same-sex wedding commercial controversy","description":"The company whose same-sex wedding commercials were abruptly pulled from the Hallmark Channel for being \u201ctoo controversial\u201d is not sure it will advertise with the network again despite an apology and promise to reinstate the ads.","datePublished":"2019-12-18","dateModified":"2019-12-18","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/dyanabagby\/#Person","name":"Dyana Bagby","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/dyanabagby\/","identifier":6804,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6113dc70f8e9f2874f060d5614918858f6d7357006a1352bd763ab372ca336f9?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6113dc70f8e9f2874f060d5614918858f6d7357006a1352bd763ab372ca336f9?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/hallmark-channel-zola-same-sex-wedding-commercial.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/hallmark-channel-zola-same-sex-wedding-commercial.jpg","height":1000,"width":1617},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/zola-unsure-it-will-run-ads-on-hallmark-channel-following-same-sex-wedding-commercial-controversy\/","about":["Marriage Equality News","News"],"wordCount":717,"keywords":[" two brides","Hallmark Channel","same-sex wedding","Zola"],"articleBody":"The company whose same-sex wedding commercials were abruptly pulled from the Hallmark Channel for being \u201ctoo controversial\u201d is not sure it will advertise with the network again despite an apology and promise to reinstate the ads.Zola Chief Marketing Officer Mike Chi told Fast Company in an interview this week that it would take more than an apology for his company to spend money again with the Hallmark Channel. He noted Hallmark\u2019s regret to pulling the ads came only after massive public backlash.\u201cFor us to air on the Hallmark Channel, we\u2019d have to have assurances that both our ads and other advertisers\u2019 content wasn\u2019t being censored, and they weren\u2019t trying to narrow the representation of what they\u2019re showing on their commercials,\u201d Chi told Fast Company, a business magazine and website.\u201cI think it would take more than a \u2018Hey, we\u2019re just going to run these four ads because we got in trouble\u2019 for us to go back on the platform,\u201d Chi said.The Hallmark Channel, which is incredibly popular for its Christmas movies, decided to pull the ads on Dec. 12 after receiving a growing number of complaints, including about an ad featuring two lesbian brides kissing.The complaints were part of a campaign by One Million Moms, a division of the anti-LGBTQ American Family Association, which started a petition that said, in part, \u201cParents need to know they could now come face-to-face with the LGBT agenda when they sit down to watch the Hallmark Channel.\u201dChi told Fast Company that Zola had been running same-sex wedding ads on the Hallmark Channel since 2017 and never had an issue, so the decision to pull their ads was surprising and disappointing.Zola went public with the Hallmark Channel\u2019s decision and the public outcry was massive. Celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres, William Shatner and Chely Wright blasted Hallmark\u2019s decision on social media. Boycotts were threatened by LGBTQ groups and also by advertisers. Three days later, on Dec. 15, the company that owns the Hallmark Channel issued a public apology.\u201cThe Crown Media team has been agonizing over this decision as we\u2019ve seen the hurt it has unintentionally caused,\u201d said Hallmark Cards President and CEO Mike Perry in a written statement.\u201cSaid simply, they believe this was the wrong decision,\u201d Perry added. \u201cOur mission is rooted in helping all people connect, celebrate traditions, and be inspired to capture meaningful moments in their lives. Anything that detracts from this purpose is not who we are. We are truly sorry\u00a0 for the hurt and disappointment this has caused.\u201dPerry said in the statement that the company would be working with GLAAD \u201cto better represent the LGBTQ community across our portfolio of brands.\u201dHe also said the Hallmark Channel would be reaching out to Zola to \u201creestablish our partnership and reinstate the commercials.\u201dChi told business magazine Inc. that as of Dec. 16 Zola had not heard from the Hallmark Channel. He also said his company had no plans to advertise with them again until “we understand what the path forward is for them.\u201dGLAAD praised the Hallmark Channel\u2019s decision with the headline on its website, \u201cVictory! The Hallmark Channel will reinstate LGBTQ-inclusive advertisements after GLAAD and the LGBTQ community spoke out.\u201d\u201cThe Hallmark Channel\u2019s decision to correct its mistake sends an important message to LGBTQ people and represents a major loss for fringe organizations, like One Million Moms, whose sole purpose is to hurt families like mine,\u201d GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a written statement.\u201cLGBTQ people are, and will continue to be, a part of advertisements and family programming and that will never change,\u201d she said.One Million Moms, whose Facebook page has just over 98,000 \u201clikes\u201d and whose parent organization AFA is considered a \u201chate group\u201d by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is continuing to fight the Hallmark Channel. The group\u2019s director announced Dec. 16 a boycott of the network. As of early Dec. 18, there were close to 40,000 signers.\u201cOne Million Moms is asking once again for Hallmark to stay true to its family-friendly roots that so many families have grown to love and to keep sex and sexual content\u2014including the promotion of homosexuality\u2014out of its programming,\u201d said One Million Moms Director Monica Cole in a written statement."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Zola unsure it will run ads on Hallmark Channel following same-sex wedding commercial controversy","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/zola-unsure-it-will-run-ads-on-hallmark-channel-following-same-sex-wedding-commercial-controversy\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]