Microsoft’s UK Chief Marketing Officer, Philippa Snare, has questioned the ice-cream company, Ben & Jerry’s, for marketing itself as a supporter of gay marriage – despite the fact that Microsoft has itself featured a same-sex wedding in one of its marketing campaigns.

In 2012, Unilever-owned Ben & Jerry’s teamed up with LGBT advocacy group, Stonewall, to produce a limited-edition flavor called Apple-y Ever After, in support of introducing gay marriage to the UK. The packaging featured same-sex bridegrooms. It has also produced an ‘I Dough’ flavor to highlight marriage inequality in Australia.

Snare was speaking on Tuesday at a panel event at the Advertising Week Europe event in London. She was commenting in response to research carried about by Future Foundation looking at the relationship between brands and consumers.

During the discussion, she was questioning of brands championing causes if there was no clear association between the brand and the cause. As an example, she mentioned Ben & Jerry’s support of gay marriage.

‘Do you think ice-cream has got an interesting voice in gay marriage?’ she asked Jon Goldstone, vice president of brand building for foods and refreshment at Unilever, who was sitting on the same panel event. ‘I find that a bit of a struggle. I don’t understand why Ben & Jerry’s have even gone there.

‘I wouldn’t make a different decision about my ice-cream based on their [Ben & Jerry’s] beliefs.’

She commented that she didn’t see a need for an ‘emotional relationship’ between certain brands and their customers because consumers sometimes just want the service they desire as quickly as possible and at the best price.

She agreed with Future Foundation’s view that some brands prefer to keep a slight emotional distance from their customers.

‘I want my brand to give people the ability to be able to protect their data, to get the most out of what they want to do and feel that they’re in charge of their experiences.’

‘I don’t want an emotional relationship with an insurance company, I want the fastest quote at the best price.

In relation to Microsoft, she commented, ‘Technology is an enabler. In some scenarios, it’s not about the brand, it’s just about getting the service as quickly as possible to people that want it.’

In response to her comments, Goldstone, defended Ben & Jerry’s championing of same-sex marriage, and pointed out that the brand had a history of taking a campaigning stance on issues.

‘It feels really authentic, and it does engage consumers when brands get involved with that sort of campaigning, and it does drive purchase.

‘If you compare the purchase intent for Ben & Jerry’s [after a campaign] with Haagen-Dazs, it’s through the roof.

‘It does matter.’

The debate was streamed live and can be replayed here.

Despite Snare’s comments about Ben & Jerry’s, in early 2013, Deutsch in New York produced an advert for Microsoft to promote Outlook.com. It featured a same-sex marriage, prompting generally positive comments from media commentators at the time.

In the US, Microsoft scored 100% on the most recent Human Rights Campaign’s US-based Corporate Equality Index, indicating a strong commitment to LGBT Equality and Inclusion.

Earlier this month, both Ben & Jerry’s and Microsoft were among 379 businesses – many of them household names – to sign a friend-of-the-court brief to the US Supreme Court in favor of gay marriage.

A study by the US-based Witeck-Combs Communication Agency in 2011 found that nearly half of LGBT respondents polled said they were more likely to consider purchasing a company’s products or services when they see an advertisement that has been clearly tailored to ‘a gay audience with gay imagery and people and speaks to me as a gay person.’

‘I think some people are still cautious in this area for fear of alienating the mainstream,’ Uwern Jong, CEO of LGBTI marketing and media agency, Boutique Marketing, told Gay Star Business.

‘Whilst I understand their concerns, their worries are unfounded. Marketing of any kind has to be emotional to engage any audience. There is no evidence of any negative effects on brands when they create campaigns that show they are inclusive and part of the LGBTI community.

‘On the contrary, it sends out a strong message that it’s a company that cares about these issues. The bottom line? Happier customers and higher profits.’

A Stonewall spokesperson told Gay Star Business, ‘We’re keen to see support for LGBT equality as far and wide as possible, and we’re always thankful to organizations that help us to share this message.’

