Heinz has issued an apology after an advert on the London Underground sparked widespread outrage.
The advert - which appears at Vauxhall and Manor House stations - features a bride spilling red sauce on her white wedding dress as she happily tucks into a plate of pasta.
She is seated beside four people who appear to be her new husband, a Black woman who is thought to be her mother, and a man and woman who are both white and have been interpreted as the groom’s parents.
The advert has been met with mass criticism on social media, where users accused it of perpetuating “stereotypes” about absent Black fathers.
In a post that has gained thousands of likes on X, writer Nels Abbey shared a photo of the advert, writing: “Believe it or not, Black girls have dads too.”
Alison Kriel commented: “Really triggered by the same poster at Manor House. Absolutely outrageous @HeinzUK.”
Another user wrote: “Yet more erasure and stereotypes. I know more black people with present dads than without. Absentee fathers exist but they are not the majority or the single story or our community. Shame on @HeinzUK.”
“Total erasure of Black fathers by such a mainstream brand is shocking,” wrote another X user. “How did this get approved?” Another user accused Heinz of being “pathetic”.
The advert is one in a series of adverts marketing the food manufacturer’s family-size pasta sauces that have appeared around the Tube network.
In response to the criticism, Heinz told the Independent: “We always appreciate members of the public’s perspective on our campaigns. We understand how this ad could have unintentionally perpetuated negative stereotypes.
“We extend our deepest apologies and will continue to listen, learn and improve to avoid this happening again in the future.”
Meanwhile other X users offered different readings of the advert, with some suggesting the man on the far left of the advert could be the bride’s father.
Craig Wilkinson wrote: “Traditional wedding seating arrangements would mean that the father of the groom is missing not the father of the bride, he is right there on the very left.”
“It’s the grooms father that is missing,” echoed another X user.
Others pointed to wording at the bottom of the poster which says the image was “based on a true story”.
