Nestle are now responding to viewer complaints about the Milo “that's not cool' TV advertisement, saying they are “firmly of the view that the advertisement does not have any homophobic connotations”. Jean Weijers is one of several concerned viewers of the ad who contacted GayNZ.com with Nestle's response to their complaints. Weijers wrote to Nestle management: "I have never before felt compelled to write to an advertiser - and are curious as to whether or not others are doing so. “I have seen your new 'that's not cool' TV campaign. In today's day and age I must say that I am appalled that young men should be portrayed as being disgusted by the spontaneous affections of their peers. If this were an ad where he was congratulated by a female he would have been 'stoked'. The fact that he was disgusted by a male hugging him counters so much of what modern society has been trying to achieve in regards attitudes towards all different people. “As a major advertiser of youth issues don't you think you contribute towards adolescent beliefs?” Kathy Cowan, Consumer Services Executive at Nestle, wrote to Weijers and several others about the concerns. “MILO has a strong focus around sport in New Zealand,” says Cowan's response. “The commercial is demonstrating a typical moment in sport in which it is possible to get carried away with the moment. When one boy kisses his friend on the cheek he is demonstrating his enthusiasm for having won the touch game, his friend is taken by surprise as this is not a common gesture in New Zealand sport (unlike what you see in European sporting games). “The reference to 'that is not cool' is in relation to this not being a common gesture during a sporting game in New Zealand. This tagline has also been used in other ads in relation to different sporting situations. “We are firmly of the view that the advertisement does not have any homophobic connotations. We are sorry that you have construed the ad this way, we certainly did not wish to upset anyone with the advertisement,” Cowan concludes. Weijers, who describes herself as one half of a ‘young childless heterosexual couple' now tells GayNZ.com, “This ad breeds discomfort for the thought of us having children in the future. “We believed the ‘macho man' days of suppressed and homophobic emotions were over.” The Advertising Standards Authority say they've also received complaints about the advertisement, which will be addressed at their next board meeting shortly. The advertisement is still playing regularly on nationwide free-to-air television, and still available to view on the Milo website (link is below, it's the second of the two clips in the ‘TV ads' section). Ref: GayNZ.com (m)