Heinz apologises after new advert featuring Black family sparks online backlash

The advert caused outrage online

The advert for their family-sized pasta sauces featured a bride, a Black woman, next to a white man who appears to be the groom.

It then shows two older white people, presumed to be his parents, and one older Black woman, presumed to be the bride's mother.

Social media users have criticised the company for the advert's depiction of the Black family, and accused Heinz of 'erasing' Black fathers.

"‘For my brothers with daughters.’ Because believe it or not, Black girls have Dads too," columnist Nels Abbey wrote on X.

The post has since been seen nearly 500,000 times at the time of writing, with many users taking to the replies section to share their outrage.

One person wrote: "Total erasure of Black fathers by such a mainstream brand is shocking. How did this get approved?"

A second put: "Yes, it’s beautiful the interracial relationship and they wanted to keep five people on the table but the erasure of Black dads is not fair."

"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," a third wrote.

Heinz issued a statement in response to the backlash.

“We always appreciate members of the public’s perspective on our campaigns," they wrote, via The Guardian.

"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.”

Not everyone saw the advert in the same way, with some arguing that traditional seating at weddings means that it shouldn't be interpreted as the bride not having a father.

“Wouldn’t traditional wedding seating mean the bride’s father sits next to the groom’s mother. Meaning the man on the left is the bride’s father and the groom’s father is missing?”