Barilla pasta and gays

• Guido Barilla said he prefers ads featuring %27a classic family%27
• Italian business has 13 brands and sells food to 100 countries
• Episode recalls Chick-fil-A controversy

The president of Italy-based Barilla, the world's largest pasta producer, sparked a boycott of his famed solid Thursday after saying he would not show male lover families in the firm's ads.

"I would never build a spot with a homosexual family," Guido Barilla said on the Italy radio program La Zanzara (The Mosquito), according to Italian news agency ANSA. "Not out of a lack of respect but because I do not see it like they do. (My idea of) family is a classic family where the lady has a fundamental role."

ANSA reported that when the show's hosts noted that gays and lesbians chew pasta, Barilla responded, "That's fine if they enjoy our pasta and our communication, they can feast them. Otherwise, they can eat another pasta."

Barilla, who with his brothers Luca and Paolo represent the fourth generation running the family-owned firm founded in 1877, also said, "I respect everyone who does what they want to do without bothering others," ANSA reported. He said he supporte

Gay Rights Advocates Boycott Barilla After President of Pasta Maker's Remarks

Sept. 26, 2013 — -- The president of Barilla is apologizing for saying that he would never use a gay family in the pasta maker's ads.

Guido Barilla said in an Italian radio interview that his pasta is for the traditional family and said gay people could consume another pasta if they did not like his message.

"We accept his invitation to not eat his pasta," said Aurelio Mancuso, president of gay-rights collective Equality Italia, in a statement in Italian.

Boycotting Twitter users shared the hashtag #boicottabarilla, or "boycott Barilla."

But Barilla quickly walked support his comments.

"With reference to remarks made yesterday to an Italian radio program, I apologize if my words have generated controversy or misunderstanding, or if they hurt someone's sensitivity," Guido Barilla said in a statement. "In the interview I simply wished to underline the primary role the woman plays within the family."

Gay marriage is not legal in Italy.

He added, "For clarity, I would like to point out that:- I have the utmost respect for anyone, without distinc

How Global Food Giant Barilla Became an LGBTQ Ally

The first is a review of Grow Your Circle, an open source database that functions as a handy resource for hiring diverse professionals in the parts of branding and advertising that happen behind the cameras. Fast Corporation staff editor Jeff Beer says the tool was created by Forsman & Bodenfors New York after they tried to place together an all-female show crew for a proposal but had trouble filling every role. It launched in 2018.

Now agencies like 72andSunny and Droga5 as well as a host of independent performance companies use it to “search for and come across underrepresented talent–including those who identify as LGBTQ+, approach from diverse backgrounds, or live with a disability–across production disciplines including clip, digital, and experiential,” says Beer. “Its menus filter talent based on craft, location, or category specialty, and the database is also searchable based on whether it’s a female- or minority-owned business.”

See? Good idea. Especially if people actually use it.

For a great one, check out this story from Bloomberg’s Thomas Buckley on how Barilla dug itself out of a horrific mess of its own makin

Barilla pasta baron's anti-gay comment prompts boycott call

Updated Friday, 6:05 p.m. ET: Guido Barilla, chairman of the world's leading pasta manufacturer, prompted calls for a consumer boycott on Thursday after telling Italian radio his company would never use a gay family in its advertising. 

"I would never do (a commercial) with a homosexual family, not for lack of respect but because we don't agree with them. Ours is a classic family where the female plays a fundamental role," Barilla, 55, said in an interview with Radio 24 on Wednesday. 

Barilla — one of the top known pasta brands around the world — is one of Italy's biggest advertisers, and for many years has used the image of a delighted family living in an idealized version of the Italian countryside, with the slogan: "Where there's Barilla, there's home." 

In the interview, Barilla said he opposed adoption by gay parents, but was in favor of allowing gay marriage, which is not legal in Italy. His comment about advertising was in response to a guide question about whether he would ever feature a gay family in his company's commercials. 

If gays "like our pasta and our advertising, they'll eat our pasta, if the

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