When a brand talks, the world listens – then it’s up to that world to decide if the brand lines up with their values and whether or not they’re going to do something about it. Marriage equality and LGBT rights have been major sources of brand controversy these days, incurring equal parts support and wrath from opinionated consumers on both sides of the fence: for every JCPenney, there’s a Chick-Fil-A. This week, Oreo used social media outlets Facebook and Twitter to take a stand on the matter in time for Pride Month. With a minimalist rainbow-colored image and a simple message – Pride – the brand spoke volumes, and its audience of millions spoke back.

On Twitter, Oreo dispatched the image (along with the text “celebrate your pride for love!”) to its 43,000+ followers. 553 followers marked the tweet as a favorite, while 1,719 more retweeted it, including some familiar faces:

Meanwhile things got heated on Facebook, where Oreo’s official page has over 26 million likes and commenters are more able to engage in conversation rather than tweeting into the void. Some voiced anger or disappointment over Oreo’s choice:

Consumers whose values don’t align with Oreo called for a boycott against the cookie brand and its parent company Kraft (Buzzfeed managed to collect a massive amount of screen caps from Facebook denizens raging out and vowing to forgo the sweet siren song of cookies and crème). But we have a feeling that no one is crying themselves to sleep tonight over lost profits – for every consumer lost, more supporters jumped on board to voice their appreciation for Oreo’s stance and affirm that they’ll be writing out their shopping lists accordingly:

According to Huffington Post, a spokesperson for Kraft told the publication’s UK outlet that the decision to post the image was in fact pretty simple: "In recognition of Pride Month, Oreo created an ad depicting the rainbow flag with different colors of Oreo crème. We are excited to illustrate what is making history today in a fun and playful way. As a company, Kraft Foods has a proud history of celebrating diversity and inclusiveness. We feel the Oreo ad is a fun reflection of our values."

So basically if you’re against Oreo, you’re against fun. Who wants to be against cookies and fun?

[SOURCE: Huffington Post; Buzzfeed]