Miller Brewing Folds Over Folsom Poster

Bowing to pressure from Christian activists, Miller Brewing, the primary sponsor of Folsom Street Fair, has asked fair organizers to remove its logo from their Last Supper poster. Right-wing news outlets and forums like Free Republic ("Miller Supports Gay Sadomasochistic Orgies On San Francisco Streets!") have been humming with "outraged" calls for a boycott of Miller and demands that readers inundate the company with complaining emails.

Miller Brewing's statement:

"While Miller has supported the Folsom Street Fair for several years, we take exception to the poster the organizing committee developed this year. We understand some individuals may find the imagery offensive and we have asked the organizers to remove our logo from the poster effective immediately."

Folsom board of directors president Andy Copper:

"There was no intention to be particularly pro-religion or anti-religion with this poster; the image is intended only to be reminiscent of the 'Last Supper' painting. We hope that people will enjoy the artistry for what it is - nothing more or less. Many people choose to speculate on deeper meanings. The irony is that da Vinci was widely considered to be homosexual. In truth, we are going to produce a series of inspired poster images over the next few years," Copper said. "Next year's poster ad may take inspiration from 'American Gothic' by Grant Wood or Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' or even 'The Sound of Music! I guess it wouldn't be the Folsom Street Fair without offending some extreme members of the global community, though."

At the moment, there is no indication that Miller Brewing intends to withdraw its sponsorhip of the fair, which is a non-profit event that makes sizable donations to LGBT causes every year.

Email or call Miller to support their involvement with LGBT events.

Pat Palechek
Event Marketing
ppalechek@mbco.com
267-395-3619

UPDATE: Post Modern Barney has a great take on gay reaction to the Folsom poster. Recommended.