Snorestop Billboard Ad: US Solider Married to Veiled Muslim Woman Raises Eyebrows
A new billboard campaign in Los Angeles is turning heads and creating a stir by depicting a U.S. soldier hugging a veiled woman.
The billboard ad was put up by SnoreStop sleep aids and its purpose is focused on how the product is able to save couples suffering from a partner who snores.
The couples embrace falls between the hashtag #betogether and the slogan "Keeping you together." The veiled woman is also see wearing a wedding ring.
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Local reports stated that the ad campaign was created to showcase real-life Army veteran Jamie Sutton and his wife, Aleah. The company stated that the purpose of the ad was to highlight diversity in American couples as well as generate publicity.
"We want to show couples that you normally don't see in advertising," SnoreStop spokeswoman Melody Devemark told Fox News. "People feel that we are trying to misuse the image of military servicemen. I think they don't understand that there are couples like this that do exist."
There has a been a largely positive response over the ad with comments featured in the trade publication AdWeek calling the "excellent" and "cool."
The ad is also seen as breaking down cultural and social barriers.
"If you have Muslims in an ad for a product that's not about religion or not a PSA, it's a sign that we're accepted as a cultural norm," a spokeswoman for The Council on American-Islamic Relations organization told The Huffington Post.
The company said more billboards are scheduled to be erected in San Diego, Houston, Salt Lake City, New York City and elsewhere across the country.
"It's a shock factor ... Trying to shock you into looking at it. But to each their own," onlooker Jan Clair told CBS.
