This post is part of our Ads Gone Bad series. Share your thoughts and memories of this ad in the comments, and be sure to check out our other posts on marketing gone wrong.

Mars Inc., has made not just one, but two ad campaigns for its popular Snickers bar seem to sneer at gays. Mars, one of the biggest privately held, family-owned companies, makes many of the world's most popular candies: Snickers, M&Ms, Twix, Starburst (along with Uncle Ben's Rice and pet food like Whiskas), but both of the ads gay rights groups found offensive were for the Snickers bar.

The first gay-themed Snickers ad made a big splash in Super Bowl XLI in 2007. Two mechanics get so wrapped up in eating the opposite ends of Snickers bar that their lips touch, prompting them to decide to "do something manly" lest they accidentally catch gayness -- so they pull their chest hair out.

Whatever other problems it has, Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) has, historically, been on the side of the gay community. From sponsoring athletes at the Gay Games to offering domestic partnership benefits to its gay and lesbian employees, there is little fault for a gay rights activist to find with Nike.

But that didn't stop some people from making up fake controversies. The company's ads for its Hyperdunk basketball shoes feature competing basketball players in photos with heads in each other's crotches, hands on butts, etc. -- stuff that happens all the time during basketball games.

Now, in response to the criticism, the company is pulling the ads, citing its desire "to underline our ongoing commitment to supporting diversity in sport and the workplace."

The ads are funny and they're not homophobic -- Nike's track record on these issues demonstrates that. LGBT activists who make an issue out of stuff like this marginalize the real issues, by making it look like there aren't bigger battles to fight. With one presidential candidate who just learned what "LGBT" means, there clearly are. But silly stuff like this will turn people off and prevent those issues from being taken seriously.

"Quick, do something manly!" one of the actors in the Snickers ad exclaimed, after kissing his male counterpart.

Too late. The male-kissing-male ad, which was featured during Super Bowl XLI on Sunday, will not air again after complaints from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the Human Rights Campaign.

Maybe it was the wrong tactic -- this year's Super Bowl was kicked off by Cirque de Soleil and featured Prince at half time. Maybe they should have gone for a more metrosexual look. After all, a Chevrolet ad featuring topless men (including the Naked Cowboy) was one of the more highly rated ads of this year's Super Bowl.

But personally, if I had to choose an ad not to see again, it would be the General Motors (NYSE: GM) ad with the robot worker committing suicide. Did it not occur to the company, which is in the process of major downsizing, that that ad may just hit a little too close to home?

Eric Buscemi is an editor at Theflyonthewall.com.