Barilla Publicity Stunt? How Does It End?

With the recent comments made keeping everyone in the LGBT community (and those who support equal rights) away from that particular brand of pasta, one has to wonder what the end game is exactly for the company.

One would certainly hope (and suspect) that any business in 2013 would not go on record as taking anything seen as any sort of political stance.  This has only shown in recent history to be retracted, corrected or altered in some ways by companies even though the damage is seemingly done.

What is most curious to me about this whole debacle is the phrasing of a same sex couple never being prominently featured in a Barilla commercial.  This particular sentiment has caused many who object to this to settle simply for the company going against their word.

If Barilla was in fact to feature a same sex couple in a commercial, would it benefit them now more than it would have before?  Really, if they had a same sex couple in a commercial, odds are people would speak out in disgust much like they have over interracial advertisements in the past.

If Barilla in fact doesn't care, then featuring a same sex couple in a commercial wouldn't be a big deal... That is unless, of course, they were "against" doing so and then were somehow won over.

Could Barilla simply be pulling a marketing strategy with this whole ordeal?  If Barilla are to feature a same sex couple in a commercial, would people then go back to supporting them and buying their pasta?  Would it perhaps simply just draw up attention to help spark an interest in a seemingly stagnant company?

If people are really opposed to Barilla then they should not be able to simply win you over by doing the opposite of what they say they would never do.  Perhaps I have been thinking too much about this, but I do feel that in this day and age most companies would be smart enough to keep their mouth shut on such matters and this whole thing wreaks of reverse psychology.