MAINZ, Germany — A video ad for a new lesbian magazine featuring a lookalike of German leader Angela Merkel being kissed by a woman has gone viral.
Mass-circulation newspaper Bild called it a "23-second clip that stuns." It has been watched more than 1.5 million times on Straight magazine’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, according to its publisher.
While Merkel has backed equal benefits, such as tax breaks, for gay couples, she has ruled out same-sex marriages in Germany.
In a recent interview with German YouTube star Florian Mundt — AKA LeFloid — Merkel said that she wants to “eliminate all discrimination,” but that for her personally “marriage is the living together of man and woman.” Merkel's second husband is Joachim Sauer, a professor of theoretical chemistry.
The magazine's black-and-white video ad shows someone resembling the German chancellor looking out a window, while a radio moderator can be heard in the background saying “62 per cent of Germans are in favor of same-sex marriage.”
As the Merkel lookalike shakes her head, a young woman enters the room, puts her arms around her waist and gives her a kiss.
Straight's Twitter post (seen below) reads: “All of Europe hates Merkel? Yes, except for this woman.”
“In order to generate attention you need to provoke,” Eva Werle, spokeswoman for Straight magazine told NBC News. “We have not received a direct response to our advert from Mrs. Merkel, but we hope that she will change her stance on gay marriages."
When contacted by NBC News, a government spokesperson said: “We have taken note of the ad, but will not comment.”
The new magazine features the debate over same-sex marriage as one of its main topics. Its first issue appeared on German newsstands Wednesday.
