JCPenney Raises Conservative Hackles With Gay Dads Ad

JCPenney raised some eyebrows and a few hackles last month when its May online and print flier featured a real-life lesbian couple among various real moms, partners and kids for Mother’s Day.

Now the corporation is giving some equal time to gay men ahead of Father's Day by featuring two real-life dads/partners with their two kids in the retailer's June book. And once again, One Million Moms is up in arms at the same-sex parenting image and urging their followers to boycott JCP stores.

Fearless marketing, alas, hasn't helped the retailer (so far) post better results. JCP, despite refreshing its brand and pricing strategy with a bold new vision in January, lost $163 million and sales went down 20% in the first quarter of 2012.

"Our first 90 days are a little tougher than we expected," CEO Ron Johnson recently told analysts and investors, Ad Age reports. "But the good news is the transformation, from my perspective, is way ahead of schedule. ... We're trying to essentially convert the Titanic into 1,100 WaveRunners."