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The peanut butter cookie dough (with fudge and pretzels) ice cream will be served in Ben & Jerry's scoop shops throughout this month, a gesture that sees Ben & Jerry's partner with marriage equality group Freedom to Marry.

The two partners are also publicly supporting the first gay and lesbian marriages to happen in the state, and aiming to encourage other US states to follow in the footsteps of Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Maine, down the aisle to marriage equality.

Although Hubby Hubby will only be served in Vermont, Freedom to Marry's website urges citizens to "bring Hubby Hubby to your state", indicating that Ben & Jerry's may have plans to do the same in other states with successful gay marriage campaigns.

Meanwhile, Ben & Jerry's is buzzing up the message via its Facebook fan page, and the renamed flavour is a trending topic on Twitter. The branding exercise has even gone so far as to wallpaper Freedom to Marry's website with Ben & Jerry's trademark cartoon clouds.

The company is no stranger to big social gestures. Their employee-led Ben & Jerry's Foundation donated more than $1.9m in 2008 to "support the founding values of the company: economic and social justice, environmental restoration and peace through understanding, and to support Vermont communities".

It's no surprise, therefore, given its penchant for left-leaning publicity, that the company is making itself part of this historic occasion in Vermont. It could help its bottom line, too.

Source: Springwise