“First Pals: What makes Dad so cool?” reads the ad. “He’s the swim coach, tent maker, best friend, bike fixer and hug giver – all rolled into one. Or two.”

In honor of Father's Day, JCPenney featured two real Texas-based gay fathers, Cooper Smith and Todd Koch, and their two three-year-old children, Mason and Claire. The ad was a follow up to one showing two lesbian mothers for Mother's Day, which drew the ire of the so-called One Million Moms anti-gay organization (actually made up of fewer than 50,000 members).

Smith told NBC5: "That photo is actually a true second of our lives, just playing and having fun with our kids and the affection and love that we have for them."