Posted on 02/06/2007 2:41:10 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
We need to go back for one more bite of that Snickers Super Bowl ad.
Monday a blogstorm kicked up over the ad that showed two mechanics fighting over a Snickers bar and inadvertently kissing, with the largest gay civil rights group calling on the Mars Inc., the candy company, to pull several alternative endings and related material from its Web site.
And before the day was done, the material had been pulled, as were plans to show one of the alternate endings during the Daytona 500 telecast.
Here was Ameriblog's mid-day headline: "Snickers Superbowl Web site promotes violence against gays and lesbians. Bears & Colts players react in disgust, on camera, to gays."
The ad, which aired during Sunday's game, showed two guys working on a car. One is leaning over the hood, eating a Snickers bar. The other can't help but start chewing on the free end. They work their way toward the middle until they realize their lips have touched. Then, calling for a manly act, each rips a clump of hair from his chest.
But that wasn't the problem.
"You ain't seen nothin' yet," writes John Aravosis, a DC political consultant on his Ameriblog site. Aravosis, who had advocated against anti-gay actions in creating the StopDrLaura.com site and the Matthew Shepard Online Resources, took issue with the now-down Snickers site's showing the reactions of three Bears and two Colts players who had watched the ad. He also questioned three alternative endings to the spot.
I didn't see video of the player's reactions before the site was changed. Aravosis reports that one player said, "That ain't right." A second made a face twisted with disgust.
"These guys are role models for kids, and they're telling America's kids ... that two guys kissing ain't right," Aravosis writes.
One of the alternative endings had a third guy approaching after the close encounter. Brushing his hair from his eyes, he asked "is there room for three on this Love Boat." In another, instead of pulling out chests hair after the kiss, they drink motor oil and anti-freeze.
Aravosis writes, "They guzzle it down, screaming at the top of their lungs, making them sick to their stomachs. The ad is vaguely violent - better to die than be gay."
The next one might be worst, by Avarosis' account. After the kiss, one picks up a wrench and attacks the other. Then the second slams the hood of the car of the head of the other. Aravosis: "Yes, the appropriate reaction to a guy kissing you is to beat the crap out of the guy who kissed you. Maybe Snickers should rename this ad 'Matthew Shepard."
He concludes:
The entire thing is absolutely sickening. And while I can appreciate that Snickers didn't overtly think that promoting violence against gays and lesbians is "funny," they knew what they were doing. They were gay-bashing for fun. And they didn't just cross the line - they left the line in the dust.
My first reaction when I read this, was that he was making much ado about nothing. Particularly when the progressive blogger noted that the family that owns Mars is a big supporter of the Republican party. Leaving his feet to the throw a punch, I thought.
But what was up with showing ball player after ball player react to the video? And after watching the now-pulled alternative endings, which can still be seen here, I'm wondering what the ad agency and Mars officials were going for. Making fun of rednecks? As some Ameriblog readers concluded.
Not everyone reading Ameriblog was as outraged. A commenter, signing his opinion Just Some Guy, wrote:
Now I realize that with the new Democratic majority in Congress, and the rising liberal sentiment in this country, that some people are going to want to flex their muscles. And rightfully so.
However, wouldn't it be best to use some form of restrain, rather than picking knee-jerk fights over every little thing which may offend someone? The entire air of "political correctness" from the '80s is exactly the vehicle the neofascists rode in to power, and it's resurgence was used by GWB to rally his base.
There's a difference between a racist tirade by Michael Richards or Michelle Malkin, and a joke by Sara Silverman or Lisa Lampinelli. The difference is malice, and I just didn't see the malice in the commercial.
I would suggest shrugging off things said in jest. Otherwise you are going to end up crying wolf, and that's the same reason people are currently tuning out GWB and his fearmongering. Please, don't set yourself up to be tuned out- it weakens us all.
Try this, they are victims of "SSAD"...Same Sex Affection Disorder.
What were they thinking? What retailer of chocolate products goes into a project thinking..."I wonder how I can, forever and always, make my delightful confection that people already love be associated with two guys kissing?"
The ad campaign was tiresome trash whatever perspective you come from on homosexuals.
Some public affairs director claimed:
"As with all of our Snickers advertising, our goal was to capture the attention of our core Snickers consumer." "Feedback from our target consumers has been positive. In addition, many media and website commentators of this year’s Super Bowl commercial line-up ranked the commercial among this year’s best..." "We know that humor is highly subjective and understand that some people may have found the ad offensive. Clearly that was not our intent..."
The ones to "fix" the homoesxuals?
(/sarcasm)
"These guys are role models for kids, and they're telling America's kids ... that two guys kissing ain't right," Aravosis writes"
They are very good role models. Two guys kissing ain't right.
It's a freaking commercial.
Snickers candy bars have been around since I was in the womb.
IT WAS FUNNY!
Two heterosexual guys get so engrossed in tasting a snickers they totally forget everything until they are startled back to reality that their lips touched.
At that point the ONLY message they wish to send is that they are macho...so they tear out their chesthair.
For anyone that has seen The 40 Year Old Virgin the waxing scene was one of the funniest scenes ever.
BTW, I STILL LOVE SNICKERS!
You all are over-reacting morons.
Remember the scene in Caddy Shack with the Baby Ruth floating in the pool? That's pretty much what that commercial did to me with Snickers now, too. Except at least the scene in Caddy Shack was funny.
For a significant new ad to run during the Super Bowl, one would have expected a very savvy company like Mars to have done significant market research, especially since it HAD to be seen as potentially controversial. If they did, and they ignored the likely results, I am dumbfounded; if they didn't, I am equally dumbfounded.
And, I will echo what one poster above said, Snickers was my favorite candy bar, and now it will be years (if ever) before I have another.
Suggest you get help.
Great Heath Herring Clip :)
Two guys kissing ain't right, whether its deliberately or by an uncontrolled urge to eat a candy bar. I can't believe that Mars would allow this to air (any of the alternate endings), how many people ok'd this idiotic ad?
And on the other hand, the gays are still out to get Dr. Laura? All she has done is said children are better off with a Father and a Mother of the appropriate sex.
Wow. You seem to be worked up about other folks getting worked up.
No need to insult people who have a different opinion than yours.
I just saw the ad on Youtube.
Ick! That was really gross. And it wasn't funny at all.
Just read your post #26. Finding this highly amusing now.
LOL! I think you hit the nail on the head.
Just observing homophobia that's all...and calling everyone on it.
I am fiscally conservative but somewhat liberal on social issues
I bet you REALLY like Rudy...especially when he's in drag. And BTW, how's your group therapy going?
Bump for later.
Sorry....the older I get, the less I suffer fools gladly.
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