This seems like such a dirty potato (or more accurately, a POS).
I am still analyzing my reaction to that Snickers commercial on TV at the Superbowl on Sunday, where two guys lustingly go down on a candy bar together, ending up kissing.
I much preferred the Carlos Mencia Budweiser commercial. (ROTFLMAO) I watch him often on the Comedy Channel. Carlos is funny without (somehow) being so offensive, even though he talks about highly charged racial and disability topics. This man is a great comedian.
But that lone Snickers ad left me feeling uncomfortable and dirty. It felt like I was watching porn or something. (I know, people will probably think I am the one with issues.) I like to think that almost nothing offends me, but that Superbowl Snickers ad was disgusting.
So, yeah, I am still trying to understand my own reaction. That should have been funny, but it was not. It was intensely uncomfortable. Why would one funny ad be funny and not another one, regardless of the intent of the producer of the ad? And if that one was not funny, how did it get on the air? What were they thinking?
The ad was created by the very prestigious Chiat\Day in perhaps their most expensive ad campaign ever.
It is rare when an ad manages to offend just about everyone. The gays are up in arms over it because it promotes gay violence. Heterosexuals are in the bathroom gagging because of the man smooch. Football fans are offended over the ad ridiculing their homophobia. We are all still waiting to hear from the Muslims too.
(Snickers has pulled the ad and its 4 endings from future showings on TV and from their [apparently bigoted?] Website)
Way to go Chiat\Day. your 1984 Macintosh Superbowl ad was awesome. Your Apple ‘Think Different’ posters were truly amazing. But no joy today. How the mighty have fallen. (Does anyone think that C\D will ever do another Apple campaign again, after this?)
More than this, if such an experienced and powerful agency as C\D can screw it up, what is to keep Apple from doing the same in some of their ads? Corporations would to well to stick to their products and stay away from controversial social agendas. (The privately owned Mars Corporation, parent of Snickers, M&Ms and Whiskers Cat Food, seems to be violating that idea, with an overt anti-gay agenda, evident on their website.)
And it gets worse for Snickers. C\D’s Snickers static bus poster and billboard ads are much worse, if possible, using invented words like Satisfectellent, Substantialiscious, and Hungerectomy – all the while making people think of how that naked brown candy bar so realistically resembles a damp, steaming piece of (crap).
I not only will never buy another Snickers, I may never eat another candy bar again. Major grossout here. One I would love to forget I ever saw (shudders).
How do you feel about this?
Regards,
Roger Born
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.