I thoroughly enjoyed the Super Bowl this year. I love football, and this was an interesting game full of exciting plays and events. And of course, I especially loved the commercials, and most of all, the halftime show. However, a few days after Super Sunday, I have learned that many others did not share my enthusiasm.
I must preface my comments by saying that I am a self-proclaimed, open-minded “liberal.” I’m all about sensitivity. However, I am rational and level-headed above all, and the continuing outrageous complaints since the Super Bowl broadcast have left me frustrated.
Outrageous Complaint No. 1 – the case of the kissing mechanics.
If you haven’t seen the commercial (you can on YouTube.com), it essentially takes place like this: two male mechanics are working on a car, one pulls out a Snickers bar, starts eating, the other is tempted, and starts eating from the other end – Disney’s “Lady & the Tramp” style. One of them says, “Quick, do something manly!” and they begin to rip off their chest hair. Stupid? Yes. Funny? Maybe. Offensive? …
Since its first breath of air, the commercial has sparked complaints that it promotes violence toward homosexuals and that it is essentially homophobic. The President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation released a statement saying, “Mars (company) needs to apologize for the deplorable actions of its Snickers brand.”
In response, Snickers and its parent company agreed to pull the commercial but have yet to release an apology to the gay community. According to USA Today, some marketing experts think the company should apologize, at least in the interest of sales.
Outrageous Complaint No. 2 – rollin’ Burger King style.
In response to a Nationwide Insurance commercial featuring Kevin Federline as a fry cook who daydreams about being a famous rapper (how amusing), the National Restaurant Association sent a letter of complaint on behalf of the 12.8 million U.S. restaurant workers. Their beef? The group claims the ad depicted restaurant work as “demeaning.” The Restaurant Workers took the ad to be a direct insult, while K-Fed says it was more of a “‘Saturday Night Live’ skit” of himself.
Outrageous Complaint No. 3 – Prince.
The issue is with the placement of Prince’s interestingly designed guitar – in the shape of his “symbol” – during a shadow show portion of “Purple Rain.” Several blog sites and journalists have called the performance “crude.” With his silhouette projected behind a large beige sheet, some viewed the placement of Prince’s guitar to be inappropriately phallic in nature. Some claim the placement and message was intentional.
Allow me to settle the controversy.
Two men acting like macho men are not promoting violence toward anyone. Is it slightly homophobic? Sure, but not in a way that incites hate, maltreatment, prejudice or violence toward gays and lesbians. One editor of a gay sports publication watched the Snickers ad with 30 gay friends and reported that he just simply didn’t find it offensive.
To the offended: for a group of individuals who have worked so hard to be treated the same, drawing this type of attention only sets back the progress toward equality.
Kevin Federline is hardly something to get worked up about. And how many other movies, TV shows, commercials, etc. poke a little fun at fast food work? At best, this ad said a fry cook is a very different occupation than a rapper, and a far more realistic one at that. And let’s be honest, K-Fed doesn’t even have a chance of “Rollin’ VIP,” so the fry cook can relax.
A guitar is just a guitar. Sure it’s phallic – all guitars are. So are trombones, trumpets and clarinets, and come to think of it, about a billion and a half national monuments, university statues and other well-known symbols. In fact, Prince’s show has been praised by many for being so clean. Prince might be controversial, but the NFL-produced show wasn’t. And if I might say so, I think it may just be the best halftime show I’ve ever seen. But then again, I love Prince.
Ultimately, being offended is often times as much a personal choice as anything else.
I’m certainly not promoting discrimination or hate, but one must understand there is a fine line between working for fairness and equality and working for extra-special treatment with a hefty settlement check.
Note: If you were offended by this column, relax and change your Pampers.