Geico, an insurance company, has an advertising campaign that is not only memorable but tells an important message. The tag line is “Geico.com. So easy even a caveman can do it”.Several commercials follow the efforts of cavemen to educate and enlighten the ad executives as to the offensive nature of the ads. The execs refuse to see it as offensive, become condescending, and make apologies that are clearly of the “go away now” variety.
The latest of these commercials reached me on a visceral level. In it we see a caveman carrying his carry-on luggage through an airport. He passes an ad, walks back, stares for a moment, shakes his head, and walks on. Without anything being said you sense the frustration he feels at the futility of his efforts. He’s met with those responsible and done everything he can do but yet they refuse to recognize his humanity.
Which brings me to another commercial, the Snickers ad that ran on the Super Bowl broadcast. In this, two auto mechanics accidentally kiss while eating either end of a Snickers bar. They respond in horror and rip out chest hair to prove that they are “manly”. To make an unfunny commercial even more annoying, you can log onto Snickers’ website to see Super Bowl players expressing their disgust at the idea of two men kissing. You can even choose an alternate ending of some effeminate man flipping his hair and trying to seduce the two.
Is there really truly any ad executive anywhere that wouldn’t immediately know that a campaign predicated on the idea that two men kissing is disgusting is at its base homophobic? Are we supposed to believe that this just “fell through the cracks”?
So what do I do?
Well, I could write emails and threaten not to eat Snickers. I could entertain a big debate over whether this was offensive. I could just sit and be angry.
But I already know the outcome. Just like Chrysler’s “silly little fairy” ad, some exec will say that they didn’t know anyone would be upset. And gay people will comment here and elsewhere that the Snickers ad “is hysterical” and “you’re too sensitive”. Whether or not the ad continues to run, yet again Madison Ave. will have reinforced the notion that two men kissing is funny and horrifying.
Like the caveman, I am fully aware that those responsible for making this ad made a conscious choice to belittle gay men for the purpose of appealing to those whom they see as potential customers. They aren’t unaware or uneducated. They probably aren’t even personally hateful. They just don’t care. If it gets people talking and sells a candy-bar, they’re happy. And if it dismisses the humanity of gay people, that’s of no regard.
So I find myself shaking my head and walking on.
This is frustrating, however, I think that the best way to combat this is for major networks to show movies like the recent Cold Case segment called Forever Blue where two cops fall in love and deal with all of the societal conflict. The kiss scene is very passionate and it is amazing that this was shown on primetime television. The homophobic cop who shot one of them is portrayed as a total loser who’s anger and hate destroyed him. There were over 3 million viewers who tuned into that segment and the majority of them were deeply moved by it. Now there are clips from that segment on YouTube. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UxuVt0sGDM&mode=related&search=
I am extremely proud of CBS for having the trust and courage to air this very remarkable segment. There are sure to be others that will follow.
We need to show gay families (same sex partners with children) in movies and show the tragic results of homophobia that is found throughout our society. It’s all about exposing the mythology through presenting the truth. When the public is typically embarassed and bothered by homophobia that is when Madison Avenue will have to change its tune.
I’m a little bit surprised about the reaction to the snickers commercial, both here and over at Wayne Besen’s blog. (However, I didn’t find the followup at snickers’ website so perhaps that made all the difference)
I didn’t find it at all offensive, on the contrary I interpret it as a humorous critical commentary to homophobia that makes people do obviously stupid things, such as ripping out chest hair.
Do you guys think that the average, slightly homophobic, superbowl viewer will see the behaviour of the mechanics as something they would like to try for themsevles to get out of an accidentally homoerotic situation? I think that the effect may be the opposite. If the viewer identifies with the feeling of mild disgust towards homoerotic situations, the obvious stupidity of the protagonists’ behaviour perhaps will make them (subconciously) question their spontaneous reaction to similiar situations.
I understand Mars has pulled the Snickers ads from circulation and the alternate versions from its web site.
I agree with Noa. Your second sentence is what I would have said, only you’ve said it much better than I could have hoped to! All the offense and outrage over this silly ad reminds me too much of those amongst the religious right that see every little thing as a personal attack. As a gay man I’m embarrassed about all the fuss being made over this commercial. It makes us, as a community, appear very thin-skinned and reactionary. I’d rather the focus be kept on things that really matter instead of a silly commercial during a silly football game.
I haven’t seen the Snickers ads, but they do not sound (to me) any more offensive than the Geico ads. Both sets seem intentionally vague and subject to interpretation. The Geico ads don’t necessarily favor tolerance — they could be seen as a mockery of political correctness.
Please encourage your readers to email Mars Company spokesperson, Alice Nathanson, to share their complaints on the Snickers Super Bowl ad at:
alice.nathanson@effem.com
Thanks.
Thanks, Mike P — personally, I may ask advertisers to avoid exploiting their viewers with vague ads and instead be direct:
Do they, or do they not, favor mutual tolerance and nondiscrimination?
Do they affirm love as a value, regardless of gender, or do they favor gender role stereotyping and conformity?
If an advertiser hates same-sex-attracted men, then I want them to be public about that contempt — so that I can take my business elsewhere. If they appreciate same-sex-attracted consumers, then I’d like to know that as well.
I have to be blunt here, most people wont see it as an amusing social commentary on homophobia. The problem with advertisements like this is that they normalize this sort of behavior. It doesn’t matter what the intended message was, what matters is what it is percieved to be. And the simple matter is, the more people see something, the more they view it as acceptable. Whether that be in person or on TV, the more people see overreacting to a homoerotic moment, the more they will view it as acceptable behavior unless it is made very clear that such behavior is not acceptable.
Benjamin, thank you for that clip! I’d missed that episode. The music video end theme was beautiful as it was touching.
The Super Bowl commercial was trying to portray a lighter side, but perhaps even a parody of homophobia just can’t be funny. Especially when the Cold Case commercial is more like reality.
It’s not about the gay community being thin skinned, but the STRAIGHT world being MORE SO, and controlling most of the media and influencing what is said about gay people. And it’s hard to undo the damage once it’s been done. Just as the Geico cavemen are doing. Trying to undo what’s been said about them all along.
That video clip from Cold Case nearly brought tears. It’s haunting message and photography was very powerful. And if that’s Chad Everett playing the role…DAMN! He’s still hot after all these years! The story might have been an urban retelling of Brokeback Mountain, but the story it represents is legion. And we all know it.
In the zeal to punish gay men and women or force them into situations not of their own choosing, this world of hurt seen here…is as predictable as the sun coming up in the morning.
This topic and related commercials are thoroughly referenced and discussed at one my favorite websites I frequent: http://www.commercialcloset.org Please check it out.
I’m not consistent in my approval or disdain for some of the gay-negative commercials. I found the IKEA commercial: “Starting Over” hilariously funny but CC deemed it a negative with:
Ads in this section may be funny to some, but they often use fear of same-sex attraction (homophobia) or “inappropriate” gender behavior (transphobia) –… (commercialcloset)
Check out the commercials where Positive reinforcement of gays and lesbians are provided in some commercials…even some IKEA ones. Enjoy.
With all due respect to our commenters, opinions may be best when based on experience. While comments are always welcome, the strongest are from those who actually saw the ad and the website – which appears to now be down.
The original commercial was just slightly funny and did not bother me, but when I saw the other commercials and people were voting on them, it bothered me. They were really extreme and made me reevaluate the original.
I would fall on the “being too sensitive” side of this discussion.
There were no gay men to “belittle” in the ad. The characters were two straight guys, so obsessed by their craving for a candy bar, they allowed themselves to be put in a compromising situation. They then make themselves look even more foolish by demonstrating THEIR apparent homophobia.
Now, if the viewer were supposed to be grossed out by two gay men kissing, then we’d have a problem and a very misguided ad in terms of demographic. The agency was ill-advised to show football players’ reactions, but again, the reaction is regarding two apparent straight men kissing.
What if there were a LOGO version? A college-aged female and her gay, male friend are studying in the library when one of them pulls out a Snickers bar and the “Lady and the Tramp” scenario unfolds only to end with the characters’ shock as they lock lips. Cut to reaction of gay viewer.
The point, lost in the furor, is that the candy bar is supposedly so good, one would be willing to kiss a “wookie” so to speak.
I think it’s best to save our outrage for things that matter, otherwise when we need to be heard, we are not.
If you go over to Americablog, they too had links to the ads, and have the Snickers response. Like many I was not offended by the originally aired ad as a gay man (as a human being, I was offended by the grotesqueness of the ad, though), but the ones on the now-pulled web site were a different story, not to mention broadcasting the homophobia of some NFL players. What is even more disturbing is the response from Snickers, who point out that the ad was a big hit with their target audience – 18 – 24 year-old men (and I would assume we are talking about mainly straight men). That is exactly the market most likely to be gay-bashers.
I think what saddens me most about this commercial is, the integrity of ones own sexuality is measured by stupid candy bar..
Copies of the ads on YouTube:
(1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ-CK3Wurm4&NR
(2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rb3bN7pUyE&NR
(3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCOQTVbQPbY&NR
(4) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dkKPgZNA-Y
I saw the ad, and I agree with Noa. My wife and I laughed and laughed. A good friend of ours is a “straight” man who had a real crisis when he fell in love with his gay male friend–he said he was almost that stupid about it before he came to accept it.