Controversy
February 9, 2007 at 11:30 am | 4 Comments »So much silliness around commercials that debuted on the Super Bowl. First the PC-correct homos at GLADD and HRC denounced the Snickers spot as homophobic so Mars yanked it and its web property. Now maybe I’m just a silly queer ad guy but I don’t see what’s anti-homo about the spot. If anyone should get upset, it’s the insecure straight guys who are so insecure they can’t share a candy bar. Though really, who cares? Not like it was a great ad to begin with.
Then yesterday, I heard about another group that’s concerned about the GM spot featuring the industrial robot with suicide-tinged nightmares. My first reaction was you’ve got to be kidding me. The news blurbs make it sound as if these hand-wringers didn’t watch through to the end. Yes, the spot shows a despondent robot tossing itself off a bridge but then it wakes up. Safe and sound on the factory floor. It was just a nightmare because we’re supposed to believe that everyone at GM, even robots, are now obsessed with quality.
GM has announced that it’s standing behind the spot. It’s not going to be put off just because a well-intentioned but ultimately-stupid advocacy group misinterprets a :30 commercial. I have to say that I’m impressed. Admittedly it’s a little thing but if GM has the determination to stand behind its ad messages, maybe it will come through on the promises to start building desirable cars again.
People will complain about anything these days, it seems. Personally, I’d like to send a letter to M&M/Mars sounding something like this:
Dear Mars,
Your Super Bowl Snickers ad sucked. I didn’t get it.
Love,
Ryan
P.S.: The Almond Snickers leave much to be desired.
OH FOR THE LOVE OF PETE! WTF? I’m embarrassed for the groups. And that the “American Foundation for Suicide Prevention” are LOOKING FOR AN APOLOGY!
Yes suicide is a horrible thing, as it depression that affects millions of folks, but DAMN…perspective.
I’m thinking the flak is to draw attention to their groups, but frankly, all they’ve done is lose my interest. GLAAD will never get another dime of my money.
It’s 100 times better than Janet’s wardrobe malfunction, no?
I am a suicide survivor (meaning that I lost someone very close to me from suicide) so I guess that you would consider me one of those overreactive folks who was touchy about the GM ad. I think that if you had experienced a suicide, you might have a different point of view, just as if you were Jewish and been through the Holocaust, you probably would be offended by a TV ad that humourously presented Adolph Hitler as a hero. I wouldn’t be so quick to condemn people who found the ad upsetting and wanted it changed, which ultimately, GM did.