Snickers is promoting violence against gays

[Rick Munroe]

RE: Snickers provides a crappy chocolate fix.

 

>But I think our finest moments as humans come when we look at

>these irrational fears, realize that they are irrational,

>overcome them, and bring those we feared back into the human

>fold alongside us. This is obviously my own opinion, and I

>know others may feel differently. But it’s how I’ve chosen to

>view the world.

 

That's a wonderful worldview, Lookin...and I say that not just because it's how I see things, too.

[Rick Munroe]

>I don't think that they are promoting violence against gays.

 

Beating someone with a wrench and slamming someone's head with the hood of a car isn't violent? When gays are bashed, many times they aren't just quickly shot with a gun...instead, they are savagely attacked with baseball bats, chains, knives, etc. That clip reminded me of a gay bashing.

 

>How do

>we expect STR'8's - in particular football players - to react

>to men "kissing"?

 

Let's not stereotype all straight men as being homophobic, especially when the most virulently homophobic are usually gay men in the closet anyway. (Makes you wonder about that guy who said, "It ain't right!" )

 

>I applaud both ads at trying to be daring. And trying to make

>us laugh at ourelves.

 

Would it be as funny if it were an ad featuring a black man and a white woman sharing a Snickers in the same way, but then a white (racist) guys sees them, gets upset at the sight of a black guy kissing one of "our women" and proceeds to whack the black guy with a wrench and slam a car hood on his head? Would that ad just be an edgy jab at racism, or would it be an offensive ad that perpetuates the idea that the races shouldn't mix? Is the Snickers ad that aired just a silly look at certain straight men or does it perpetuate the idea that "gay" activity deserves a violent reaction? We as a society are very sensitive to issues of race but homosexuality is still the easy target for "jokes" and we as gay men are supposed to look the other way or laugh along or else we're accused of being overly sensitive.

[RockHard]

RE: Snickers can fix our world.

 

>But I think our finest moments as humans come when we look at

>these irrational fears, realize that they are irrational,

>overcome them, and bring those we feared back into the human

>fold alongside us. This is obviously my own opinion, and I

>know others may feel differently. But it’s how I’ve chosen to

>view the world.

 

"That's a wonderful worldview, Lookin...and I say that not just because it's how I see things, too. :-) "

 

Charming. Rick's exception: Women with long fingernails hogging the streets of Chelsea toting a twin Chicco C10. Now there's a group worth fearing.

 

I adore altruism, especially when it's iced in saccharine-laced hypocrisy. Kiss-kiss, Rick.

 

All this talk of fearlessness and sweet-loving chocolate bars makes me want to dip my hotrod into some Valrhona Bittersweet and find me some hot football players. Anybody hungry, boys?

[AdamSmith]

Crowned Miss Cegenation 2007

 

>I have little patience for the "oh, woe is me (us)" types and

>prissy homosexuals who whine at every politically incorrect

>frisbee that's flung their way. Girly-men fag-wimps should be

>slapped into manhood. Life is unfair, bitches, DEAL WITH IT.

 

RockHard, to reiterate Rick's point: Would you say the same thing had the commercial been about miscegenation?

[RockHard]

RE: Crowned Miss Cegenation 2007

 

"RockHard, to reiterate Rick's point: Would you say the same thing had the commercial been about miscegenation?"

 

The question is silly. I'm not a fan of comparing apples to oranges. However, when it comes to comedy, a trendy subject tends to take center-stage. Gay is trendy, regardless of Hollywood's destructive method of defining us. If miscegenation were suddenly to become trendy, jokes would flourish, although it's hard to imagine how the statement, "Girly-men fag-wimps should be slapped into manhood" would apply.

[Bilbo]

I did not see anything but the ad as broadcast. So, I am in the position of probably most of the people who saw it, IMHO.

To me, it seemed to make fun of homophobia, not gay people. "Look, these two men let their fears and prjudices cause them to mutilate themselves!", it seemed to say. "How nice that we are safe from such stupidity because we accept gays."

Still, I suppose, no matter which way it was intended, that its not nice to make fun of a phobia either.

[Louis]

I saw on the news that Snickers will not be showing the add again....Good thing, bad thing I don't know...but it shows that Snickers has responded to complains about the add.

[RockHard]

RE: Snickers infamy.

 

"I saw on the news that Snickers will not be showing the add again"

 

When 10-year-olds are your market, who needs network television when we've got YouTube? Welcome to the future.

[Louis]

RE: Snickers infamy.

 

"When 10-year-olds are your market, who needs network television when we've got YouTube? Welcome to the future."

Very true.. the internet is the future, and there is a lot of advertising that gets passed around as attachments to emails. Some really funny stuff...but then you would never see that stuff on TV.

[AdamSmith]

RE: Crowned Miss Cegenation 2007

 

>"RockHard, to reiterate Rick's point:

>Would you say the same thing had the commercial been about

>miscegenation?"

>

>The question is silly. I'm not a fan of comparing apples to

>oranges. However, when it comes to comedy, a trendy subject

>tends to take center-stage. Gay is trendy, regardless of

>Hollywood's destructive method of defining us. If

>miscegenation were suddenly to become trendy, jokes would

>flourish, although it's hard to imagine how the statement,

>"Girly-men fag-wimps should be slapped into manhood" would

>apply.

 

I must be even slower-witted than usual today. I've puzzled over your reply for some time, but just don't see how the two are apples and oranges.

 

I can't take too much comfort from gay being trendy these days. The era of "Cabaret" morphed into that of the Third Reich. People who subscribe to mythologies of historical progress can get some nasty surprises.

[Guest PWIT]

Could this have been avoided?

 

Of course one could argue Snickers should have known better from the get go. But with that aside, the Washington Post reported that Snickers had asked GLAAD to preview the commercials, which they agreed to do. Then GLAAD withdrew for some reason. The Washington Post did not give the reason why GLAAD withdrew from previewing. Anyone know why?

[Rick Munroe]

RE: Could this have been avoided?

 

This is from GLAAD's press release from Monday:

 

"In early January, TBWA\Chiat\Day New York asked GLAAD to review and provide analysis on a Snickers spot. GLAAD agreed. The next day, the agency abruptly withdrew their request without having shown GLAAD the ad."

[Lookin]

RE: Snickers infamy.

 

< When 10-year-olds are your market, who needs network television when we've got YouTube? Welcome to the future. >

 

 

Looks like your fact-checker may be on the fritz today. Snickers core consumer is an 18-24 year-old male. In fact, yesterday, Mars Inc. said it will no longer target ads for any of its products to children under the age of 12. That’s the highest advertising age threshold set by any major food manufacturer, and it says to me that Mars has some corporate ethics as well as the savvy to distance itself from the childhood obesity brouhaha.

 

Also, their advertising budget for Snickers runs around $40 million a year, most of which finds its way to network TV. Like most other large advertisers, they’re still learning the ropes of internet marketing. (And nearly hung themselves, if you ask me.)

 

I don’t know how comfy Mars is feeling with internet marketing right now, or with the internet marketing savvy of their new ad agency, Chiat/Day, who recently picked up the Snickers account from BBD&O. Looks like most of their problems came not from the Super Bowl commercial itself, but from the website that later showed much more homophobic versions of the commercial, plus the players' reactions to a “gay kiss”.

 

My guess is that Mars is going to go a little less “edgy” for a while. As you said, there may have been some new blood at the company who said "let's get modern, let's go edgy." My guess is it was the new ad agency trying to be "edgier" than their predecessor. In either case, I bet they’re going to be watched liked hawks by the Old Guard.

 

I think edgy may work better when you're unknown and have nothing to lose. But Mars doesn't need to be too far ahead of the curve - they are the curve, and they've got lots to lose. This week they learned that it's not necessary to exploit stereotypes and phobias in order to sell a candy bar. I think they'll be better off for having learned it. At least, I hope so.

[Guest PWIT]

RE: Could this have been avoided?

 

TBWA\Chiat\Day New York is the marketing firm that made the commercial?

 

Think they were worried the client might not be happy if they got the GLAAD analysis? Or could the client have had the marketing firm cancel the review?

[RockHard]

RE: Snickers infamy.

 

"Looks like your fact-checker may be on the fritz today."

 

I did not employ a fact checker and nor do I care about the precise age of Snickers' core customer. I used the number 10 to emphasize their market is much, much younger than anyone responding to this thread. Furthermore, I employ 18-year-olds. They might as well say they're 10. :-)

 

"Looks like most of their problems came not from the Super Bowl commercial itself, but from the website that later showed much more homophobic versions of the commercial, plus the players' reactions to a “gay kiss”."

 

Again, I reiterate, I DID NOT see anything other than the Super Bowl commercial. It's impossible for me to have a strong opinion on something I did not see. If the players referred to the kiss as "gay," thus demonstrating player homophobia, it was right of Mars to pull the website.

 

"I think edgy may work better when you're unknown and have nothing to lose."

 

One NEVER knows when a hit is born until you present it and your thinking is considered very conservative (which is advertising reads: boring). Had the commercial not been interactive and the website didn't exist (and no one sought players' reactions), I would label the commercial a hit.

 

I sincerely doubt Mars will lose anything. As I've said, gay men don't covet candy from Mars Inc. There is no long-term "gay" issue here. Most people (gay and straight) I've talked to since the Super Bowl aired didn't see the Snicker's commercial and hadn't heard of any controversy. The commercial escaped comment from Leno and Letterman.

 

"This week they learned that it's not necessary to exploit stereotypes and phobias in order to sell a candy bar."

 

Your statement as written is biased and presumptuous. A better writer would have written: "This week they may have learned that it's not necessarily prudent to exploit gay-themed stereotypes and phobias in a comedy sketch in order to sell a candy bar."

 

Lookin, I've enjoyed your contribution on this thread. Thank you.

[Lookin]

RE: Snickers infamy.

 

< A better writer would have written: "This week they may have learned that it's not necessarily prudent to exploit gay-themed stereotypes and phobias in a comedy sketch in order to sell a candy bar." >

 

You're right. Thanks for expressing the idea so well.

[needhotdudes]

I wrote Snicker's Brands, here is their response... canned.

 

In response to your email regarding SNICKERS BRAND .

 

As with all of our SNICKERS Brand 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 top ten best. USA Today ranked it #9 of its top ten pick.

 

We know that humor is highly subjective and understand that some people may have found the ad offensive. Clearly that was not our intent. Consequently, we do not plan to continue to air the ad on television or on our SNICKERS Brand website.

 

Please be assured that we appreciate your feedback and value you as a consumer. We will continue to forward your comments on to our Marketing Managers.

 

Sincerely,

 

Consumer Care

Masterfoods USA

A Division of Mars, Incorporated

[Rick Munroe]

RE: I wrote Snicker's Brands, here is their response... canned.

 

Check this out:

 

"A little birdie tells AMERICAblog that while Masterfoods, Snickers' parent company, is acting all 'our target audience LOVED the anti-gay ad' in public, they're not so calm and collected in private. Reportedly, the candy giant is operating in full crisis mode inside the company, trying to resolve the Snickers anti-gay ad issue and ensure it never happens again. The phrase our source heard used was, 'heads will roll.'"

 

Btw, he doesn't usually post something unless he has a very reliable source.

 

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2007/02/snickers-parent-masterfoods-reportedly.html

[RockHard]

RE: I wrote Snicker's Brands, here is their response... canned.

 

"Btw, he doesn't usually post something unless he has a very reliable source."

 

A little birdie? Oh, Rick, you're so gullible. I'll bet your licking a Snicker's bar as I write this. Maybe the bar is securely positioned in Derek's asshole: talk about a happy ending!

 

Some of us can't wait for your next fight, dear. Your hyper-rants are all very entertaining, regardless how false or superficial. Nice work and I'm wishing you well. :-)

[AdamSmith]

RE: I wrote Snicker's Brands, here is their response... canned.

 

>Maybe the bar is

>securely positioned in Derek's asshole: talk about a happy

>ending!

 

Talk about The Inverted World! :7

[BgMstr4u]

RE: Snickers provides a crappy chocolate fix.

 

"ps I don't know one homosexual who eats candy from Mars, Inc."

 

Well, my hand is up. I have a secret juvenile side (not unlike your seeing the world through a child's eyes) and when I indulge it, it is often with a Snicker's bar. I'll probably lay off them for a while now. Probably a good thing, too.

 

And thanks for the instructions enabling red font color!

[AdamSmith]

RE: Snickers provides a crappy chocolate fix.

 

Let me join you - I admit to downing an M&M now and again. The secret shame!

 

Mars lets you order custom-printed M&Ms. Wonder what the limits of expression are?

 

http://www.mymms.com/customprint/index.asp

 

http://www.mymms.com/images/footer_mms_logo.gif

[Lookin]

RE: I wrote Snicker's Brands, here is their response... canned.

 

< The phrase our source heard used was, 'heads will roll.' >

 

Don't be too surprised if it happens. When I posted the other day that the Mars family hates bad publicity, I wasn't kidding. John, Jackie, and Forrest, Jr., put a lot of effort into staying out of the spotlight. They will take this a LOT more seriously than other executives would.

 

A few years ago, I read a book by someone who gained limited access to some folks close to the company:

 

 

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/b8/5e/18d5d250fca030f0bbf37010._AA240_.L.jpg

 

 

It's a bit of a potboiler, but makes it clear that the company and its owners do NOT want any bad press. People have been fired from Mars for far less than this error in judgment. I'm sorry if anyone loses his or her job for making a mistake that many other people would have also made. But I think it's good, every once in a while, for powerful businessmen and women to have to seriously look at the impacts of their decisions - impacts that go beyond the bottom line. And a few people are going to get a chance to do it.

[Lookin]

RE: Snickers provides a crappy chocolate fix.

 

I'm guilty too. In fact, I just heard about dark chocolate M&M's, and I am dying to buy some. I'm holding myself back, temporarily, until I see the next chapter in this chocudrama. Seriously hoping they take a positive step, I'm voting with my wallet.

 

And please don't snicker. The candy company that gets my business has a leg up on its rivals.

[RockHard]

RE: Guilty bitches.

 

"Well, my hand is up."

 

"Let me join you"

 

"I'm guilty too."

 

Well, I just don't know what to say...except, when it comes to chocolate, my circle is more high end. (That's it for my ass jokes.) :-)

 

I sure hope you guys brush and floss well after eating that crap. I hear cheap candy destroys teeth and causes serious bad breath. :-(