Using codes of masculinity to sell products to guys is nothing new, but it’s usually about beer, “hard lemonade” or deodorant. It’s also usually funny, and pokes fun at male insecurities while celebrating them. A new Snickers commercial, however, seems to just be about beating the crap out of sissies.
It opens on a guy in bright yellow shorts sashaying down a sidewalk. He’s speedwalking. Suddenly a truck comes roaring over the houses and smashes onto the street beside the man. Mr. T is in the back of the truck behind a Gatling gun. He yells at the man to stop speedwalking: “You a disgrace to the man race!” he shouts. Then he fires candybars at the man, and the man dances around on the sidewalk in fear and takes off running. The tagline: “Snickers. Get some nuts.” (You can watch it here.) Yum! Now when I want to satisfy my hunger and think about shooting down a mincing, nutless homo in suburbia, I’ll know what candy bar to buy! Thanks, Snickers!
Bob Garfield at the magazine Ad Age wrote an open letter last week to the CEO of Omnicon, the ad corporation responsible for the spot, accusing him of using “dehumanizing stereotypes” and “jokey violence” in of all things a candy commercial.
This letter is to you, but it is equally to your colleagues throughout the industry. Are you so bereft, of ideas and simple humanity, that you must be reduced to stereotyping and bullying? That you must identify an “other” to ridicule, or worse? That you must build a brand on the backs of people who have harmed no one save for challenging a high-school locker-room standard of masculinity?
He points out that Omnicom says it practices corporate responsibility by “ensuring that we use our position to promote socially responsible policies and practices and that we make positive contributions to society across all of our operations.” Then why, in a candy ad that you assume is at least partially targeted to children, would you go this route? Garfield points out that it’s not just about anti-gay attitudes, or more broadly about gender roles and what’s “okay” for one sex or another. It’s really about attacking people who are different or seen as weak:
You don’t have to be gay to be the target of macho aggression. If you are slight, or weak, or meek or odd. If you don’t like football or groove on Liza. If you read books. If you drive a Neon. If for any reason you don’t fulfill the masculinity expectations of the bully, you are therefor[sic] a faggot and: ridiculed, berated, laughed at, marginalized, stuffed into a locker, beaten up, murdered. Ass-wiggling speedwalker = faggot. It’s code. Likewise sweater-draped poodle walkers who squeal “oooooooh!” This kind of ad, which normalizes and even incites contempt or worse for the supposed faggots, is therefore homophobic whether the runner is gay or not.
Some Ad Age readers have commented that Garfield is being too politically correct and that it’s all in good fun. After all, it’s not a crime to offend someone. At the very least, one of them argued, kids today don’t have the same anti-gay culture of past generations.
Is this true? I’d love to hear from Consumerist readers who are, say, in their early twenties or younger: has bullying based on codes of masculinity abated in recent years? Is that sort of behavior really a thing of the past? Because if it is, good for humanity—but I wonder if a Snickers ad that shows a pop-culture icon firing a large gun at a big ole’ sissy is teaching kids it’s time to bring it back.
But enough about that cheery world of high-school—the real question, writes CV Harquail on her blog Authentic Organizations, is why a global corporation that claims social responsibility would produce a spot that undermines its promises to do good.
What I don’t understand about the responses to Garfield’s letter is that so few people are focused on holding Wren accountable for aligning his organization’s actions with its words. Why is this?
Striving for authenticity, for alignment between who you say you are, what you believe about yourself, and how you behave as an organization, is the responsibility of the organization’s leadership.
And responsibility for being authentic is not confined to leadership: Keeping behavior aligned with the organization’s statements of purpose, vision and value is the responsibility of every employee. The people at Omnicom know this– it’s right here in Omnicom’s Code of Conduct statement:
Our reputation depends, to a very large measure, on you taking personal responsibility for maintaining and adhering to the policies and guidelines set forth here. Your continued cooperation in this regard is appreciated.
“An Open Letter to Omnicom President-CEO John Wren” [AdvertisingAge via Towleroad]
“Homophobia and (In)Authenticity at Omnicom: What can a leader do?” [Authentic Organizations]
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@picardia: What does gay rights have to do with this commercial? Unless your assumption is that the speedwalker is gay, which would be you stereoytping, wouldn’t it?
Get some nuts could be a great storyline for a Snickers campaign to use. Pushing yourself to limits is really fun and character-building. I can think of dozens of ways to do this, none of which involves paint-tagging power-walking suburbanites. Tons. That would endear them to the adolescent male crowd that they’re trying to reach far more than this mouth-breathing stunt.
Odds are pretty good that the Mad Men working on the campaign are such milquetoasts – probably the type that was pushed around when in school, ironically – that they drew a blank when coming up with examples of pushing limits. Says more about them then power-walking guys in suburbia: it’s their panties that are moist when exiting a reasonably thrilling roller coaster, for one.
I think the ad is funny. I also think that all the people complaining about it have nothing to say about the legion of “I am woman; hear me roar” styled ads out there. Ads that discriminate against these same men.
@NikkiSweet: Oh sweet lord, you are correct sir. I guess claiming that everything is reverse-racism is no longer in fashion…
One person in the commercial is participating in an Olympic sport, the other is known for parading around with his shirt off with oiled pects sporting 35 pounds of gaudy gold jewelery while spewing ridiculous catch phrases.
Who is really the gay stereotype?
In response to the post’s request, I’m a 22-year old male. It is ridiculous to think that bullying among young boys has somehow abated. I moved to another school when I was in 5th grade & experienced two years of social hell. I played sports in high school. I went to a huge public university. Bullying, cockfighting, penis envy… it’s all part of life, because it’s part of the male psyche to act aggressively around other males. This behavior isn’t going to change just because our society is becoming more liberal.
That said, labeling an effeminate man as a “disgrace to the man race” is beyond bullying between males. It illustrates a failure to understand the complexity & range of male (or really, human) potential. But it’s very liberal & high brow of me to state that as I stand here on my soap box.
@dopplerd: Speedwalking?!?! An OLYMPIC sport??!?! You got to be fucking kidding me…
I thought the last place to think of this as being anti-gay would be The Consumerist. I saw the big to-do over the weekend about the commercial, then I subsequently hunted down the rest of the series. I have to say, this is the most entertaining ad campaign I’ve seen in a while, IT’S T!
Come on though guys, I think it’s offensive that you would ASSUME the speedwalker is gay. I saw him and thought “okay, some uppity speedwalker dude is speewalki–HOLY SHIT IT’S T. TIME TO MAKE THIS SUCKA FLY.”
@Genocyde: Other commercials? Link please.
@Genocyde:
Other commercials in this series? WHERE !?!? WHERE!!?!
I must see these!
I am hoping for one where mr T is shooting snickers bars at a guy metal detecting on a beach (as I am into metal detecting).
@coren: Stereo typing saves time. Life would be absolutely unbearable if we were forced to meet every event with a completely blank slate.
@Chris Walters:
How do you get from a blatently over the top Mister T shooting candy bars at someone to “You gonna die faggot”? Where at ALL in that commercial did the runner get branded as gay? Sexuality is NEVER mentioned in this commercial – unless *YOU* are the one stereoytping speedwalking with being gay.
You guys are seeing menace in your shadows over this one.
And god knows, treating other people like human beings takes a way backseat to saving time.
What’s especially funny is that the people shrieking “OMFG he’s effeminate not gay!” don’t seem to think there is any issue with dissing men for being effeminate. Which means, “like women”. Eeeeww, girls!
Glad to know Mars Inc doesn’t want any money from pussy-bearers. Thanks for telling me to spend my cash elsewhere!
May have already been said, but isn’t the letter-writer being bigoted by assuming an effeminate, speedwalking man is gay? Absolutely nowhere in the ad does it confirm that he is gay. Who’s conforming to stereotypes?
I found two other Mr T “get some nuts” commercials….
+ Watch video
+ Watch video
I found out these were shown in the UK…. no wonder I never saw them before.
I don’t have time to read through all the comments, but while I’m here I will relate a story about masculinity/bullying.
Where I’m from, at the start of school last September (2007), a kid in grade 10 came to school on the first day wearing a pink shirt of some description. The school jocks mocked him pretty badly, calling him gay and threatening to beat him up if he wore a pink shirt again.
Word got out on facebook thanks to a couple of grade 12s who saw what happened and were pretty disgusted, and the next day a large chunk of the school population came to school wearing pink shirts.
The bullies were furious, to put it mildly.
Here is a link to the story:
[www.cbc.ca]
@geckospots:
Some hope for (Canadian) society, perhaps.
@donkeyjote: Visit [en.beijing2008.cn]
See “20km walk Men” “20km race walk Women” and “50km walk Men”
So, yes it is an Olympic sport.
I watched the ad a few times. It’s not clear if the guy is gay. But he definitely comes across as effeminate. Why didn’t they use a “macho” athlete wearing masculine looking clothing? I dunno… maybe the whole “let’s make fun of people that are different” thing has run it’s course. It’s just not funny anymore.
It did remind me of this ad:
On the other hand, the “soccer” ad with Mr. T is very funny.
@SkokieGuy:
I thought I had quite a few pages bookmarked, but I can’t find them.
I do remember what the Girl Scouts claim about their cookies:
[tinyurl.com]
And at some point in the past 4 years, Ben & Jerry’s stopped getting their chocolate from the CMA (Chocolate Manufacturer’s Association):
[tinyurl.com]
And then a quick google search brought up these:
[tinyurl.com]
[tinyurl.com]
And it’s possible that like Ben & Jerry’s, the CMA has changed their practices in the past 6-7 years. But about 2 years ago a friend’s workplace was visited by a Mars Co. representative promoting dark chocolate M&M’s and the anti-oxidants in dark chocolate and admitted that Mars can’t guarantee the source of their chocolate because they buy from the CMA. And if Mars did what Ben & Jerry’s did, which is pay more, they could guarantee that none of their chocolate came from slave labor.
@donkeyjote: Lets say I get a knife right now, and throw it at you. My intent is completely harmful, I want to kill you.
But, suddennly, the knife misses! You’re not gonna go, “OH WELL IT MISSED NO HARM NO FOUL.” You are gonna be pretty fucking pissed.
Do you people know who doesn’t care if you’re offended? Manly men, that’s who.
I was made fun of and bullied in high school for not being masculine enough and you know where most of those people are now? The same place I left them, a small Midwestern town pulling down a slightly higher wage than when we were teenagers, married to fat wives. The universe has a way of working things out.
Making fun and teasing has a valuable place in society, lest we truly do become an entire country of whiners, cry-babies and wimps who can’t handle a candy commercial without threatening violence and boycotts.
@Trai_Dep:
They are not, actually. Many of them are actually ex-frat boys who treat their positions in the advertising world as an excuse to continue their irresponsible, alcohol- and drug-abusing, misogynistic lifestyles. I’ve walked out of brainstorming sessions–where supposedly nothing is off-limits–after hearing one guy bray for an hour about an idea for creative for a print ad that was pretty much exactly what this ad is putting out.
Advertising is a form of media, and is thus very dangerous if viewed only through the prism of humor “Oh, lighten up, it’s just a funny commercial.” Creative professionals, brand management, and ad execs need to realize that pronto.
A huge number of commericals (and sitcoms) work on the assumption that regular straight guys are idiots, liars, and constantly need the supervision of better-knowing women. A commercial with someone telling a mincing guy to man up is a drop in the bucket compared to how regular men are portrayed.
Besides, any commercial with Mr. T is hilarious regardless of any other content.
@ObtuseGoose:
I found that one kinda clever. And viewed it as the smart guy manipulating the dumb jock. And making fun of the jock as being a homophobe.
That’s how I took it.
@forgottenpassword: haha…these Mr.T commercials are great. I hope snickers keeps making them. that soccer one is so true. now that i’ve seen these a few times, it reminds me of the office linebacker superbowl commercials a few years ago. terry tate was tackling women in those too. it’a amazing we didn’t have people up in arms about violence against women. maybe…just maybe they understnad it was ONLY A FREAKIN COMMERCIAL!!!!!
Also, part (if not most) of the problem is that MArs always puts out these crazy freaking ALPHA MALE FUCK WOMEN, QUEERS AND MAYBE MINORITES commercials. If this were an isolated incident, it would be easier to forgive.
I’m shocked (yet perversely excited) that Mr T is shooting lumpy-skinned, dark-complexioned log-shaped objects of a certain dimension towards the undulating fanny of a White suburban man.
You GO, girl!
To the people who say we can’t assume he’s gay…you’re absolutely right ONLY if this is a regular man on the street. We’d have no idea.
Nothing in ads is accidental, or it’s sure as hell not supposed to be. And this man is obviously intended to be a gay stereotype. Whether such stereotypes are accurate is another matter. If the advertisers didn’t know they were employing an old stereotype, then they should be fired for stupidity.
I fail to see the problem with the commercial.
@Captain_Collide: Clean out our vaginas? Definitely offencive right there. Not only saying that people who complain are women, but women are whiny bitches who just need to clean out our vags because there’s no reason to say “this is offensive” regardless if you think the man is gay or just a speedwalker. He’s trying to get some exercise, REGARDLESS OF HOW SILLY IT LOOKS
The people in this thread saying the man is gay aren’t stereotyping him, they’re pointing out that the commercial portrays a common stereotype. It is not the pot calling the kettle black
Ugh, didn’t finish. But, anyway, REGARDLESS OF HOW SILLY IT LOOKS, he’s minding his own damn business and doesn’t need to get shot at by Macho Man Prototype to “get some nuts” because what he is doing isn’t “normal”.
Screw that!
Mr. T himself is a parody of uber-machismo. He’s a cartoon like character.
What’s next, will we be debating the merits of Eric Cartman’s views on Jewish faith and culture?
@failurate: The problem is that we know South Park has tounge firmly planted in cheek.
Plenty of gay people would take issue with that man’s outfit, too.
LMAO
My best friend is gay, yadda yadda disclaimers excuses etc., but I have to admit I LOL’ed at this ad. Anything with Mr. T is an automatic win.
@Captain_Collide: of course it’s all fun and games until someone takes it literally and decides bullying is fun. Then we get something like Columbine.
@wilstanton: And to the crowd who is trying to make the case that the walker was gay, that shows your homophobia. Many gay men are just like every other man.
it’s not recognizable because it’s what gay men look like; it’s recognizable because it’s what legions of media stereotypes of gay men from the dawn of cinema look like. Those of you who are trying to turn this around that way are being deliberately obtuse.
I’m a little annoyed that, aside from everything else, Snickers appears to have decided to alienate their female audience to some extent. I’m not saying every woman will hate this commercial, but I imagine a good number, when confronted with marginalizing stupidity, might be annoyed enough not to buy a candy that seems to have stopped targeting their demographic entirely.
And, damn, Snickers – that’s a lot of PMS money to be lost. (Comment not intended to imply that all women with PMS crave chocolate – lord knows I do, though, and I’ll be getting something else out of the candy machine when the craving hits.)
@ZackHoagie: and Eric Cartman isn’t the only voice – there is a Jewish character (Kyle) who is one of the protagonists, and a foil for him. Fairly different context.
Just what the world needs, another commercial that encourages kids to beat up other kids.
I’ve bought my last Snickers bar.
Jerks.
You wacky ad agencies – how fun it is to play with violence in a cute and clever (and probably soon to be award-winning) way.
But what’s up with the shooting? Only ‘pussies’ would attack other people (who reflect back to them their own insecurity) with a gun… too “hands off.” Here’s an idea for your next ad campaign…
Here’s how “real men” attack other people they are afraid of:
[en.wikipedia.org]
“On June 7, 1998, Byrd, 49, accepted a ride from three drunk men named Shawn Allen Berry, Lawrence Russell Brewer, and John William King. He had already known one of them. Instead of taking him home, the three men beat Byrd behind a convenience store, chained him by the ankles to their pickup truck, stripped the man naked, and dragged him for three miles. Although Lawrence Russell Brewer claimed that Byrd’s throat had been slashed before he was dragged, forensic evidence suggests that Byrd had been attempting to keep his head up, and an autopsy suggested that Byrd was alive for much of the dragging and died after his right arm and head were severed when his body hit a culvert. His body had caught a sewage drain on the side of the road resulting in Byrd’s decapitation. [1].”
I can see the ad for 3 Musketeers now: “3 ‘he-men’ grab a guy leaving a convenience store with an energy bar instead of a 3 Musketeers, beat him, chain him to a car, strip him naked, and drag him alive down the road to his death.” Wow, that’s comedy gold, Mars, we’d be laughing our asses off at your bold and inciteful method of selling your goodies to our kids.
Sorry folks, but the ad is funny. It’s Mr. T for crying out loud! I am heading over to the vending machine immediately to purchase a Snickers bar.
@ZackHoagie: The problem is that we know South Park has tounge firmly planted in cheek.
Um, you do realize that we’re talking about Mister T here, right?
Is there any room in this discussion for thinking that the ad is neither a) horribly offensive, nor b) particularly funny? Hey, people, Mr. T’s presence doesn’t automatically make things amusing. It’s a lazy trope that’s been done to death.
I’m writing to Mars and demanding that they cease showing that commercial and replace it with something that’s actually funny. The American people have a right to good jokes.
I guess Snickers didn’t get the memo that the only people you are allowed to ridicule, find humor in, caricature or otherwise make fun of are straight white Christian Republican alpha males.
I never thought gay when I saw this ad. I was thinking more that the guy powerwalking looked plain ridiculous. It’s illustrating absurdity by being absurd.
@Canino: If we’re not careful, today’s “straight guy” is tomorrow’s “mincing guy.” Seems to me that’s a major component of these sorts of sitcoms and commercials and general mind warping – to control, dehumanize and scare MEN into submission to aggressiveness.
Basically they say, if you are a guy, don’t have opinions or feelings, stuff it all deep inside and then go to Iraq (or the local High School or McDonald’s or Post Office) and let your weapons express what the Mr. T macho-overloaded culture represses.
But I agree, Mr. T IS funny, if only for his ironic iconicness.
If it were a coach firing snickers bars at the backs and rear ends of macho football players, it might be funny. This isn’t, it’s bigotry on par with rednecks doing drive by shootings on blacks. Or these morons:
In related news, the reich wing in the US are up in arms because the FCC overturned the fine against CBS for the “wardrobe malfunction”.
Maybe the shooting in the Stinkers ad is suggesting of latent homosexuality in the right wingers.
@SBR249: Well, taking it literally would mean they go on a rampage with candy cannons.
That would be a delicious disaster.
@Captain_Collide: perhaps I should rephrase my comment to “take to heart” as much as I love free candy, there are better ways to dish out free samples.