Snickers Advert Pulled

Steyr

http://www.tvscoop.tv/2008/07/snickers_ad_pul.html

Its humour for crying out loud, PC bullsheit.

Overheal

i heard about this and i totally agree with you.

heres a working link http://consumerist.com/5029752/snickers-makes-fun-of-effeminate-men-by-shooting-them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvpKouRTCx0

Holsten

Haha, good ad, made me chuckle.

KTRIC

Fuck Yeah, Mr T is the shit !!!

I can now turn off my tv because I have seen quite possibly the coolest add ever :cool:

PurpleBerry

What the hell is offensive about that???

dr.bollocko

Quick! Delete this thread!
If faceman sees this people will get shot at and have to dive into bushes in slow motion.
Nobody got killed in the eighties, but his aim might be better since then.

Munya

That's silly.

star-pants

ha ha - I like it
doesn't beat the 'smack' on the head of the other one

Overheal

Neesa wrote: »

What the hell is offensive about that???

good question - ima gonna go ask the GBL forum people

dreamr

its offensive to anyone who does speed walking... or wears yellow shorts.. :pac:


and i just read the first link, apparently is offensive to gay people. because anyone who speed walks is now gay.

you've all been warned.

ixoy

Overheal wrote: »

good question - ima gonna go ask the GBL forum people

I imagine we're all equally puzzled. I mean seriously - how did they find it offensive? It's Mr. T! How can they have it in for an ad featuring Mr. T?!

thelordofcheese

Apparently speedwalkers == teh gay.

Says alot more about the mentality of the people who complained than anything else.

dr.bollocko

thelordofcheese wrote: »

Apparently speedwalkers == teh gay.

Says alot more about the mentality of the people who complained than anything else.

Speed walking turned me half gay for a good three weeks in the eighties.

Overheal

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 ****** and: ridiculed, berated, laughed at, marginalized, stuffed into a locker, beaten up, murdered. Ass-wiggling speedwalker = ******. 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 ******s, is therefore homophobic whether the runner is gay or not. [I think the censored word rhymes with bob saget - Overheal]

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 his 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]

ronnie3585

What a joke, that ad is brilliant. More PC sh1t!

johndaman66

Definately one of the best ads i've seen in a long time. But what actually makes it funny for me is the fact certain members of society found it that offensive that it was pulled!!! Thats whats really funny:D

Overheal

this just reminds me of when Taco Bell pulled the chihuahua ads because they were afraid of offending mexicans. In all reality the mexican population responded the other way on that, saying they loved and missed the dog.

andrewie

Great ad

Can't believe its been pulled!

dsmythy

What a waste of a great ad.

Rowley Birkin QC

Great ad.


Feckin pc shower.

Naos

It's great when he comes crashing through the house.

<--- Hates PC

Havermeyer

Fúcking Mary Whitehouses the lot of em. The end of the world is nigh.

BeansMeansHynes

Aw that is a brillant add

ZygOte

thats brilliant, but yeah i fail to see how gay men would be offended by this :rolleyes:
I wonder if the CSO has stats on the number of gay men who enjoy speedwalking?

and whats that MR T says at the end "Get some nuts!" , and they claim its offensive to gay men?, MR T is telling you to do it!

GrumPy

+1

truecrippler

lmfao, I love it!!

Kintarō Hattori

Hilarious stuff. Kudos to whoever decided to get Mr. T involved in promoting Snickers. Ahhh the world is gone PC mad and to be honest it's kinda scary.

gixerfixer

Is it just me our is the world gone Pc mad.:mad:

Jordon

Am I the only one who can see it is using the gay thing as an ad gimmick?
I like Mr T but shooting at a homo is a step to far by the ad makers.

:(:(:(:(:(

ixoy

Jordon wrote: »

Am I the only one who can see it is using the gay thing as an ad gimmick?
I like Mr T but shooting at a homo is a step to far by the ad makers.

:(:(:(:(:(

Well asides from the fact there's no indication the walker is gay, Mr. T should be allowed shoot at whatever foo' he wants!

ZygOte

Jordon wrote: »

Am I the only one who can see it is using the gay thing as an ad gimmick?
I like Mr T but shooting at a homo is a step to far by the ad makers.

:(:(:(:(:(

so your the one who objected

Phlann

Well, obviously the whole 'problem' with speedwalkers is that they walk in a comically effeminate manner, so I can see where they're coming from.

It's still completely idiotic though.

Jordon

ZygOte wrote: »

so your the one who objected

No I did Not! but I would have. It was a parody of a gay person and that is what annoyed me. For a start the outfit was sooo 80's. Like I mean come on people!! :(:(:(:(:(:mad::mad:

Phlann

Maybe you should write to the Olympic Committee and have them ban the speedwalking event.

Can't have all these people parodying gay people and getting away with it!

Jordon

Phlann wrote: »

Maybe you should write to the Olympic Committee and have them ban the speedwalking event.

Can't have all these people parodying gay people and getting away with it!

Any links to their walking gear? I may do!

ZygOte

Jordon wrote: »

No I did Not! but I would have. It was a parody of a gay person and that is what annoyed me. For a start the outfit was sooo 80's. Like I mean come on people!! :(:(:(:(:(:mad::mad:

so anyone who may look like they are "soooo 80's" is gay? ehh :rolleyes:
me thinks your gaydar is broken.

Agamemnon

Great ad, I'm going to show my support for it by buying a few Snickers bars tomorrow. C'mon people, join me, it's what Mr. T would do.

Jordon

ZygOte wrote: »

so anyone who may look like they are "soooo 80's" is gay? ehh :rolleyes:
me thinks your gaydar is broken.

Yeah if they look 80's gay. Did you miss that point?

I hope you can't have children but I m thinking that is a moot point.

heyjude

Overheal wrote: »

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?

If he thinks that ad is bullying, wonder what he made of Reebok's Terry Tate adverts such as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRkiouh5NEI&feature=related

Havermeyer

Jordon wrote: »

Yeah if they look 80's gay. Did you miss that point?

I hope you can't have children but I m thinking that is a moot point.

What on earth are you on about. I think you should go have a quiet word with yourself to be honest. There is no reference to gays in the ad, just a bloke that walks like a sissy. So grow up and get a sense of humour.

ZygOte

Jordon wrote: »

Yeah if they look 80's gay. Did you miss that point?

I hope you can't have children but I m thinking that is a moot point.

i was contemplating a quirky response for a minute but i think you are a moron will do.

seek help deluded idiot.

Patricide

Thats a great ad, pity to see it pulled, its a joke.

2Scoops

Yeah, reminds me of this:
http://www.tvscoop.tv/2008/06/heinz_commercia.html

Stupid non-PC bigots! But let's glibly blame the PC fascists instead. :rolleyes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IYx4Bc6_eE

Mossy Monk

Another great Mr T advert.

ronnie3585

Jordon wrote: »

Yeah if they look 80's gay. Did you miss that point?

I hope you can't have children but I m thinking that is a moot point.

Never feed a troll:pac:

AlmightyCushion

Jordon wrote: »

Yeah if they look 80's gay. Did you miss that point?

I hope you can't have children but I m thinking that is a moot point.

Banned for a week.

turf

class add.. dunno why it was pulled

Speedwalking is silly. Absolutely one of the stupidest things I've ever seen people do. That fool deserved to be shot at with chocolate bars by Mr.T. Brilliant ad

Phlann

ridiculous banning

Dudess

Phlann, have a read of that user's posts and you will identify a distinct trolling pattern. Also, if you have a problem with a moderator/moderating decision, send them a pm or take it to Feedback/Helpdesk. It's really not-on to be moaning about it on-thread. Thanks.

gixerfixer wrote: »

Is it just me our is the world gone Pc mad.:mad:

You know something? You're the first person to say that here...

I don't know the speed-walking ad but the tank/football one is fantastic. Muppets for pulling it!

Phlann

Dudess wrote: »

Phlann, have a read of that user's posts and you will identify a distinct trolling pattern.

I'll take your word for it.

Speaking of things that are 'not-on', please don't edit your post after it's been replied to, it's very bad form. There was only that one sentence there when I read it.