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Crimes against good taste are sometimes best punished with silence.
Crimes against good taste are sometimes best punished with silence.
Given that yesterday's church shooting appears to have been motivated by that church's stance in favor of gay rights (and, of course, by the shooter being absolutely insane), this ad's \"joke\" is as unfunny as it can get.
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Here, they are best punished with money. As in, let Mars Inc. know their competitors be getting your junk food money.
The people who are whining about \"political correctness\" need a boot to the head. No, you are not creating a hip, daring response to overbearing PC when you're a bigoted asshole.
Leave Mr. T out of this!
I don't really hold a favorable opinion on speedwalking thanks to that Malcolm in the Middle episode. Either walk normally, or RUN!
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And Snickers was also the product advertised with the homophobic \"Gross! Men kissing!\" ad, one version of which ended with men beating each other with wrenches. I can't imagine that the company stayed with the same creative team after such a debacle, but damn, two homophobic violence commercials in a row? That's pretty creepily coincidental.
I thought the commercial was great. histerical. I'm sure you can take every commercial and say it makes fun of someone. You can find a commercial portraying a guy like he has an IQ of 5 and say that it's making fun or stereotyping retarded people. Should snickers redo the commercial and show a big beefy bodybuilder speedwalking? i think the same effect would come across and i would laugh histerically. everyone else...get over it. it's a commercial
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I think the commercial is funny. Why do people get so touchy? Why is everything an attack against one group or another? It's a commercial folks. Read into it whatever you want. Why has everyone gotten so whiny?
This is fluff. Period. I certainly feel that it’s worse that Garfield felt that an effeminate and easily bullied man is an accurate representative of the Gay community. At no point in the commercial is it implied that the speedwalker is gay. He’s just a pushover. Stop getting your pretty panties in a bunch over something so stupid.
Video?
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I hope that they lose some money over this, they deserve it. It's in terrible taste.
@mythago: I agree that we should vote with our dollars, but I also think that making a big, public fuss over this is playing right into their strategy.
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I'm not really a \"Consumerist reader\" (I read a few of the other Gawkers and check in over here every once in a while when something looks interesting), but I'm 20, so I'll help.
I'm not exactly the most masculine guy in the world. And I'm fine with that. OK, I don't, like, power-walk in yellow shorts, but that's just not my style. Personally, I haven't ever really seen people being bullyed for not being \"man\" enough, but that could just be that my circle of friends doesn't care about that. I'm sure it probably does happen, but when I saw people in high school getting in fights, it wasn't related to this idea.
Personally, I don't like ads like this, ones that make fun of men who don't measure up to some sort of imaginary \"manliness\" standard, but I'm not offended and I don't really think it promotes gay-bashing or anything like that. If you like it, have a laugh; if you don't, just ignore it. It's a candy bar ad. Be offended by something that matters. If you get offended by Mr. T doing just about anything (especially shooting candy bars), you need to get your priorities in order.
Ok, to all the people saying this commercial is preaching violence against homosexuals, I say... really? REALLY? He's hurling candy bars at a speed walker. I mean c'mon.
I think too many people have too much time on their hands and are looking for things to be offended about.
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Is there something wrong with Neons? I didn't get the memo.
If everyone should STFU because it's a commercial, then why are you posting \"it's just a commercial\"? Why are you getting your panties in a bunch that people are unhappy with this commercial?
@Platypus Man: Yes, because if you care about one thing, you are INCAPABLE of caring about anything else. Except not.
You don't know crap about the priorities of anybody offended by this ad.
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This is fluff. Period. I certainly feel that it?s worse that Garfield felt that an effeminate and easily bullied man is an accurate representative of the Gay community. At no point in the commercial is it implied that the speedwalker is gay. He?s just a pushover. Stop getting your pretty panties in a bunch over something so stupid.
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Well, to me it sounds fantasticly funny! I want to see it!
Mr. T yelling at some poncey twit sounds hilarious!
I saw one of those hard lemonade ads. The funny thing is...what self-respecting man drinks \"hard\" lemonade anyway? Might as well crack open a nice cold Zima and be done with it.
Anyway, I have no problem with this ad, except that it's stupid. I mean, this company really wants you to associate the nuts in Snickers with balls? Really? Ew. That's the worst thing to happen to Snickers since it was used as the fake turd-in-a-pool in a million elementary school kids' pranks.
How PC can we get?
It's a funny commercial, get over it.
Found the video. It's on the \"beating the crap out of the sissies\" first link of the post.
I wonder what percentage of gay men are effeminate? The ad agency obviously thought the percentage to be so low that their ad wouldn't offend the mass of gay men (and lesbians) that are NOT effeminate. I wonder how they felt when their \"all in good fun\" little ad got them labeled as homophobes?
Shame on Snickers for funding this crap, not catching it, or not caring.
Straight white suburban boys who have never ever set foot in the jungle of the real world are clearly the nutless ones. They also probably think Senator Obama has nothing to fear from would-be assassins, and that his security is as assured as McCain's.
Gays are \"whiny\" because we tend to, oh I don't know, get gunshots point blank in the face, like that 15 year old kid in Ventura, CA a couple months back.
I carry a baseball bat in my truck cause I figure eventually, I'm gonna be kissing some guy in a parking lot, just like the hip kids do, and some douchenozzle like Bravo369 is gonna come along, drunk and angry, and try to get up in my face, and I'm gonna have to beat the holy fuck out of him.
See ya in Hell, vanilla!
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It's about how stupid speedwalking looks. Everyone expressing outrage must believe some stereotype that only gays would be into speedwalking.
I say we're looking at this the wrong way.
Drive-by free-candy delivery ... what's not to like about that? ;-p
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This commercial is so funny. It reminds me of when one of my good friends was shot and killed on July 31, 1991 by a fagbasher who felt threatened that my friend wasn't masculine-looking enough.
Sure, it wasn't with a Snickers-loaded gun, but the sentiment is still there.
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eh...I think it's funny. I'm not a \"manly man\" but I'm secure in myself to laugh at a joke.
Commercials are less and less about products and more and more about being funny. (which is quite sad honestly)
Mr. T is the characture of a manly-man over-buff mean guy. They use his image to attack other men. It's funny. Laugh.
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What makes a man? NUTS make the man. Well, according to mars, in order to distinguish Snickers, they have to ensure people know it has NUTS in it, and what better way to do that then remind them that NUTS is another way of saying TESTICLES. In this commercial we have the protypical neanderthal alpha male - Mr. T (where the \"T\" stands for \"Testosterone\") - shooting what can be assumed to be his manly chocolate spermatazoa at the lesser, effeminate balls-less modern man.
It's really quite fascinating. And dumb.
Reportedly, by the way, the ad has been pulled from television but is still available on the web. However, the site took so long to load that I gave up (the same thing happened on the main Mars site; they need to design more for access and less for flash).
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@Transuranic: Yeah, the \"get over it\" crowd probably hasn't sat in Spanish class in high school while a bully behind you whispers, \"Faggot. I'm gonna kill you, faggot. You faggot,\" for six weeks straight. I have, and my mouth fell open when I saw the commercial. Based on my experiences growing up, this commercial normalizes violence against sissies, girly-men, and in general the \"weak.\" I'm pretty sure that bully and others like him would have seen it as justifying their attitudes and behaviors.
Ok I just saw it.... ANd I admit..... IT WAS HILARIOUS!!!
I did find it a little disconcerting how mr T has gotten meaner in his old age. lol!
THe first time I saw it.... I thought he called the guy \"cracka\" (but after multiple views... he was sayin \"sucka\").
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I graduated high school four years ago (just got my degree, good riddance to the \"alma mater\"), and I've got a anecdote I think is relevant.
I ran a satirical newspaper in high school with one author who often bordered on the farcical side. His goal was generally to rile people up. It wasn't my type of humor, but I didn't want to step on his toes so I didn't. Incidentally, his pieces were always the most popular.
Anyway, he once submitted a question to our advice column (which were obviously always fake) with a thinly veiled name of a local varsity baseball player. Essentially it said something along the lines of \"I like to kiss boys but I don't want people to make fun of me, what should I do?\"
Against my better judgment, I ran it, fully expecting to be criticized for homophobic material. I figured most people would get a chuckle out of the sheer audacity of the remark then move on, while other, more senative, readers would be upset. I was prepared to take responsibility for my decision.
But the response was unfortunately quite the opposite of all that. The baseball player and his friends were super pissed that we had the audacity to call him gay. A small minority threw a borderline violent fit. They threatened the advice columnist and called her a \"dyke\" in retalliation on account of her dress tendencies.
Others either said they were over-reacting, some of their teammates even said we should have just used their names instead, as they wouldn't have been bothered. Faculty kept removing me from class to make sure nobody had confronted me.
In the end, since they overreacted so much, they weren't in any position to try to have us punished. The administrative decision was to have us all apologize to each other and move on, which is what we did.
There were a number of gay and lesbian students at the school, as well as those who defied typical gender roles. That none of these students ever had any problems (in high school at least) shows that, although some people were vehemently afraid to be labelled gay themselves, everyone was publicly tolerant. The reaction to our question (and really, the question itself), on the other hand, shows that homophobia is still strongly present.
Their general tolerance was clearly a learned bahavior. One commercial isn't going to change the world, but if this type of thing were common when my peers were younger, how might their tolerance have been affective? What if they had been lead to believe that this sort of behavior was funny?
Doesn't a show like \"Queer Eye for the Straight Guy\" mock certain male stereotypes as well?
Aren't various stereotypes of men mocked routinely in the sitcom universe still? From plumber's cracks to dumb jock to mechanic to nerdy guy, etc.
While I don't really like this, and I wouldn't choose this to advertise my product; comic violence is commonly used for fun in mass media and advertising. This isn't some guy getting stabbed by a bunch of street thugs.
joke = funny
some people are too sensitive - maybe they need some nuts too.....
First:
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?Not really.
Second:
I know alot of gay/bi guys and women, and I pretty much assure you even they think speedwalking is pretty damn queer. (And even then, where did anyone get the idea that the guy was gay, and not just some metro fool?)
Third:
It's Mr. Fuckin' T, in a fucking pickup, driving through a house while standing in the bed of said pickup. God damn that made my sides hurt.
Finally:
Does noone get the IRONY of a supposed \"\"anti-gay\"\" commercial with a tagline of \"Get Some Nuts\"?! Cause that sounds like a gay meta-reference.
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Regardless, the commercial made me laugh with the over-the-top vehicle carnage tearing through a house and classic Mr. T.
@Chris Walters: Man, I'm not condoning the ad. I'm not saying that what it's saying is cool. I don't like it either, though I haven't shared your experiences. All I'm saying is that you shouldn't be offended by an ad. What you had to go through it terrible, but this is an ad. For candy. It's not saying that's it's ok to do this. It's an ad and is intended to be funny, whether or not you think it is. Anyone who thinks the ad is \"justifying their attitudes and behaviors\" probably shouldn't take their advice from... ads.
Some things are ok to get offended over, but this isn't a big deal. People are too sensitive. I'm sorry if you don't like what I have to say, but pick your battles. If you get offended by everything, you might just go crazy.
@ratnerstar, the kind of asshats who think harassing effeminate men is funny (gee, am I looking at anyone in this thread? Yes, I am) or that it's cool to harass gay men would like the commercial, public fuss or no. \"Silence\" in the sense of saying nothing is a mistake. Talk in money; it's all they understand.
As for \"comic violence\", the point isn't shooting candy bars; it's the target. If it were a bunch of guys in a pickup truck with a Confederate flag shooting Snickers bars at a black man, shouting \"You a disgrace to your race!\", would that be funny?
Oh. My bad. Most Consumerist readers probably would think so, too.
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@LeeEquestridomus: Agreed!
Plus it's just a joke commercial. I mean, Mr. T is in the vehicle, not Hitler.
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The key to staying masculine is to eat a uninspired corporation-created candy? I think NOT!
Everyone knows that real men eat meat...preferably raw meat that they recently killed themselves.
Only girly men eat candy.
This is why Mr. T (the worldwide exemplar of masculinity) found it them more appropriate as a projectile than as a food. I am sure that (shortly after collecting his paycheck) he went back to wrestling grizzly bears for their meat.
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Mars inc Sucks. The Twix commercials (and the website \"game\") they have thought up is pretty much more of the same as this Snickers commercial.... except it's more date-rapey : [happilybitter.wordpress.com]
good gods....
mr t was shooting snickers at a speedwalker, if anyone should speak up and gripe are speedwalkers...
I viewed the video, didnt think the guy as gay male, but a speedwalker, thats it.
this commercial makes fun of speedwalking, an unusual and \"un-natural\" form of movement for any animal...
i respect people that are gay, and believe they should be able to live their live as they wish, but not everything in this world is gaybashing. this commercial was simple speedwalking bashing, nothing else...
Mr. T is funny.
He's a manly man.
He's shooting candy bars at a wimp.
It is hilarious.
It's also a joke.
I carry a baseball bat in my truck cause I figure eventually, I'm gonna be kissing some guy in a parking lot, just like the hip kids do, and some douchenozzle like Bravo369 is gonna come along, drunk and angry, and try to get up in my face, and I'm gonna have to beat the holy fuck out of him.
Really, you'll beat the \"holy fuck\" out of someone just for trying to get up in your face? Have fun in prison.
In the meantime I'll make sure to avoid you as I wouldn't want to run the risk of being perceived as getting up in your face.
I personally don't see anywhere in the ad where they say that the speedwalker is a gay man. You PC Nazis just assume that he is because of your own stereotypes.
D'oh! Did I just Godwin myself?
I wish people in this world would quit being such damned babies about everything. \"Oh my God, he shot a snickers bar at a speedwalker. The world is coming to an end! Oh no!!\"
Some of you need to grow a pair.
A society devoid of humor is now within our grasp.
@mythago: But it's not! See, the thing I've noticed with a majority of these articles is they all play the \"what if\" card. You have to remember that \"what if\" doesn't exist, the commercial does.
Plus, I doubt Mr. T would shoot at people of his own race.
@Platypus Man: Agreed!
No wonder comedy movies don't do as well as they used to. Everyone is so preoccupied with whether they should laugh at something risque or not.
@donkeyjote: You make some great points.
I think the people who believe that 'effeminate'='gay' have some issues to work out for themselves.
Mr.T is the Man.
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This commercial goes beyond stereotypical behaviour. It adds to the collective thought that it is ok to belittle those individuals you feel superior to.
This is the type of thing that builds to columbine or Virginia tech situation.
Imagine what happens when that speedwalking guy reaches his boiling point. He just can't take it anymore. He buys a gun- a real gun, not one that shoots snickers. Then you have a real problem.
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can we agree that white middle-aged men are oftentimes portrayed as inept or the \"butt-end-of-the-commercial's-joke\"? When are fat, middle-aged, balding schlubs gonna rise up and wrest power from these advertisers? When will they demand fair and accurate portrayals in the media?
come to think of it, they probably already own the companies. nevermind. carry on.
(actually, no, really. count the amount of times older white guys are the goofs in commercials compared to other races/sexes/genders.)
@alphafemale: Agreed. That stupid \"Do you want to come back to my place\" commercial reeks of bad sexism juju... Mostly because it's unfunny at that. Atleast the trojan commercial with the pigs is a chuckle.
Funny commercial is funny. If you're a speedwalker, you can get your knickers in a twist. If you're gay and screaming \"homophobia!\" about this, then you're looking for something to get offended about, as there's nothing in this commercial to suggest that the guy is gay.
Hey, wouldn't the commercial be even funnier and more ironic if he were shooting the Snickers bars at a woman, telling her to \"get some nuts!\" Hahahahahahaha!
I'm not a panty-wadder about commercials, but I do find the concept offensive. It isn't ironic, or even funny, if the target of the violence is expected. Anyone can shoot Snickers bars at a \"gay man\" and watch him do his hissy dance. How about shooting the nutty bars and insults at skinheads? How about shooting them at a truck full of confederate-flag waving Bubbas. You know -- men who really need nuts. THEN, I'd buy a Snickers bar.
@penarestel: TheCutUp beat you to the godwin.
@Streyeder: \"Grow a pair\"? Don't you mean get some nuts?
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In the immortal words of Louis C.K. \"I'm not laughing at him because he's gay, I'm laughing at him because he's fucking weird.\"
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There's a difference between showing a stereptypical gay man in a commercial, and firing candy bars at him. The former is a comical depiction, the latter is violence against him.
As a gay man, I have no problem with depicting a \"sweater-draped poodle walker saying 'ooooooo'\", because when you heap all the stereotypes, be they gay men, black people or asians, it becomes so absurd it's funny; there are plenty of straight men who act flamboyant, other races like friend chicken, and there are plenty of white people who can't drive. But when you add violence to the mix, even \"cartoon\" violence by throwing candy bars, it crosses the line.
With this line of logic, it would be perfectly acceptable for the commercial to depict a black man eating fried chicken, then having a white pro wrestler come in and hang him from a tree using Twizzlers. Come on... it's only candy!!
This isn't attacking gays alone, it's attacking men who don't meet the standard of manliness. I am a self-proclaimed metro, so I suppose I should be shot as well
You've got to be incredibly naive to think that pairing a \"funny-walkin'\" speedwalker up against an Alpha Hetero Mr. T doesn't paint the huffing little guy as code for gay.
You've got to be similarly naive to think that if you're gay, and clearly being gay by holding your boyfriend's hand or kissing him in public, that if someone approaches you, you've got to be naive to think they're NOT there to beat you up. Oh, you let him take the first swing, of course; that's how you keep an assault charge from sticking.
OMG you guys, beating straight guys until their brains ooze out their ears is TOTALLY a joke! Get over it. GAWD, PC nazis. Jesus.
@BruinEric: \"Aren't various stereotypes of men mocked routinely in the sitcom universe still? From plumber's cracks to dumb jock to mechanic to nerdy guy, etc.\"
No, no, no. You just don't get it. It's OK to make fun of the typical white male, but don't you dare make a joke about anyone else!
I also always love how the people who say they are sticking up for homosexuality are the same ones who call any \"sissy\" or effeminate man being made fun of gay. People can make fun of the ridiculousness that is speedwalking without gaybashing...
Woah! We're missing the big picture here which is the creamy rich deliciousness of Mars Bars. Gender this and violence that are besides the point, let's all focus on spreading the word about the wonderful company Mars Inc that just wants to make us feel good about ourselves. Whether that's making us believe we're a cool guy in pick-up truck or the simple comfort of warm brown cacao bean mush wrapped around a soft, chewy centre of god-damn-right-it's-good lighter brown filling, doesn't matter becuase Mars is making me happy in this crazy mixed up world.
Next target the stereotypical gay who overcompensates for his perceived lack of manliness by bodybuilding. First target of this campaign-Mr. T
@Counterpoint: Those were my thoughts. I thought muscular gay men were on the up rise?
@RabbitDinner: Exactly.
Pretty good absurdist advertisement. Snickers? I'll take a dozen. Cases.
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It's easy enough to laugh at jokes that play off stereotypes. But why do we find them funny? Usually because at some level, the laughing party agrees with that stereotype. Racist jokes aren't funny if you don't believe, to some extent in the stereotype.
And while I can't prevent people from believing stereotypes, I do believe we should make a concerted effort to make it less and less comfortable for such ideas to be present or propagated. Why should we make it easier for homophobes to spread their fear mongering? Why should we make it easier for racists to spread their hate?
So, no. This isn't \"just a joke.\" Because jokes about people or groups aren't \"just jokes\" to many people. They aren't \"just jokes\" to the people that believe them. They aren't \"just jokes\" to the children who are impressionable enough to believe what they're told.
Call me what you will. Overly politically correct? So be it. But I've seen enough hate and fear in children, teens, and adults to know that passively allowing or actively spreading such messages is not okay.
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To the people who say that in America we don't have the right to NOT be offended, you're right! Commercials that make fun of the clueless (typically white) male are legion. There is a key difference. Most commercials that make fun of someone don't result in a message that its okay to hurt or be violent. (Does anyone want to go out and beat up middle aged married white men because their TV commercial wives are so much more clever?).
But gays are the victims of more than being the butt of jokes. We are frequent victims of violence and this commercial does imply that targeting less than manly men is an acceptable activity. It's a damn GUN that's being pointed at this fey speedwalker.
To claim that 'it's just a speedwalker' not code for gay is laughable. Could the contrast of the hypermacho Mr. T make this any more obvious? For the fully clueless, Snickers helpfully makes reference to 'manly men' making certain everyone understands the speedwalker isn't.
And what I find so funny is like all issues catering to homophobic attitude, there is a subtext of homosexuality. Snickers - Get Some Nuts! The nuts reference is obviously both to testicles and the nuts in Snickers. Seems to me, like no 'manly man' would even CONSIDER putting Snickers in their mouth, now that the double-entendre has been put out there.
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As a hardcore MMORPG player I can tell you that the younger generation are just as homophobic and incredibly vocal about it. Spend an hour in the chat channels in an MMORPG and you'll see amped-up cyber masculinity and f-bashing every other minute, and mostly from the youngest players.
@Aristeia: Or because, usually at some level, the laughing party agrees with how ridiculous the stereotype is. Have you never seen a asian movie? Everyone and their grandma (ESPECIALLY grandma) knows karate. And everyone knows thats bullshit. It's still funny.
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In my high school (I'm 26), one of my lesbian friends was beaten in the girls' bathroom. On one hand, most of the LGBT kids were drawn to Drama class as sort of a protective group. On the other hand, there are still a lot of ignorant, macho sentiments running rampant. My little sister's school, for instance, had a group of affluent blondes who kept screaming that my sister was a \"dyke\" because she and her female friends would walk around the track together during P.E. I told my sister she ought to be holding hands with her friends, because f--- those prisses.
@Cocotte: that is so sad and true.
John Gabriel's Greater Internet F***wad Theory. Let people be anonymous, give them a voice, and they'll act like complete d-bags.
Online games are the perfect place to see how abhorrently ignorant and racist and homophobic our youth can be.
We should do what we can to guide our youth away from such hate. We shouldn't condone their behavior through commercials that reaffirm their hateful beliefs.
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This ad is totally offensive. I'm 25. When I was still in grade school my classmates started using \"gay\" as a pejorative, and it wasn't because they loved gay people. In fact, I recall the most frequent insult I got in high school was \"lesbian.\" I don't think there's been any change in the attitudes of people in most places. New York City, maybe, but the middle of the Midwest where I grew up - it was still normal to beat the crap out of anyone perceived as unusual, much less gay.
I think the best incident to recall here happened when I was about 13. A neighboring school district had a gay band director (shocking! a band director, GAY!) and they fired him for being gay. Shortly thereafter, he died of a stroke in his early thirties. His partner said he died of a broken heart. When my classmates heard about his death, they laughed gleefully and made jokes about what was happening to him in hell. And oh yeah, these were both public school systems. I also had to put up with daily prayers broadcast over the loudspeaker and if I objected, I would be mercilessly beaten up by my classmates. I am not kidding or exaggerating.
I figure this idiotic ad was probably written by someone like the people I went to school with.
@Transuranic: um...wow. people really do read too much into things? Did i ever say i hate gays or anything like that? i'm actually for gay marriage and hate that MY church and religion is being a douchebag about gays. All i said was that the commercial is hilarious and i have no problem with it. For the record too, i read about this story a few days ago and found the video on youtube. i showed the video to my gf and 2 other guy friends and all laughed about it. I asked if they saw anything wrong with it and all looked at my puzzled because they couldn't find anything. it's funny.
The most offensive thing is that Mars claims it isn't rich enough to monitor cocoa farms and can only guarantee 50% of their chocolate is *not* farmed by child slaves.
Since there is no evidence that the speedwalker WAS gay, let's leave that aspect, and focus on the idea that NOBODY is manly enough to withstand a Snickers pelting by Mr. T.
Would everyone get their panties unbunched if he were shooting at Chuck Norris who responded by kicking the full-sized bars into Snickers Minis? 'Cause I'm just saying, that would be an even funnier commercial.
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. Real violence against homosexuals (or anybody else) is wrong. Mr. T. shooting Snickers at someone who is less manly than he is funny. I will be speaking to the Snickers people in a way they can undersand: I'm bying an @ss load of Snickers to shoot at speedwalkers and uptight PC police. Suckas!
Oh my, let me get this straight - the 'joke' connection they're making here is to associate peanuts (nuts) with testacles?? These advertising people who came up with this - do they realize that they're advertising a food product?? If they were doing advertising for a dairy's cottage cheese, would find a way to joke about feminine yeast infections?
This commercial is just off, and in enough ways, that I think it's perfectly understandable that there are people who are offended. One thing is for sure, I haven't even seen the commercial, but just hearing about it certainly has NOT whet my appetite for a Snickers candy bar. In fact, from now on, Snickers bars will probably forever make me think of a jogger's sweaty gonads.
All in favor of just cutting off the midwest from tv, radio, and the internet, as well as just nuking them out of existence, say aye.
Also, does anyone else realize that EVERYBODY is less manly then MR. T? Even Chuck Norris (But only like by .000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000003%... )
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-10572-100x100.png\")
@lawnmowerdeth: Just to play devil's advocate, why wasn't a woman used instead if it was an issue of speedwalking looking stupid? I certainly see a lot more female speedwalkers than men.
All that aside, speedwalking does look ridiculous. :)
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-429725-100x100.png\")
Oh please. Take some advice from Mr. T and get some nuts... seriously.
If you don't get the irony of shooting someone with a candy cannon to motivate masculinity, then clearly you need to rinse out your vagina and stop bitching.
Seriously, it's a humorous commercial you entitled whiny PC nutjobs. Grow up.
@forgottenpassword: See, there's this stereotype about midwesterners...
and thems the people with the issue about stereotypes...
and well...
Aww screw this *Presses the button*
(When in doubt... Atomic Bomb...)
(To be really sure, you need to glass the area from high orbit)
While the response to the ad is overboard, as usual, I do think the shooting of the Snickers at the speedwalker (rather than, say, offering the Snickers to the speedwalker, which thus transforms him into a Manly Man) is distasteful, since it suggest violence (even in humor form) is an acceptable practice of effecting change on others. I'm probably reading too much into it, too, but I think the message could have been easily conveyed in other ways. The overall premise is certainly amusing.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-14466-100x100.png\")
I didn't think he was gay. Hell, why aren't people saying that this was a reverse hate crime?
There are too many assumptions being taken. I'm not saying it's good to \"gay-bash\" or anything like that, but I have no idea how anyone could positively say that the speed walker was gay.
@econ2econ: You're talking Diplomacy...
Mr. T. only does diplomacy at the end of a gun.
And if they took your idea, they would be ripping off Orbit gum commercials or any other *magic item = instabetter*.
Slapstick comedy needs to come back with a vengeance (Preferably with Mr. T riding shotgun, as he is now).
Look at how well \"Live Free or Die Hard\" did. Or \"Shoot 'Em up\". Violence sells baby.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-388919-100x100.png\")
As someone of Indian descent, there's a part of me that's just a little offended every time Apu appears on The Simpsons. I get the joke, it's sometimes funny, but it's sometimes over the line. I also don't think it's worth complaining about -- outside of the context of this thread, of course.
So what's the solution? No humor involving interaction with another human being, ever? SkokieGuy draws the line at perceived violence. Bob Garfield, using PC code language (\"other\"), would apparently draw the line at perceived classification.
I'd rather laugh, or not laugh, then move on to the next thing. Like other people have stated, I can save my righteous indignation for those more worthy of it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-369596-100x100.png\")
@ratnerstar: However, in this case, a snickers gatling gun seemed to do the trick.
Really, I thought it was kind of funny. And I probably never would have seen the ad if not for this thread. Nor would I have my current craving for a Milky Way (snickers are good, but the peanuts are really too overpowering for texture and taste of the caramel and nougat.
With all this hubbub about this commercial and \"violence\", has noone notice that HE NEVER EVEN HITS HIM WITH A CANDY BAR?! He missed, like 50 times, at nearly point blank range. Most ineffective turret ever.
And what we should really b/w/m about is the hidden/subconscious patriotic color choice of the cannon pvc. White, Red and blue. I didn't even know you could BUY red or blue pvc, unless you went out of your way to find it....
That, and Mr. T. is covered in Snickers bars, and even his gold T chain is a gold Snickers Logo.
I can't believe that no one has pointed out the obvious racial stereotyping... it's a BLACK man shooting at a WHITE man...
Seriously now.
/end sarcasm
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-257467-100x100.png\")
@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?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-16563-100x100.png\")
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.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-84465-100x100.png\")
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 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).
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-159178-100x100.png\")
@coren: Stereo typing saves time. Life would be absolutely unbearable if we were forced to meet every event with a completely blank slate.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-81728-100x100.png\")
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....
I found out these were shown in the UK.... no wonder I never saw them before.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-400639-100x100.png\")
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. :D
Here is a link to the story:
[www.cbc.ca]
@donkeyjote: Visit [en.beijing2008.cn]
See \"20km walk Men\" \"20km race walk Women\" and \"50km walk Men\"
So, yes it is an Olympic sport.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-59099-100x100.png\")
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.
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.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-446416-100x100.png\")
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.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-136882-100x100.png\")
@Trai_Dep:
Odds are pretty good that the Mad Men working on the campaign are such milquetoasts
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.
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!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-266395-100x100.png\")
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.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-493399-100x100.png\")
@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?
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.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-351903-100x100.png\")
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.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-387761-100x100.png\")
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.
@battra92: Ummmm, aren't those (allegedly) \"straight white Christian Republican alpha males\" generally the ones that prop up the World Wrestling Federation and other icons of un-nuanced thinking?
When major corporate commercials look like they could have been used in the movie \"Idiocracy\" without any alteration, you gotta wonder where this country is heading.
hmmm. Macho men get mocked all the time on TV, don't they?
You know what's even more offensive? The current Six Flags ad. WHY HASN\"T ANYONE taken action against this? It just screams with Asian Stereotype!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-489411-100x100.png\")
First, I really don't see how can anyone assume the speed walker is gay. Second, if you listen to the lines Mr. T calls him a disgrace to the man race for speed walking and then the KEY \"It's time to run like a real man.\" After that the guy is shot with multiple snickers and begins RUNNING. No one can miss that, unless they are too caught up trying to read the guy as a gay man and putting hate crime stickers all over it. The commercial is hilarious, don't get carried away with PC.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-125641-100x100.png\")
WTF? Snickers has chocolate, and chocolate is for girls.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-302597-100x100.png\")
Just be sure they aren't shooting you with Almond Joy, because then they are hypocritical with the nuts.
And lighten up, will ya!
@battra92: \"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.\"
You got it!
Open your eyes: advertising is and always has been rife with outrageous gender stereotypes. In general, advertising says a lot about the society for which it has been created. I'm more offended by the fact that women are in every commercial involving \"what's for dinner\" and cleaning products than this.
That being said, to say that this is offensive to gays somehow implies that we are effeminate speed-walkers who wear yellow shorts. The fact that gay groups are actually responding to and identifying with this is what bothers me.
As a real life non-effeminate and non-speed-walking gay guy, I can tell you all that I am not offended by this commercial in particular. Though it is utterly stupid, I can see how some people (young men especially) might find it amusing. More generally, I think most advertising is absurd and would take no special offense at this one over any other stupid ad.
Things have changed in advertising. Now it's all about creating the goofiest and most clever ad (think geckos and cave men). Snickers is just trying too hard here -- and it shows.
I haven't read through all the comments, but does anyone remember the Snickers Super Bowl ad of two guys accidentally kissing? Where were the gay \"advocates\" then, demanding that the commercial stay on the air?
And since when do gay guys care about Snickers? Do you have any idea how many calories are in those things?!
Nowhere in this ad is it said that the speed walker is gay.
All of you who are making comments about gay rights and such have null points. You are assuming this walker is gay and pigeon-holing him into being gay because of his choice of exercise. Bob Garfield's letter is pointless and should be thrown out for trying to incite drama and controversy. Better yet, he should be given a job at Faux News.
Personally, I think speed walking is retarded. Just run, or walk, not both.
it is a joke. sure it uses masculinity and all that or whatever, but at the end of the day its a funny commercial and jokes have been made about people who aren't masculine enough for as long as I can remember, and I havent heard of anybody complaining about it until now
case in point: the series of videos \"david blaine street magic\" which a great deal of the humor was based upon the 2 men david blaine use his magic on being homosexual, or at least that was implied. Noone whined about it, they called it good humor.
Grow up Comsumerist, stop catering to the audience of people who were bullied and feel as if all commercials should feature nerds beating up bullies. Yes, I have been teased bullied whatever, who hasn't? But I have a sense of humor.
Get back to doing your job, telling the world about unjust companies and how to get your problems fixed. Thats what your for.
New and creative commercials are now going to be ran off the air by PC fanatics, and all we'll have is dull bland programming. That's America for you.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-412841-100x100.png\")
Isn't it MORE offensive to stereotype the gay community as a yellow shorts wearing, scared to stand up for himself, speed walker? I watched this commercial and laughed, because it appealed to my less than sophisticated slapstick sense of humor side. I am most offended that this guy just insulted half of my friends by saying that the douche speed walker was representative of them. How dare he?
I get finding the Twix commercials in bad taste, but date rape? Really? That's something of a stretch even if I agree that they're sending bad messages.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-246780-100x100.png\")
I'm in my 20s, and I can see that there are a lot of people being hypocritical about this- they are somehow equalizing effemiate stereotypes with homosexuality. That's pretty ignorant, I'd say.
Also, people who get offended at Mr. T firing candy-bar machine gun at a guy on a commercial must have perfect, problem-free lives, because I really can't think of anything more absurd to get offended about. It's simply incredible that people have to go out of their way to look for things to get upset about now.
I'm going to buy more Snickers now, actually. I've never bought Snickers before. Congratulations, those who complain too much.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-116400-100x100.png\")
@mariospants: One may assume that the effeminate man, or 'gay man', might enjoy that sort of thing.
@DoktorGoku: I think I will buy Snickers based on this advertisement too, much like the oven I bought that said \"fits 3 Jews\" and the rope I bought that proclaimed it was now \"perfect for blacks\".
What will Snickers say the next time a gay man is shot in a drive by shooting?
Please people. This is such crap, that men have to be apologetic about being men and no one can take a joke. Please anything with Mr. T is NOT serious. Please PC police move on.
It was a funny ad. I don't think speedwalking has anything to do with being gay. I think it was just a funny ad, people should stop trying to defend every damn body in the world and worry about themselves. If some gay people got mad about this commercial, perhaps said gay people should defend themselves, rather than some random person who saw the ad and decided that they should \"help\" the gay community.
Anyhow, ad was funny, people need to get over themselves.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-327386-100x100.png\")
Everyone has a right to their opinions, no matter how asinine or backward. If you don't like this, express your displeasure with your wallet and buy a Baby Ruth. If you like it, express your pleasure and eat up.
@coolkiwilivin: I never considered it manly to be violent. It is unsexy and repulsive. OTOH, a man who shows kindness and confidence (you know, secure in themselves enough that they don't have to bring others down to make themselves feel better) is incredibly sexy.
90% of consumerist posters are effeminate. Of course this will piss people off. The majority of people on this site are so insignificant not showing a receipt when leaving a store is the highlight of their year.
That being said I'm not sure what conclusions are being drawn.
\"Well, he's speedwalking so he must be a homo. Also, they are shooting candy at him. This is clearly meant to show how fun it would be to shoot bullets at them. All in all this commercial is supporting murdering gay people\"
What?! I mean seriously, what is your life like that this is an issue. At worst its not funny, not a crime.
@P_Smith: Yeah, I mean, what straight man *doesn't* want to see a hot pop star in a leather bustier with metal pasties?
Oh yeah, the ones who use fundamentalist Christianity as their closet. Gotcha.
@dorkins: Mr. T should shoot the chocolate and nuts gun at a mulleted guy in a wifebeater drinking a beer next to his huge truck (which probably costs more than his house).
If you want to talk about stereotyping, lets talk about how 90% of commercials portray a white heterosexual male as an ignorant/chauvinistic individual. The worst are any commercial where the male is married. This usually involves a smart, witty wife making fun of her dumb, lazy husband. Where are the cries for the stereotyped white male? So I guess its OK to make fun of the chauvinistic white male but not the effeminate white male? Hypocrisy!
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LOL! Why not? It's already 10 or 15 years behind the times here anyway. They probably wouldn't notice the difference.
*grew up here, moved away, moved back and is desperately trying to get out*
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The people complaining are the same people that are being made fun of in the commercial. it's a fucking commerciual grow some balls! \"Ooohoo Milton, they are making fun of us. Boo hoo\"
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AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA
Best. Commercial. Ever.
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Wait, I'm confused.
WHY is the speedwalker gay? I have plenty of gay friends, and none of them speedwalk. Besides, last time I checked, the definition of a homosexual is someone who has sex with the same gender individual as themselves. So, until I see this character having sex with another man, or talking about having sex with another man, or wearing a tee shirt that says \"Yes, I'm gay! I have sex with men!\" he's not gay. He's just a suburban yuppie speed walker.
Damn you all for stereotyping this poor character.
who said the guy in the ad is gay? Mr.T made a comment on his masculinity, but nothing about his sexuality. Maybe the problem here is with everyone else automatically assuming that an effeminate speedwalking enthusiast is gay based on... ... What? the way he's walking?
there IS stereotyping and discrimination at play here, but methinks it's not in the first place most of us are looking...
@citabria: I am offended by this Snickers commercial and I have always been bothered by depictions of men like you mentioned. I don't think anybody here has said those are okay but this is not... if somebody did, they were the only one.
Anyway, those commercials/depictions are irrelevant. Two wrongs don't make a right.
You can tell how much this isn't an issue by how we're not all talking about it, at length, with such vehemence.
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Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
The keywords advertisements to the left (at the top) are hilarious because they tag on the words \"effeminate men\"
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Oh, this commercial is the absolute worst - just terrible. Now excuse me while I change...I pissed my pants after I watched it. Honestly, it's a JOKE. I really didn't think of the speedwalking guy as gay. Gay-ish, maybe, but merely in the wussified sense of the word, not truly homosexual. Although he may be, not that there's anything wrong with that (of course).
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It's too bad Matthew Sheperd or Gwen Araujo didn't speedwalk away from those assholes who brutally and sadistically murdered them. People who say that portrayals like this in commercial media don't lead to the vicious attacks we have seen all to often on gay and lesbian youth need to come out of the god damned closet of their own ignorance. Who is an ad like this targeted to? Your grandma? That hipster designer dude? NO, man, it's targeted toward teens. Specifically teen males, who at their impressional age, make shitty discussions because of raging hormones and bad medicine from parents and, I guess, Snickers, that it's okay, go ahead, it's totally cool to Smear the Queer. I'm sorry a lot of you people don't see that.
Upon video review, the commercial's not offensive, just dumb and unfunny. The absurdity of Mr. T crashing through a house doesn't really pay off in any way, shape or form. Then again, I don't really care if anyone thinks I'm manly enough or anything (since we're all weighing in, I'm straight) to meet their standards.
The ad where the two guys accidentally kissed was funny because of their reaction. I just saw them as insecure, not necessarily how people are supposed to act. There was just none of that in this ad.
Then again, the commercial's not going to make me any more or less likely to buy Snickers, just because I can't be bothered to care one way or another. That's where the ad fails: not eliciting any sort of passionate reaction.
It would have been funny if after being shot, the speedwalking man, who may be effeminate, or possible a bottom, or a settled gay husband, and who clearly is trying to get in the fat-burning zone by doing light cardio or is trying to get cardio while recovering from an injury (possible from a previous confrontation with a candy company), ate the gross candy bar, got out his \"nuts\", and then punched Mr. T in the face or in some other way got even despite the fact that he was in an unfair fight because he was provoked by a beefy ex-wrestler celebrity with a weapon that was in a convenient getaway vehicle.
@Bix: The date-rapey bit is on their website, I agree that the commercials themselves aren't, but I stand by my date-rapey accusation as far as the website goes... And the bonus is that there is a (assumedly) gay guy in the interactive thing as well, and he also is a target of 'violence', they even named the guy Bruce...
[www.twix.com]
[happilybitter.wordpress.com]
@satyricrash: Nice way for you to shit on their graves by comparing their murders to a fucking candy bar commercial which -- incidentally -- does not portray a gay person.
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@Hate_Brian_Club: Too right!
I'm sorry guys, but this ad is absolutely hilarious, and has totally got me sold on Snickers. Don't get your panties in a bunch, eh? I know they will retract it because they have no, um, balls, but that's only because of the incredibly annoying high-pitched whinging coming from the mass hysteria-generators of the 'net.
And that's a shame.
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Have you seen the one where there's a wuss soccer player and Mr T is in a tank and scares the shit out of the wuss, and then the barrel of the tank fires...Snickers. Then he says, \"You ain't scared, you just pathetic!\" It was hilarious to watch in the Netherlands, and then I came home and I saw the same ad!
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I swear, the commercial is much less offensive than the responses here have been. Is no one else annoyed by all of the \"don't get your panties in a twist\" comments? Which just goes to prove that misogyny can be just as endemic and insidious as racism and homophobia. And here's an additional clue-- telling aggrieved parties to \"lighten up\" and \"get over it\" only marks you as an insensitive clod. Instead of dismissing the concerns of others how about trying to see things from their point of view? You can still disagree with them, but then you won't (necessarily) come off looking like a selfish jerk.
I do think \"code\" for homosexuality and every other formerly acceptable but currently out of favor hatred exists. I think this commercial is a pretty mild example of that. I found it funny because it's more a parody than anything. If you're old enough to remember \"The A-Team\", the show that made Mr. T famous, you'd realize that shooting thousands of rounds at point blank range and *still* failing to hit your target was that show's stock in trade. Mr. T is playing the same character he's always played. This time it's Snickers that misses the target. After the Super Bowl commercial with the two guys in the garage who accidently kiss while eating a Snickers, you'd think they'd have learned their lesson.
Now having said all that Mars has shown that they can do this sort of commercial right. The footballer taking a dive and pretending to be hurt expresses it perfectly, without risking offense. Many thanks to the person who linked it.
Get over yourselves it's an f'ing commercial. Give me a break!
Does anyone else remember the soda (I think it was mountain dew) commercial that had two nerds making a video mocking Chuck Norris? He showed up, and they were so scared that they ran away, leaping out a of a high rise window into a dumpster? Why? because Church Norris was there to kick their ass, because that's what Chuck Norris does.
Where was the outrage over the violence against nerds? Where was the inquest into what Pepsi Co. was doing make a commercial that propagated violence against computer dorks?
Seriously folks, when we lose the ability to recognize something as ludicrous and meaningless (as both the Chuck Norris commercial and this one are) we need a reality check. Laugh or don't laugh, but don't attach your PC agenda to something that was never intended to be taken remotely seriously.
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Kids growing up with fewer anti-gay stereotypes? As a 20 year old, I know my junior high and high school years were filled with homophobic kids (granted high school was all-male catholic). And as someone who works with middle schoolers sometimes during the summer, I know that the ones at least in my area love accusing other kids of being fags just as much as they did in my day. Why should they think it's wrong? Half of America's adult voting public is hell-bent on preventing LGBT from having the same rights as everyone else. Not exactly setting a stellar example.
I think my point about straight white suburban people of privilege needing a clue stick is pervasively clear.
There are plenty of ways of being funny about gay people other than by pointing guns at them.
Make Mr. T stop the guy on the street
Oops, end of comment follows re: plenty of other ways for this commercial to end up:
Have Mr. T stop the guy and thrust a Snicker into his hand. Or hell, into his mouth. Have the guy trip and fall from his crazy power-walk, end up looking at a powerful Mr. T going on about getting nuts in your Snickers. Have one of the Queer Eye guys lecture the guy (his style being lacking, due to his power-walk, and have him end up running instead.)
Anything. But pointing guns at gay guys? Nope, no funny in there.
If not giving a shit if some Internet whiner is offended over a candy bar commercial makes me an insensitive clod, then by all means, bring on the branding iron.
I don't know how some people find time to accomplish anything with all of the mean spirited confectionery adverts floating about the airwaves.
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Male effeminacy is in our culture considered an indication of homosexuality. You know that. And hopefully everyone here knows of Alan Schindler, Matthew Shephard, Simmie Williams and others who were murdered because they didn't measure up to their killers' standards of masculinity. This commercial's 'humor' rests on that premise that it's okay to mock, even violently attack, people who are effeminate, who don't measure up to your standard of masculinity.
Would you feel comfortable laughing at this commercial if Matthew Shephard's mom were beside you?
give me a break. Its a speed walker - and the guy is walking as a normal speedwalker does. Its making fun of a sport - SPEEDWALKING not gay people, Get the fuck over it already.
@Paladin_11: Now having said all that Mars has shown that they can do this sort of commercial right. The footballer taking a dive and pretending to be hurt expresses it perfectly, without risking offense. Many thanks to the person who linked it.
Exactly. Telling that guy to man up wouldn't carry any of the connotations that this ad does. Of course, most of the complaints would probably be about the ad showing someone playing soccer, which some people might find more offensive than preferring to have sex with other men... ;)
1. There is nothing worse than \"aggressive ignorance\". I feel sorry for you. It's a dark and deep cave in which you live.
Look, people. There is a new and dexterous mental algebra going on that needs to stop, and I'm going to lay it out as clearly as possible. Those who don't think that this commercial is in incredibly poor taste are constructing their arguments like this: \"All that was shown was that he was speedwalking. It was never explicitly made clear that he was gay. Therefore, if you think that he's supposed to represent a gay person, why it's suddenly YOU who is the homophobe! Also, the logical underpinning of bad taste and promoting violence against groups who have historically been subject to hate crimes goes completely out the window because... uh, well, it's a candy commercial, a magical zone in which cultural context doesn't apply.\"
2. To that second point, which still gives me migraines due to the abyssal stupidity at work: here's an idea for a commercial in which someone chases an old woman down the street, stabs her to death, and takes a candy bar out of her purse, because he just \"has\" to have it. Maybe he kills some children too, to take theirs! Huh? Huh? Violence = funny! Is that in bad taste? Oh, well, \"lighten up! It's a CANDY commercial! You can do whatever you want, in a CANDY commercial! Kill some jews, lynch some blacks, bayonet some babies, rape some women! Lighten up, people! It's A CANDY COMMERCIAL!!!!!LOLZ\" end rant
(morons...)
3. Anyway, the main point. Now, imagine this scenario. Assess it the same way, and see if it works.
\"In a commercial, a man wearing all black with curls coming out from under his hat is walking down the street. He has a big hawk-shaped nose, and he's holding bags with $$$ all over them. He's walking from his one job as a banker to his other job as a secret media manipulator.\"
Did that remind you of any Jewish stereotypes? IT DID?! Why, you racist! I never SAID that the guy was Jewish, you just ASSUMED it, so CLEARLY you're the one with the agenda. There is no way I could have possibly intended to plant that message into your head. I am completely absolved of all blame. Surely, surely, it is you who is at fault, for housing these stereotypes all completely within your own head, and getting your \"panties in a twist\". People have stereotypes like that? I was completely unaware. As an ad writer, my job is to live in a cultural vacuum, completely oblivious to the tastes, desires and attitudes of the culture at large. Sometimes, my masters take me out of my sensory deprivation tank and ask me to create commercials, which I do out of whole cloth, fabricating entire scenarios completely out of the whimsy of my own head. I know nothing of your earth culture and history.
4. Thank you for self-selecting yourself OUT of the rational conversation. Those of you who have employed any of the following phrases may leave and shed your intellectual darkness elsewhere:
\"lighten up\"
\"why do you care\"
\"PC police\"
\"it's just a commercial\"
\"panties in a twist\"
\"getting offended over every little thing\"
The rest of you, who desire rational conversation, and can bring up valid points without just parroting other people, who have something meaningful to contribute, please speak up.
@liquidhypnotic:Jews are stereotyped as having big hawk shaped noses. Are you saying that speedwalkers are stereotyped as homosexual? How did you jump to that one?
In the UK, 2 people complained, none of the gay rights groups said a thing, because the connection isn't there.
----
I saw the advert on British TV. I thought it was funny, and effective, I'm not the only one - [pageoneq.com] . It follows the same kind of line that Yorkie's very successful \"Not for Girls\" ad does, and one that McCoy's is currently running (although the latter ad is pretty shit and unfunny).
I did not see any homosexual connotation until reading in the Metro today that it had been pulled due to complaints in the US where it had never been aired.
People got this, they saw that the joke was on the pointless waddling that is speedwalking; sexual orientation was irrelevant. Mr T and the A-Team entrance is such a caricature of \"manliness\" that the ad has to be taken in jest. The advert would have worked even had the victim been well built.
Can I still make fun of cup stacking? Am I still allowed to think Terry Tate ads funny? Or would I need to be re-educated?
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I laughed pretty hard. Lighten up kids.
Thank you Mars! Your commercials kick as as much as your candy!
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Hi, Early Twenties Guy here (I'll be 22 in November):
I gotta say, this kind of \"macho stereotyping\" is not something that goes on in today's schools. I'm a computer tech now, so you can probably imagine the kind of person I was in high school... and I was good friends with basically everyone, including the few gays and lesbians we had at our school.
The kind of discrimination being alleged here is just not an issue anymore, which is why we as a country (if not, then we as a generation) can laugh at something like this: because it's funny.
I was much more offended by the blatant property damage and littering. Commercials like this will only encourage Snickers consumers to drive their vehicles through houses, and litter our streets with chocolate bars.
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What in the world? This commercial has NOTHING to do with Homosexuality or homophobia. It is a \"macho\" type commercial, but I've known a few gay guys who are macho and would scoff at speedwalking themselves. It seems to me that people who think speedwalking signifies gayness are the ones perpetuating a stereotype, not this commercial.
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This is exactly like something out of \"Idiocracy,\" which appears more prophetic with each passing year. This is totally Brawndo-like in its absurdity.
And yeah, the commercial is completely offensive to anyone who has ever been the target of hyper-masculine mouth-breathers. I'm not a gay guy, but having been a skinny little bookish kid growing up in the Football-and-Jesus capitol of the world (Clinton, MS) I can definitely relate to the experience of persecution. Chris Walters, I'm with you.
Seriously?
No where does the commercial say the guy speedwalking is gay. Speedwalking is lame. That's all they were saying. Having said that, the commercial is hilarious and I really don't see why everyone's getting up in arms about this. I know gay guys that laughed uncontrollably at this commercial.
I dealt with a lot of my life being called \"gay\" or \"faggot\" when I was a teenager and I'm not even gay. I just wasn't a \"macho\" guy like Mr. T. wants everyone to be. My mom had to talk me out of sliting my wrists one night because of the constant teasing. But guess what? I grew up and got over it. I'm still the same guy who couldn't throw a punch if it said \"Hawaiian\" in front of it. I've never put anyone down for who they are or believed in.
But I still think this commercial is hilarious.
bahahaha! Best commercial I've seen in a long time, had to show it to everyone at work.
.
There's nothing funny about pointing a gun at a sissy.
So long as sissies are STILL TODAY being murdered every year, there's nothing Politically Incorrect about being disgusted by this ad.
That being said, I'm gonna go get me some nuts ;)
.
He painted the PVC. There's a precursor to this commercial online. Another poster here put up a link to one of these commercials a few days ago, they've been airing in Europe for a while. The other one is a soccer player faking injury and crying for the Ref while the others shake their head in disgust. Mr. T comes in in a tank, runs over two cars, smashes through the stone wall and steel gate around the field, and stops right before the guy. Then comes out the hatch in the top, beans the guy with a Snickers bar, and tells him to stop actin the foo or he'll meet Mr. T's friend PAIIIIIN.
There's also a precursor to the gatling gun showing Mr. T building the gun and putting on his gold. Snickers has a website for all this.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-131723-100x100.png\")
Clearly Mars Inc didn't learn from their 2007 Superbowl ad, which I did say at the time \"What's the big deal?\"
I can see where the homophobic subtext can be picked up, but in all honesty, I just thought the commercial was stupid in general. Mars Inc needs to fire the advertising company that has come up with these commercials because I'm willing to bet that it's the same company as before, and what company wants to do business with an advertising company that has landed them in hot water twice?
In the meantime, I'll just vote with my wallet and not bother with buying Mars Inc products. Clearly I'm not their demographic.
@theblackdog:If you worry about whether or not the candybar you're buying is right for your demographic, then the advertiser's have clearly won.
@Hate_Brian_Club...
How did you know I was into that? You've seen my hanky code, haven't you? I'm a cowboy from way back, and I'd be happy to rope you, tie you down and put my brand on you. Forget the insensitive clod thing, we'll set up the cameras and make a sequel to \"Brokeback Mountain\" that will make even Heath Ledger sit up and take notice.
Oh, and when *I* give you my dark chocolate with nuts it will definitely taste great and be *more* filling! Don't worry, I won't skimp on the creamy filling...
Oh yeah, as I said, I wasn't offended by the commercial because I could see it as a parody. Even though I think I'm better positioned than most to be offended by it if I were so inclined.
Shortly after making my last comment I re-read the comments code. Even though I'm mainly poking fun at myself it could be construed as an attack on \"Hate_Brian_Club\" instead of just the teasing I intended.
Hate_Brian_Club if you're offended by my previous comments you have my sincere apology.
We now return you to our regular comments, already in progress.
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This is a shame. The ad which I saw in the UK for the past few months was actually rather entertaining (a football, as in soccer, player takes a dive and fakes a knee injury, then T arrives in a tank to emplore him to find some testicles as per the other ads), so it's a pity they just went for the cheap, crap, offensive approach here.
Apparently Mars has withdrawn the commercial due to adverse reaction. I find it hard to see anything funny about a gatling gun aimed at a human. Gay or straight doesn't matter. Have you ever seen Mythbusters where they use one of those guns to shoot at things? Ever seen footage from the Vietnam war where AC-130 cargo aircraft had them on the side and would fly around and pulverize the ground? Not funny. We have become so culturally desensitized to violence that the image doesn't bother anyone.
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ahahahahahaha sounds like that mr bob Garfield is a lil touchy, me thinks he had a few to many swirlies in high school ....way to be a whiner ...be a man and punch mr t in the face to prove your point ... that's a great commercial idea...i should be in marketing
This ad wasn't that funny. I guess I got harassed too much in school - yeah, for being gay.
But what the ad is really about - Bullying sissies - has nothing to do with being gay.
That's what the ad is condoning. Being a bully. Not gay-bashing, or violence, or whatever other stereotypes or racism that can be construed from it. It's just the typical macho DB-ish attitude of picking on those that aren't like you, or are weaker than you. And with so many impressionable children out there, it doesn't set a good example.
And NO it's not offensive, and it's certainly not the big deal that everyone is making it out to be. Nobody should be getting upset about it, just chalk it up to a bad commercial and take it off the air.
Come on folks. Anyone who sees this as gay bashing is creating a problem where there isn't one. Speed-walking looks weird. M'k? It looks totally ridiculous. If you want to say this is anti-speed-walking, fine. Any-gay? Umm.... NO.
I will be the first one to call out when someone is being homophobic or racist, but this is neither. Sure it makes fun of speed waling. Then again ALL humor makes fun of someone. Someone in the joke is an idiot. or a buffoon, or made to look silly. Unless you want to ban all humor and all jokes, then there will always be someone smarter then someone else, or someone stronger then someone else.
Good grief folks, get a grip.
of course Mr. T never hits him with a snickers projectile. Mr. T learned to shoot during his days with the A-Team. Those guys never actually shot anybody they just shot in the general vicinity of the bad guys!
I think the real humor in this ad is simply in Mr. T's presence in it and his general persona. I think Mr. T is hilarious regardless of what he's doing.. \"I need work Fool!\"
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@picardia: Thank you for that link. I just wrote to Snickers and told them what an awesome ad they did and how I am only going to buy snickers from now on. I hope Mr. T busts into Yoga class and bombasts some dude with Snickers in the next commercial.
If the ad claimed to feature a homosexual, and portrayed him as effeminate, or a \"sissy\", the ad agency would be slammed for stereotyping. But now they feature an effeminate man, and everybody goes ahead and assumes he's gay... and the ad agency is at fault?? This is like saying Gallagher is racist because he smashes watermelons... you making a stereotype connection doesn't make somebody else a racist.
On a side note, I found this commercial far less offensive than the constant barrage of commercials telling me that men can't cook, do the laundry, or perform any other task without starting a house fire.
It's a pretty good commercial ad. Too bad the fags didn't like it.
Everybody who says everybody needs to lighten up, need to lighten up.
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Those snickers do hurt when struck by them--ah, high school...
At least the snickers weren't frozen like they were for me.
Seriously, though, how insecure do you have to be to hit someone with a snickers bar?
nah. I'll be skipping snickers for a while...