What do you think of the Snickers ad?

[LoZoccolo]

Poll question: What do you think of the Snickers ad?

[Bluebear]

1. Yes, this will help us whose sensibilities were offended.

Maybe if "was not offensive" wins, the gays will finally shut up about it.

[LoZoccolo]

2. The number one enemy to progress is surveys. n/t

[Mike Daniels]

8. Not so much offensive as just plain "huh"?

I'm sorry, but while advertising has gradually moved away from showcasing the featured product, I'm not quite sure what this commercial was hoping to accomplish.

[Bluebear]

10. See PA's analysis of the whole campaign, including the "most satisfying ending"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=132354&mesg_id=132354

[JackRiddler]

98. It accomplished exactly what it was supposed to accomplish

Remember kids: Snickers!

1) Stand out somehow from the all-commercials all-the-time environment of life under capitalism.

2) Get people talking about it so that the brand name Snickers is repeated ad infinitum.

3) It doesn't matter how many people buy a Snickers as a direct result of the ad. All that matters is that the more people think Snickers, the more they sell in the long run.

This whole process "offends" me. That programs - and cityscapes - are indistinguishable from commercials. That commercials pitch and encourage stupidity as a way of life. That their function is to keep people unhappy so they keep buying useless shit. That they transport the whole rotten ideological edifice: mammon, sexism, racism, war, nationalism.

That any of this is aimed at children.

Kids, remember: Snickers. Back to our program.

[Divine Discontent]

197. lol.. bluebear I luv ya!

and if it's offensive, it's offensive even if a majority of people (straight primarily, but some gays) say it is not.

I am gay, and it was offensive to me because of the "do something manly" BS and now, the other videos on the snickers website that show NFL players going OH THAT'S NOT RIGHT and making gross faces and that there is ALTERNATE endings that the Repuke owner of Snickers wants to have shown on the Daytona 500, etc.




www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- antibush prodem stickers/shirts

[Bluebear]

291. tm...

love you back! Sorry I didn't see this last night! :hug:

[Bucky]

3. If some people took offense, it was ipso facto "offensive"

How are you gonna tell offended people they weren't really offended?

[Goblinmonger]

5. Explain that it was satire

Point it out to them. Help them understand how satire is a good thing.

Or should satire not be done anymore?

[ThomCat]

39. That commercial was not satire.

It was not making fun of people who are homophobic. It was making fun of being perceived as gay.
x(

[Goblinmonger]

100. So what were people supposed to laugh at?

The kiss or the stupid shit these guys did after they thought they might have kissed? It was the stupid shit. We were supposed to laugh at their extreme homophobia.

[Fierce]

145. I don't think homophobia is funny.

I don't think racism is funny, either.

[Goblinmonger]

147. But this ad

as satire, mocks homophobia. It doesn't say it is funny like "you really want to be like this" but it says it is funny like "don't be a dumbass like these guys."

[Fierce]

151. The problem with ads

...is that satire is often lost in them. The point of the ad is not satire; it's to sell a Snickers. If it were really satire, it would be an equally valid ad with a white guy mechanic and a black woman mechanic "kissing" over a Snickers, and the white guy jumping away, hitting his head on the hood, and then washing his mouth out with soap because he kissed a black woman. I just don't see it happening.

[Goblinmonger]

155. It would be the race ad

if this were 1970. Multiracial couples are not as low on the social ladder as gays right now so the satire would be lost.

I agree that the overall point is to sell snickers. I thought the butt of the joke was the homophobes and not the gays.

[ThomCat]

183. I don't think that's the message at all.

It's the standard, "this stuff is so good you'll almost loose control" message, and they think it's funny to exagerate and show those two guys loosing control. The fact that they lost control by "being gay" is not the point, just the punchline.

This commercial clearly was not subtle enough to be intended as anything other than a direct (supposedly) funny add. It was not subtle enough to be satire.

[Divine Discontent]

198. I'm sorry goblinmonger,

but to think the maker of the video was just trying to to help people laugh at the "homophobic" manners of the guys who kissed is beyond laughable.. they're doing the tired ol' routine of making a slam that being gay is unmanly... it's right there in the damn wording of the commercial after all!

[cboy4]

6. Makes sense to me!!

:hi:

[treestar]

But it's only offensive to them

No one is telling them they are not offended. But they are saying "I am not offended."

Some are offended more easily than others. Some are too easy to offend.

And if you're easy to offend, you'd better be careful what you say, in that the golden rule should probably mean you are saying many very offensive things you wouldn't want to say. A lot of people don't always bother to say they are offended if it's minor, and a lot of people are thick-skinned. So easily offended individuals are not getting called on their offensive statements.

[TahitiNut]

28. "Some are too easy to offend."

D'ya think? :dunce:


:rofl:

[Name removed]

70. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

80. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

87. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JackBeck]

81. Out of curiosity, did you see the video of the players' reactions?

[TahitiNut]

89. Out of curiosity, what the fuck does that have to do with my post?

Clue: Nothing.

[JackBeck]

92. It has to do with the whole advertising campaign, which this commercial was a part of.

Why such the anger? I just asked a question. Maybe if you saw the players' reactions, you'd understand why many of us are upset by this advertising campaign.

[TahitiNut]

95. I have made absolutely NO COMMENT whatsoever regarding the commercial

OK? Got it?

[JackBeck]

96. Could you explain post #28 then?

Since I may be not understand your intent.

[TahitiNut]

150. It stands on its own.

This will be my ONLY post to 'discuss' this subject. The 'discussion' doesn't even merit this much, imho.

I think it's obvious that there's a 'trend' on DU to attack others out of some self-righteous sense of extreme umbrage without respecting or even listening to another person's perspective. Quite frankly, these DU feeding frenzies are really juvenile and tiresome. I don't think ANYONE on DU wrote or produced that commercial!

I don't think there's a community of people in the real world that even approaches the tolerance and acceptance for diversity - and support for the equal rights of others - that exists on DU, as 'imperfect' as it is. We're human, too. I have to wonder how anyone can even survive in that "real world" if the anger and outrage they show here, for comparably far less reason, is anything close to how they feel. Maybe it's the opportunity to be a keyboard warrior and take on small (to the point of non-existent) "windmills" on DU ... an overcompensation for being afraid (perhaps well-advisedly so) to do so face-to-face in "real life."

Personally, I come here to take a break from those confrontations ... confrontations I engage in in REAL LIFE ... where racism, sexism, ageism, and homophobia are far more than some slightly imperfect sense of political correctness.

Of the "attitude problems" I see on DU, personal attacks and smears are by far the worst, imho.

The collateral damage inflicted by such attacks does far greater damage to a 'community' than letting some ill-considered words stand without Tilting at Windmills. There are people here who work hard to defend the civil liberties of others ... who are attacked because they apparently don't run around foamy-mouthed to some degree acceptable to the PC Nazis.


When I think of the appalling snark and smears against veterans, current military, older people, smokers, overweight people, and a whole host of others that I've seen on DU in the last year or two, I rather doubt there's ANYONE on DU who doesn't live in a glass house.


So, the "topic du jour" is a gay-hostile commercial. Whoopee. The advertising agency did its job and got people talking about it. It reruns every time some talking head wants to provoke more controversy. Just who the FUCK needs to be reminded that this country is overrun with bigots? I sure don't. That commercial is just another wart on the ass of an elephant - deliberately controversial. Does it exploit homophobia? Ubetcha. Is it symptomatic of a corruption in our nation? Yep - what else is new? It's about PROFITS. It targeted a football audience. I would imagine they have as bad or worse for pro wrestling or NASCAR audiences ... but I don't watch that shit. Past that, it's not worth giving it any more airtime than the company bought.

[mdmc]

164. ha ha Tahitinut watches football!

Some softy liberal you turned out to be.

[JackBeck]

165. So then since it's your only post on this subject

I guess if I were to respond to it than my post would go unanswered by you.

What a shame that a conversation could not be established.

[JackRiddler]

229. Thank you TahitiNut for your horse sense! n/t

[Divine Discontent]

199. thank you JackBeck...

your point is lost on others. who are losing the fact that this commercial was a continued stereotype that being gay is "UNMANLY" it's right there in the commercial... and the video of the NFL players being on snickers website going "that's not right!" and other scowls are enough to make me never touch a Mars candy product again.

[JackBeck]

208. I don't understand why other progressives don't get it as well.

I thought this was a place to come and discuss progressive ideas. You'd think there would be massive outrage around here. I'm not disappointed, though. DUers were telling me to shut my mouth before the election when the gay marriage decision came down in NJ because they thought it was a concerted effort to throw the election for Menendez. Still waiting for an apology for that one. Not holding my breath.

[Divine Discontent]

211. yeah,

if you held your breath, I'm afraid you'd get ill. We have proof, over the years, that antigay hostility is very apparent on DU, for those of us who've been around a few or more years as members or lurkers (yes you lurkers reading this! join up and help us! lol)

[JackBeck]

213. It's getting quite tiresome but I have plenty of fight left.

Wouldn't it be lovely if more progressives shared their voices around here? There's over 100,000 registered, so I also call upon the lurkers to start making their voices heard.

[JackRiddler]

102. Agreed.

If people are offended, it was offensive to them. But that doesn't mean that those who were offended get to exclusively define the significance of "the text" in question for all others.

[GOTV]

350. Doesn't everything offend somebody? n/t

[Goblinmonger]

4. Satire is dead

RIP Satire

This commercial mocks the homophobes. It holds up homophobia to ridicule. That is the definition of satire.

I bet people offended by this commercial were offended by the satire of All in the Family and Archie's denouncing of the "fruity." Thinking the creators were horrible republican bigots.

[Bluebear]

7. During the SuperBowl, an ad agency did an ad to "mock homophobia"

and thereby holding straight men up to ridicule for their discomfort with gay sexuality.

Yeah, that's it.

[Goblinmonger]

15. Seems like it to me.

Or are you saying that the straight men, such as I, that watch football are all homophobic bigots that can't stand o even see gay sexuality on tv? We are the ones that boycotted Brokeback Mountain? Is that what you are saying because, if you are, I hope you see the hypocrisy of your bigotry.

[Solo_in_MD]

20. I am shocked and deeply offended that you equate straight with homophobic

do you have any products we can boycott?


:sarcasm:

[Bluebear]

43. Thanks for your sensitivty and support

:sarcasm:

[Solo_in_MD]

45. You are quite welcome

There was a gay couple at the Superbowl party I attended. They thought it was hilarious. There is a divergence of opinion on this, I come down that it was mocking homophobes, as to many others.

[Bluebear]

46. My stock is with the HRC, not the gay couple at your party, no offense

Maybe they hooted and snickered pardon the pun because everyone else was.

[Goblinmonger]

113. So when are you going to address

your bigotry toward the "straight males" that watch the super bowl who apparently are all homophobic because you don't think Snickers would do anything to offend white straight homophobic football watchers. Apparently your stereotypes of football watchers are just fine.

[Bluebear]

196. PS i am a rabid Pats fan.

[Divine Discontent]

203. people often laugh nervously

when they know not what to do, that or they will laugh at anything, or a bunch of other reasons, but just because you had a gay couple there doesn't mean that 99% of gays weren't offended by the wording of the commercial. The gay couple where you were at could have been easily laughing at the kiss, as I first did because I knew they weren't meant to kiss, but when the line, "quick do somehting manly" came up I thought what kind of hateful comment is that for a commercial? They shouldn't have that in there.

It's just amazing the complete arrogance of people who aren't whatever the discussion involves (women, blacks, men, kids, gays, Native Americans, Christians, atheists) claiming that something wasn't offensive to the party that is, as a majority telling you that they were offended!

In this instance, it was the slam of the "quick do something manly", and the videos that snickers DIDN'T decide on showing yesterday but will later they said, and the fact they have videos of NFL players reactions to the silly commerical and the players making OOOOH GROSSSS faces and comments.




www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- antibush prodem stickers/shirts

[JackRiddler]

231. So on the basis of no evidence

By divining it through your assumptions and a dash of electronic ESP, you're going to know what this gay couple at Solo_in_MD's party were thinking better than he did. If some gays aren't offended, it's because they were intimidated by the group. Or perhaps they are self-hating gays. But it could never be that you're the one misinterpreting "the text" or ceding your reaction to a group mentality.

[cboy4]

16. Everyone knew Archie Bunker was a bigot. Everyone was in on the laugh.

This was an advertisement that made gay males the butt of a joke.

And until gay males can kiss in public without the worry that someone will knock them unconscious with a baseball bat...

It's not funny.

Why is that so hard to understand?

Or is it really?

[Goblinmonger]

19. Those weren't gay males.

The two guys on the screen were the butt of the joke. They got all wound up because they "kissed" and inflicted bodily pain on themselves. We laughed at their stupidity, not at gay people. Just like we laughed at Archie and not the "kikes" he was making comments about.

[sniffa]

32. and aL joLson wasn't bLack

see? he wasn't making fun of negroes, just making fun of the dominant white majority.

i gotta check youtube to see if they have any of his bits on there since it's not onLy hiLarious, but reLevant sociaL satire.

[cboy4]

48. Me too bud.

:eyes:

[Goblinmonger]

101. This was not a commercial

where some straight guys acted as over the top stereotypes of the gay male. Or did I miss something.

What did you think of Archie Bunker?

Have you read any Jonathan Swift?

[JackBeck]

188. Actually, one of the alternative endings which you could choose from did.

I guess you didn't read the whole americablog post, nor did you follow-up at the Snickers website before it was deleted. And if you did, then you missed something.

[Bluebear]

86. ...

blank stare

[Goblinmonger]

103. What don't you understand?

Do you get the fact that satire makes the thing in society that the creator wants changed the butt of the joke? The butt of the joke on this commercial were not gay males but the homophobes who do stupid shit because of their stupid homophobia.

The fact that you don't seem to get that causes a little blank stare on my part, too.

[Bluebear]

122. You are way off base on this one.

Super Bowl ads do not critique straight males because of their discomfort with gay sexuality. Why do you think Snickers pulled the ad? Because people didn't understand satire?

[Goblinmonger]

127. Why don't super bowl ads do that?

because football fans are all homophobes and would be offended by that satire? Please. Just because we watch football, doesn't mean that the straight men are homophobes. I like wrestling (real wrestling, not the fake pro stuff) does that put me even further into your little stereotype of the straight, white, homophobe?

I think they pulled the ad because people didn't get it and were offended when no offense, and satire, was actually intended.

On edit: According to your rhetoric, they certainly didn't pull it because it offended gays because the gay community has no power and everyone shits on them. {I generally agree with you and can empathize being an atheist in our society, but you can't have both ends of the argument: either you are powerless or you have the power to get the ad pulled).

[Bluebear]

132. Do you REALLY think Superbowl ads are that clever?

The beer commercials that show horses farting in date's faces? The WASSSSSUUUUP's? They may be light and entertaining but to equate satire to them is just unreal. I am afraid we will have to disagree on this one.

[Goblinmonger]

140. I do think they can be, yes.

They aren't all that, I'll agree. But I thought satire the moment they did the "do something manly" bit. They were the butt of the joke and that = satire.

On the converse, do you really think, according to your premise, that ads are really that devious. They are light and entertianing but to equate bigotry to them is just not possible.

The part that makes me feel the worst about my posts on this issue is that I want to support you. I have been active in gay rights in the past and will continue to in the future. I just see this as so clearly satire. Perhaps the English teacher in me is too apt to see satire. :shrug:

[Telly Savalas]

288. The WASSSSSUP's offered more gripping social commentary

than anything David Brooks has ever written, and that guy gets paid to be published in the most prestigious newspaper in the United States. Let us not underestimate the intellectual content of Super Bowl ads. But I'll grant you one has to do mental acrobatics to avoid seeing that the Snickers ad's primary mechanism was shock value for folks with homophobic mindsets.


WAAASSSSSSSUUPPPP!!!!!

[Bluebear]

290. Who loves ya baby :)

[mzteris]

21. color me

:blush:

When I saw it I thought it was making fun of homophobes!!!

But as I'm not gay, it's not for me to say that it's NOT offensive. If gays think it is, then I guess it is.

I'm sorry.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bluebear]

30. HOW DARE YOU??????????????????

"how vicious some people can be about hanging onto their "right" to be offended about anything and everything. This is bound to be added to their list of wrongs done them. Somehow they want that list as long as humanly possible."

[NashVegas]

364. You Have the Right to Be Offended

But you don't have the right to decide that everyone else will be.

It's that simple, really.

[ScreamingMeemie]

47. I am not a "some gay" so what does that say about what you have

written? It's not about being offended. I am appalled at what you have written. Not offended...sickened. It's been said a million and a half times here but remove some gays and put some black people, or some women there and see the reaction you would get.

[Bluebear]

51. Bless you as always MrsG

[ScreamingMeemie]

60. ...

:hi: :yourock:

[blonndee]

55. Already did...

it was deleted, though, and rightly so.

[cboy4]

50. I'm sure mzteris appreciates you coming to her rescue, because

obviously she's not intelligent enough to speak for herself.

:puke:

[bliss_eternal]

66. Putting all of any one group in one basket...

...is known as blanketing and stereotyping. This is a form of bigotry.

[Goblinmonger]

105. So if someone read A Modest Proposal

and thought that Swift was really calling for making poor kids into food and became offended at Swift, does that make Swift's message not satire? Or does that mean that the consumer of the satire needs to ratchet up their analysis of literature a little bit more?

[JackRiddler]

114. Swift wants to eat children?

The scoundrel! To the gallows with him!

[Goblinmonger]

120. Horrible, isn't it.

And he must really mean it literally because he wrote those exact words down on paper. And everyone knows that words are only to be interpreted literally.

[JackRiddler]

130. Well, did you ask the Irish babies

What they thought of A Modest Proposal? Because you know, they're the only ones who are entitled to an opinion.

[Maven]

136. Satire laughs exclusively at the oppressor.

It doesn't laugh with him. If you think that straight men weren't expected to identify with the characters in the ad--while also laughing at their overboard reaction--you've missed something.

And I can't even believe you've compared this POS to Jonathan Swift. LOL

[Goblinmonger]

142. Never said it was on the same level as Swift

but we are laughing at the oppressor. We are laughing at the extent people will go to not be seen as gay. Yes straight men were supposed to identify with them at the beginning. Good satire sucks the reader in first and gets them to agree and then sticks it to them and makes them see how damn stupid they are. People identify with these two guys and then laugh at them for being dumb. They are, therefore, laughing at THEMSELVES for being so dumb. THAT = satire and THAT = this commercial.

[Maven]

148. Nonsense.

If that were the case, there would have been no reason to make the kiss look so grotesque. The goal was to amplify the feeling of revulsion in the (straight) viewer. That's the impression deliberately created by the ad. The ensuing over-the-top reaction may be read by savvy viewers as slapstick mockery of homophobia but it does not in any way "redeem" the kiss or ridicule the feeling of revulsion first created.

And I don't need a primer on literature, thanks.

[Goblinmonger]

153. First of all

it wasn't a kiss. It was awkward because it was eating a snickers that resulted in unintentional lips meeting. I didn't think it was revulsion they were trying to create but awkwardness and surprise.

I think many people on here do seem to need a primer on literature.

[Maven]

154. What difference does that make?

Semantics. As far as the intended reaction, I think this says it all:

[Goblinmonger]

157. I have only read descriptions of the players bit.

The fact that they don't get the satire, or are a target of it, is not really the point. Additionally, do you think Muhammad's reaction would have been the same if it were Brad Pitt and George Clooney kissng? Isn't some of the reaction who the guys were. Maybe "stereotypical rednecks" should be offended at their portrayal.

[Maven]

158. Look, let's just agree to disagree

You don't see it, you're not going to see it, and the ad is done with anyway. The issue is moot.

[JackRiddler]

234. Yeah, it says it all about this guy...

A truthful reflection of how widespread homophobia is in the NFL.

[LostinVA]

219. Bingo -- THAT is the point of satire

[JackRiddler]

232. You don't bother much to distinguish between straight and stupid, do you?

No, I don't think most "straight" males (whatever that means in a society where most people are some form of sexual deviant) would identify with the characters in the stupid commercial. I think -seriously- that like many other commercials during the SB, it was highly offensive to low-wage workers who are once again being characterized as idiots. Here's one of your questionable assumptions: that "straight" is some kind of unified block.

[Divine Discontent]

204. AHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

another gay man in agreement with me, and it's the one I treasure the most on DU! I appreciate that you are in total agreement with me. I think this is a great discussion for non-gays to be involved in so they can see the reasons why we were offended, and why I wrote to snickers and gave it to em!

"quick do something manly", like never buy another Mars candy product!

love you cboy4!!

[cboy4]

206. ***blush***

Right back at U buddy.

:loveya:

[Divine Discontent]

210. hehehe...

I feel cared for.. thank you.

Hey, I'm moving but I'm not sure where, I want to move to Cali, but I don't know a safe place, and such. There's so many apts available, and I want to get into singing/acting even though I'm starting late (mid 30's), I don't care, I'm not expecting to be famous, just to enjoy life and make a living locally. I hope you have some advice...

later! :loveya:

[L A Woman]

270. i agree cboy

it was completely unfunny and i'm surprised more straight DUers aren't offended, frankly.

[terrya]

9. It is still offensive.

It was offensive when I first saw it, it will be offensive when I go to bed tonight, it will be offensive when I wake up tomorrow, it will be offensive a week from now, it will be offensive two weeks from now. That is, unless I can get that offensive ad out of my memory. But even if I do, it will STILL be offensive.

Does that answer your question?

[Bluebear]

11. Majority rule!!!!111

If more people say it wasn't offensive, it wasn't offensive, don't you get it?

[terrya]

14. Ah...yes, I see.

Damn me and my perceptions!

[Lex]

41. It's lovely, isn't it.

I give the f*ck up for now. I'm going for a walk or something.

[Lex]

44. Yes, the majority always gets these things right, you see.

:crazy:

[JackRiddler]

112. Repetition rules!

Whoever makes the most offended posts claiming moral authority achieves a monopoly of interpretation and wins.

[Name removed]

218. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[orpupilofnature57]

12. Who was it Aristotle that said " we can only see shadows "

Advertising unfortunately has become a Rosetta stone.

[JackRiddler]

121. Plato

Well, according to him, Socrates.

[orpupilofnature57]

215. sEE HOW SMART PEOPLE PUT CREDIT, WHERE CREDITS DUE

[femmedem]

13. I thought it was perhaps making fun of homophobes until I saw the web site.

There was nothing ambiguous about the website. It showed clips of the football players expressing their disgust about men kissing. It showed alternate endings with the guys beating each other up in ways that, in real life, would result in serious injury. The website left me with no doubt as to their intentions.

[Bluebear]

17. Thank you femmedem

Really, thanks for looking further into this hot mess. So many here have said we are just "too sensitive", and even when we pointed out that there was a complete campaign over at the website, it was poo-poohed. Love and peace to you.

[treestar]

22. But the average viewer of the Super Bowl has no duty to go to the web

site. They should get to judge the ad by itself.

[Bluebear]

24. I know you see no harm in this ad, but this takes the cake.

So one should not look deeper into anything, and just just it on the surface? Because one has no duty to look further?

[dipsydoodle]

18. Could you add an option for

WTF are you talking about ? I have to assume this is an American "in joke" of some description. As I implied in another post - to the English a Snickers Bar is synonimous with a Mars Bar which usually means : http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/marsbar.asp Was that the joke on this occasion and if so who played the girl ?

[Breeze54]

23. S-u-p-e-r B-o-w-l Advertisement

It's a candy bar.

[ThomCat]

38. It's a fag joke

that they're using to sell a candy bar.

[Goblinmonger]

108. How is this a fag joke?

This is two guys that are so insecure about themselves ripping out their chest hair because their lips touched. It is a homophobe joke. I hope somewhere the homophobes are having a discussion about being offended by this commercial. At least they would have gotten the satire.

[ThomCat]

184. There is no way in hell that a poorly made commercial

aimed at a superbowl audience was intended to be sophisticated satire. There is no way that any ad agency would try to make fun of homophobia as their big commercial pitch for the year in a superbowl ad. They were going for cheap laughs and thought that this kind of slapstick commedy would get people's attention. And they're right.

They read the culture and know that people are obscessed about gayness recently, with gay marriage being a huge issue, and gay sex scandals. And they drew on the identifiable, quantifiable reaction gayness has as a topic that grabs attention (and not in a good way) and they used it as a hook for a commercial. It's a savy hook for a commercial, which is typical marketting. It's not satire, which would have been very atypical for a commercial.

No commercial is going to use satire that people aren't going to get, and that wouldn't appeal to most people if they got it. In other words, no commercial is going to deliberately piss off homophobes because that's most of the country, and you don't piss off your market when you're spending your entire add budget in one shot.

[JackBeck]

191. There it is.

ThomCat, you rawk.

:thumbsup:

[Bluebear]

192. 'No commercial is going to use satire that people aren't going to get'

'and that wouldn't appeal to most people if they got it.'

THANK you, I could not word it correctly.

[Bluebear]

26. YAY!!! Not offensive is winning!! Those damn sensitive gays were WRONG!

[ThomCat]

37. Yay! Straight people can get away with fag jokes

just by claiming the majority right to say it's just funny! :woohoo:

:sarcasm:

[jonolover]

27. What are these 19 people doing here on DU?

Go to limbaughunderground.com...or something like that!

:kick:

[TahitiNut]

31. Missionary zeal?

:rofl:

[Bucky]

29. Could you add an option for ....

"Wes Clark Rocks!!!"

And maybe another one for "Wes Clark Rocks!" for those supporters who are less enthusiastic.

[Skip Intro]

33. I found the players' reactions on the snickers website offensive.

Not so much the ads themselves but I see how they could have been seen as offensive.

[JacksonWest]

34. It's easy to let yourself be offended by anything.

It was two idiots acting like two idiots. Yeaaaa. No one should eat Snickers anyway. Kind of fatty.

[Bluebear]

40. That's right, gays are way too sensitive . nt

[ThomCat]

74. I hope you're being sarcastic.

[Bluebear]

83. Silly.

I forgot the :sarcasm:

[JacksonWest]

182. I'm offended that you're offended that I'm not offended.

[ThomCat]

35. If the majority of white people felt

that blackface was not offensive, was it?

If the majority of straight people felt that fag jokes were not offensive, were they?
x(

[Goblinmonger]

109. How is blackface possibly satire?

How is it directing the ridicule on those that are racist? It doesn't. It makes the blacks the butt of the joke. The Snickers commercial makes the homophobes the ones we laugh at. How is that distinction not clear?

[ThomCat]

186. YOu keep insisting it's satire. Prove it.

Show anything to indicate that it was intended to be satire. It wasn't.

If any commercial used satire, it would have to be blunt enough that the majority of viewers would get it. And it would have to be a type of satire that would appeal to the views. Clearly from the reactions of the football players, and the typical reactions of many people when you mention men kissing, making fun of homophobes is not a huge appeal. What's the audience for that? Be real.

The audience gets into slapstick that makes fun of people for doing ridiculous and embarrassing things, and clearly the people who made this add thought that people find gayness ridiculous and embarrassing.

[WI_DEM]

36. even if a minority of people found it offensive, that means it was offensive

I have to assume that it was market researched and focus groups were used, if so, they obviously didn't use a cross section of people. My guess is that they were gearing this ad to the "moran" factor.

[Solo_in_MD]

62. ahhh, so the thinest skin rules? Thats a very slippery slope

Consider that a sizeable group is offended by women putting themselves on brazen display. Therefore should all women wear burqas so as not to offend them?

[Maven]

42. Tell me something: what's "in it" for you?

Especially now that the ad campaign has been pulled.

I'm just curious.

[LoZoccolo]

57. What's in what?

This poll? Or the ad campaign? Or Snickers bars?

[Maven]

59. You tell me.

I'm trying to figure out what you're trying to accomplish. What cause you're trying to vindicate.

[LoZoccolo]

65. By doing what?

Let me make it easy.

You would like to know what I get out of:

A. This poll.
B. The commercial.
C. Snickers bars.
D. None of the above.

Please select A, B, C, or D.

[Maven]

68. No, please. Let me make it easy for you.

I'd like to know why you're so hellbent on "proving" the ad wasn't offensive by putting it to a vote. I hardly believe you're a neutral observer given your responses on the other thread. Clearly you have a goal.

I'd just like to know what it is.

Edit: Actually, I shouldn't be coy. I'd just like to hear you say what it is.

[LoZoccolo]

71. First, I have a question for you.

Is my boss thinking of giving me the promotion I want the next time performance reviews come up?

[Maven]

72. No. Now how about my question?

[LoZoccolo]

76. I reject the premise of your question. n/t

[Clinton_Co_Regulator]

90. You nailed it.

You'll get no answer. :hi:

[JackRiddler]

117. Who says the OP is out to prove anything?

He's gauging opinion on a question of the day. Majority doesn't rule - and neither does minority. But it might be interesting to see who thinks what, and why.

[Maven]

118. I thought you were busy stopping nuclear war. nt

[Bluebear]

137. ...

:spray:

[JackRiddler]

139. I needed a chocolate break. n/t

[City Lights]

49. It was stupid.

Just like their billboards.

[orpupilofnature57]

53. And Prince's penis

[ScreamingMeemie]

52. I think I'm tired of stating I won't vote in silly polls that don't address

the issue at hand and turn it into something less than the important issue that it is. You?

[orpupilofnature57]

54. I've felt that way since 2000

[LoZoccolo]

56. I have no idea how this poll can do that.

It is only a question, and if you'd like to address other things, you are free to do so even in this very thread.

[ScreamingMeemie]

58. Nope no need. When there are eleventy billion threads trying to

downplay a serious issue.

[Bluebear]

61. What was it, not enough gays here told you they were offended?

So you had to make a poll to see what everyone ELSE thought? Talk about low class.

[LoZoccolo]

63. I was curious as to how people really felt.

This cuts through the phenomenon of one or the other side simply posting more to give an impression one way or the other.

I still have no idea how people can be offended by a poll. The responses, maybe, but the poll itself?

[Bluebear]

64. 'I still have no idea how people can be offended by a poll'

Well now you've seen it.

[LoZoccolo]

67. Sure, I've seen it happen.

I just want to know how it happens. Are you objecting to the act of asking someone for an opinion when it might not be one you agree with? Not the opinion, but the asking?

[Bluebear]

69. You knew damn well gays found the ads irritating.

Then you riffed off some ridiculous Sicilian thread and how people shouldn't watch the Sopranos. And when that wasn't subtle enough you started this poll to see which side "wins". And I am telling you, if some group is offended, it should be enough for you. But it isn't. You need to see how everyone "stands" on it.

[LoZoccolo]

73. What do you think the other thread was about? n/t

[Bluebear]

75. I have no idea. Go tabulate the results of your poll. nt

[ThomCat]

82. I agree with bluebear.

You're just trying to dilute any GLBT opionions in with enough straight guys who don't care so that you can site the majority to say we're overreacting.

When almost every gay person, and some of the straight people, tell you something is homophobic, you might want to listen. Your drinking buddies may not be the best judge of homophobia. They're also the people most likely to be influenced by homophobia into thinking it's okay to mock gay people.

Though somehow I doubt you'd have much of a problem mocking gay people regardless.

[LoZoccolo]

85. Lame.

Don't ascribe intentions to people mmmmkay?

I couldn't have made this poll more generic.

[ThomCat]

88. I just call 'em as I've seen 'em after reading so many

of your posts. You're opinions are not exactly unknown. mmmmkay?

[Bluebear]

91. .

:headbang:

[LoZoccolo]

94. I doubt you'll find many posts by me on GLBT issues.

So I have no idea what you are talking about.

It still floors me; I ask a question, I let people answer however I want, I make the answers simple opposites of each other so there's no pretext, and I get castigated for it. Do you think it's better that people try to flood GD giving people the impression of how many people feel this way or that?

[ThomCat]

97. If you don't think there are posts by you on GLBT issues

it's because you don't see topics like this one as an GLBT issue...

Post any poll you want, any way you want, but don't get upset when it turns into a discussion on something serious. Some of us think gay jokes are something that needs to be taken seriously.

The fact that anyone could make a commerical that's watched and by tens of millions of people that mocks gayness (or perceived gayness) is really sick. The fact that so many people here don't see any problem with it is even more sick.

Now imagine if two men somehow found themselves covered with dye and reacted in some offensive way to perceived blackness. How clear would that have been?

[fNord]

77. I personally didn't find it oficencive,.....

but i am ME. And only ME. this poll is ridiculous, because all it shows is the same thing you can see on these posts, mainly that some people were offended by it, and some weren't. nether are wrong, unless having feelings itself is wrong. I have many gay friends who did not find it offensive, but that is them. I have straight friends who DID find it offensive, but that is them. if you were offended, and you think boycotting the turd-looking bar is the right thing to do, be my guest. if you weren't and don't, then eat the fucking things. look, i cant believe that i have to clear this up for you, but it goes down like this: Gay people as a whole are not any more sensitive than the the strait population as a whole. people are individuals and will hold differing opinions on what they find to be funny, angering or down right appalling. Sharing how you feel about an issue is fine, but condemning someone for having feelings is kind of offensive to me, because I'm one of those people. And using a poll to make a case about whose right in a matter of opinion is fucking idiotic. if even one person votes that they were offended, than quite obviously it was offensive to them. Were not talking quantum physics here, thats just basic simple logic.

[blonndee]

78. Welcome to DU!

Very thoughtful response! :hi:

[fNord]

84. Thank you

I've been here for about a month, but have never been so frustrated by a thread before.

[Bluebear]

79. 'if you weren't and don't, then eat the fucking things'

:rofl:

Sorry, after getting all worked up over this issue today, reading that line just cracked me up for some reason. Thanks :)

[rocktivity]

93. Just finished checking out the superbowl ads I didn't see at ifilm.com

What's with all the homoeroticism?

:shrug:
rocknation

[Neshanic]

178. Uh, big men with huge shoulders and very tight pants, slapping...

each others butts, hugging and in the Steelers coaches case, planting them right where they should be.

The whole game is homoerotic. Not that I am complaining about the pants.

[Lint Head]

99. Quick! Doe something Manly!

Snicker, snicker.

:rofl:

[qanda]

104. Where's the choice for stupid and ineffective?

Because if it was meant to be funny, it was sorely lacking.

[nam78_two]

106. I don't care if 60% of the people here think it is not offensive

It is still offensive to the people who are the target of this "joke" and that makes it offensive imo. It is also offensive to me even though I am a straight female.
I cannot believe that it seems more worthwhile to defend some idiotic ad (even if you found it funny-for God knows what reason), than have some consideration for the feelings of others...

[Goblinmonger]

111. Isn't the target of the joke the homophobes?

Aren't those the ones we laugh at at the end of the commerical? Wouldn't then the hope be that by laughing at the extreme measures those idiots go to that we then ratchet is back a little bit and become retrospective of our own homophobic idiocy?

[Orangepeel]

163. Is Rush Limbaugh satire?

He looks like an asshole to me. Keith Olberman calls him a comedian. But, I don't believe that his shtick is satire (a con job on the ignorant, yes, but not satire).

Rush Limbaugh is not Archie Bunker, even if they often sound alike. It can be difficult to judge intent, but the shit that was on the snicker's website makes me think that the intent of the commercial was more the former than the latter.

[Goblinmonger]

172. No, it isn't, but an interesting comment.

I would say that it isn't because of what I have said elsewhere--you look at the piece itself. Rush doesn't make himself the butt of the joke. He makes others the butt of the joke. Those that realize how big of a shithead he is see him as funny, but that funny is not intentional on the part of Rush.

I was at satire as soon as they said "do something manly" and the ripping off chest hair implanted that thought even further. The stuff on the website does disconcert me but I have only read reactions and did not see it myself.

Could I be wrong? Sure. But, honestly, I am rarely wrong when I interpret something so quickly and clearly as satire.

[Orangepeel]

176. you could be right, but 1) I think you are giving the company too much credit

and 2) it seems not to have been very good satire, if indeed that's what it was.

[JackRiddler]

128. Gays were not the target of this "joke"

Homophobes were. They're the ones who should be organizing the Snickers boycott.

[Bluebear]

138. Why did Snickers take down the ads? Were homophobes offended?

[JackRiddler]

143. Homophobes are usually too stupid to even get the joke...

If there's any danger of getting it, they start beating people up.

And we both know why Snickers pulled the site: Your efforts. Congrats to you and your cohorts.

[nam78_two]

149. Well I sure hope that is as

"evident" to every gay teen who is already getting a sufficient no. of messages about how "wrong" or even worse (at that age) how "icky" it is to be gay/perceived as gay, as it is to some of you.

Look, if you took it as a swipe at the homophobes and not at gay people thats one thing. But the point is that the homophobes are not the ones going to be hurt or offended. It will be gay people, who already have enough crap to deal with. I am not saying that there aren't gay people out there who may not be offended. However, imo it just isn't worth taking such an indirect swipe at the homophobes (if that is what it is), if it involves offending and hurting a group of people who face discrimination on a regular basis,in the process. Just my two cents.

[Divine Discontent]

207. ty nam78_two, from a guy who is gay

really! I make stickers, and a friend gave me ones that sell well and I would be making my own design for it, but when I read one of them, "Don't be a sexist --- broads hate it!", I was like that is SOOO freakin wrong! So thank you for standing up for what's right by caring for others...

[Raine]

107. I'm clueless

I'm not into sports and never watch the SB all I know is that some candy commericial was offensive but have no details ... :shrug:

[varun]

110. I am gay and I am not offended

This ad is not making fun of gay men, but making fun of men who are uncomfortable with the idea of being gay (homophobes).

[Goblinmonger]

115. Careful

you may lose your membership. I thought it was pretty clearly satire of the homophobic mindset.

[mondo joe]

119. I'm gay too, but I was accused of making up lesbian friends because I dared to

say they weren't offended by it but thought it was funny.

Incidentally, I haven't seen the commercial, but I'm so turned off by the whole thing that I have no interest in doing so.

[Goblinmonger]

123. Well,

you're obviously a troll and posted those thousands of posts just so you could come out as a homophobe when this snickers ad ran.

[mondo joe]

129. You figured out my Snickers strategy in one post.

Kudos to you!

[Goblinmonger]

131. Nicely played word play.

Perhaps that is why you get satire so easily.

[Bluebear]

125. Yes, companies spend 2 million for 30 seconds to make fun of homophobes.

On the Super Bowl yet. Then they invite people to vote for the most "satisfying" ending, to be broadcast on a NASCAR race telecast. :crazy:

[Goblinmonger]

133. Holy crap.

First it is the football fans that are raging homophobes and now it is NASCAR fans that are even bigger homophobes. Don't you see the hypocrisy of what you are saying? How dare you make such broad brush comments about fans of a certain point?

[Bluebear]

135. The conversation has to be over, goblinmonger.

You have your football fans who enjoy great satire and I have my gay fellows who are overly sensitive. We can not find middle ground on this. And yes, I appreciate satire and write it. We just can't agree here. Your side is winning this poll, not me, so evidently I saw the ad "wrong". Peace.

[JackRiddler]

134. No they spend 2 million for 30 seconds to sell candy bars by any means n/t

[sniffa]

217. by any means necessary

man, the phobes have got to have themseLves in knots over this ad campaign.

[JackRiddler]

224. your assumption

KMA! Moo!

[sniffa]

227. FOAD! quack!

[JackRiddler]

237. And I didn't say "necessary"

[Beelzebud]

240. I was just told people like you don't exist.

I was told that I could find a black man to say blackface isn't offensive, just as easy as I could find someone like you.

So tell me.

Are you faking it, or was that person that jumped down my throat, over a commercial, just over-reacting a bit?

[Dorian Gray]

116. I didn't respond...

as I just thought it was stupid.

[Generator]

124. Who gives a shit

Meanwhile in Iraq..Iran..today..and the Dems.. and nothing changes..and nothing changes...

[Bluebear]

126. Me.

Along with many other gay members.

[Duncan Grant]

152. As a gay man, I'm able to hold the complexity of many difficult issues.

Funny that you'd say, "and nothing changes" -- that's the lament of many GLBT people, too.

[begin_within]

141. Not particularly offensive, but not funny either - which therefore makes it offensive.

If you try to be funny and fail, that's offensive to me.

[Fierce]

144. I found it offensive because homophobia is offensive.

nt

[Orangepeel]

146. stuff that offends a minority often does not offend the majority

that's one reason why the rights of minorities need to be protected in a Democracy.

Nobody has the right not to be offended by advertising, but that doesn't mean offense isn't warranted. It does mean that a nose counting poll isn't an accurate refection of the legitimacy of feelings of offense.

[Reterr]

156. 73% not offensive

Oh well that makes it all better for the gay people who were offended. The straight majority of DU has spoken :eyes:..

[Bluebear]

159. Yayy! Majority rules!

:eyes: Sickening isn't it?

[Bucky]

160. And 100% not scientific

Does that mean personally offensive or potentially offensive to some? And offensive in what sense, as in tacky, as in homophobic, as in misanthropic, or as in insulting to me personally? Since the question wasn't clearly defined, any conclusions you draw about DU from this poll are worthless. But feel free to disparage an entire web community based on incomplete and unreliable data.

[Goblinmonger]

162. I can't speak for the 73%

but I don't think it was offensive because I honestly feel it was satire aimed at ridiculing homophobia.

I want to just jump on board. I really do. I am a member of a minority group that the U of Minn says is the least likely group for people to vote for: atheists. I know the frustration of the "majority" not getting why people are offended. I really do. But in my heart I think this ad was satire.

[Reterr]

166. Yeah I saw your posts

and I get where you are coming from. But there are others who I think are just plain insensitive or perhaps actually homophobic. Like one person in another thread saying its "embarassing" to be perceived as gay and then went on about how the "bigotry is aimed at homophobes"....:eyes:
I have never seen a sentence that made my eyes roll so much in a while..."bigotry aimed at homophobes"....:eyes:

[Goblinmonger]

170. Yeah, I saw the embarassing

post. I want to believe that was just a slip. I think that person was trying to describe/explain satire and did it poorly. Though the fact they wouldn't back off of it made it hard to get on that hayride without looking like an ass.

This is one of the few things I have posted about that I kind of feel bad for thinking. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't lumped in with others I don't belong with.

[Reterr]

171. Nah -the difference is very clear..

:)
I don't think the embarassing thing was a slip though...coupled with other statements from the same source. Some of which I thought should have been deleted.

[Goblinmonger]

174. I may be giving too much credit

it probably wasn't a slip. The lack of backing off of it was the sign to me that that person wasn't "on board."

[Divine Discontent]

209. lol... so sad.. I know

it's true, it's true, my overweight friend told me, the only people who can be routinely mocked (even by the "liberal" establishment) is "fat" people and "fags".

he's right... over half of the people on DU have proven yet again, we've got a long way to go...

THE OFFENSIVENESS of it all was the fact being gay was being used to make viewers laugh, which, ok, I can accept that, and just say, fine, you people do this all the time on TV and radio all the time, and rarely is it done to mock homophobic people, but when they said, "quick do something MANLY" I got ticked off! Then I find out they had a whole campaign around this! And the videos of the players reactions were unnervingly rude! I wrote Snickers early today.




www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- antibush prodem stickers/shirts

[napi21]

161. I didnt't find it offensive, but if the intent was to sell more Snickers

Bars, somebody missed the mark BIG TIME! That IS the purpose of advertising, isn't it?

[mdmc]

168. people buy solutions to problems and good feelings

since consumers are talking snickers, the ad worked.

People think snickers.
people buy candy bars.

The intention is to sell the sizzle. This will increase overall sales.

[Neshanic]

173. I hope Mars got their moneys worth. Suck agency that came up with that.

[napi21]

175. Hmmmm. Yes, I know people buy the sizzle, and things they think

will make them feel good. I just didn't see that commercial that way at all.

Ihave to say, for Snickers, it sure kept the NAME in the public, and that's an intention of an ad as well.

[sendero]

167. The version I saw..

... was not offensive. I hear there were other versions that I might have felt different about.

I highly doubt that it was the intention of the ad agency to offend anyone, and there is a limit to how much I can be offended by an ad.

After all, half the ads on TV feature a mature, in-charge wife dealing with a bumbling moron husband. It doesn't bother me because the shoe doesn't fit and so I don't wear it.

[Neshanic]

169. Offensive. On many levels. White straight guy target audience level

It's the Superbowl! You know that target audience that the corporations wants. You know the "gay slingers" demographic. What better venue than on the Superbowl? You know the types, conservative young guys that for every action there is a "THATS GAY" reaction. Target hit.

"Lets do something manly!" What? Oh...I know it's satire. A satire that's aimed right at a group that hears "that's gay" about twenty times a day, so them being men and holding back and silently being men sure is funny when it's instead equated with chest hair?

Let's face it kids. The Mars Corporation could give a flying rat's ass about gay. What they care about is the cash, and as a side benefit making people eat their candy. If a few homosexuals get in the way, well, the guys at the ad agency said it would be a hit.

It's funny because there can be funny gay commercials. Really. That are not offensive.

Wayne Gretzky bought the Coyotes here in Phoenix, and they had an ad campaign. One was a gang of Goalies in full gear in a locker room. As I remember they talk about feelings and have them hug the person next to them. Brek for ticket info, then back. All goalies are standing looking at one goalie couple still locked in an embrace. Silence. Absolutely hilarious.

Maybe Mars should of hired the Coyote ad guys.

Oh...and on edit. The first guy I ever slept with was a pro football lineman.

[Divine Discontent]

212. ha! (the last sentence) n/t

[Buzz Clik]

177. How about those Colts?

My philosophy is to generally ignore the commercials.

I saw this one, and it was a goofball ripoff of a scene with John Candy and Steve Martin in "Trains, Planes, and Automobiles" with "Brokeback Mountain" overtones.

[Neshanic]

179. The Colts uniforms are very nice, especially the pants. How 'bout em?

[JackBeck]

189. Those Colts and those Bears laid their homophobia out in the open for everyone to see

When Snickers showed their reactions to the commercials on their website.

I can't understand why posters at a progressive website aren't mad about the players' reactions.

[Bluebear]

190. Because they don't give a shit about our tender feelings.

I have been told as much all fucking day.

[Neshanic]

194. Mr. Blue, I have been there here. Believe me.

Candy commercials that offend us sensitive gays, cult of personality candidates like the one that has to think carefully forever about being a Baptist and gay rights, but with a straight face can say he will make solid decisions on a war no problem, and extreme disconnect of people who are keyboard liberals, yes it is puzzling.

[JackBeck]

195. There, there, oh fellow dilettante gay.

We should just grow a thicker skin, as I've been told all day.

[Buzz Clik]

223. Deadly serious for a second: you are worried about a football player's reaction?

To a commercial that was intentionally stupid?

Sorry, but there are bigger battles out there.

[JackBeck]

254. As long as homophobia is allowed to run rampant and unchecked in professional sports

Then this is one of many issues that still needs to be addressed. Why do you think professional sports figures can only come out after they've retired? They fear for their lives. Esera Tuaolo comes to mind.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5190140

[NashVegas]

366. Professional Sports and Country Music

The fear is greater that the fans won't accept. Sad, really.

[Buzz Clik]

221. I didn't see the players' reactions, and I really don't care.

I don't know why anyone would.

Shit. This is the Janet Jackson nipple incident all over again, in reverse -- this time DU plays the role of the assholes.

[TankLV]

180. Other - it was sort of funny - in an embarassing way...

we have a looooong way to go as a society...

[MrSlayer]

181. Offensive or not, they sure got everyone talking about it.

It was all over the radio shows today.

[133724]

185. any publicity is better than no publicity even if you hate it

how many posts are there in this thread?????????

Well at least someone noticed "Snickers" even if you don't buy them....

[Neshanic]

187. Yes, that is very important in capitalism, talk about something you never buy.

Talk about a candy bar all day, and OMG! I WANT A SNICKERS!

How did they do that? I am so a marketing target zombie.

[Guaranteed]

193. It is possible the ad execs wanted it to be both? Re Geico commercials

I've started wondering if some of the smarter ad execs have begun attempts at commercials sufficiently ambiguous to allow the viewer, themselves, to read in the meaning that they WANT to read in. This ad, for example, might appeal both to liberals, who respond well to the mocking of bigots, and bigots themselves, who respond well to idiotic behavior.

Take these Geico "caveman" commercials- I've been watching and trying to deconstruct this series of commercials over the course of many months. What is their angle with these? What is the target audience? On the one hand, it seems like it's more aimed at liberals- very deliberate attacks against simplicity in the media are apparent. But it also makes the caveman "liberals" look whiny, and downright "bitchy," even, in some of the commercials. Bitter, maybe.

Do you think this dualism is deliberate? It only seems like good marketing to appeal to a larger audience by allowing the audience itself to pick out the aspects of the commercial that appeal to them.

[BlooInBloo]

200. Cmon straight folks! You KNOW it's yout god-given right to decide....

... for gay folks what's anti-gay and what's not! Because EVERYONE knows that gay folks have such a LOOOOOOOOONG history of making that shit up... And EVERYONE knows that straight folks have been nothing but straight-shooters on the matter.

You tell those fucking oversensitive gay folks what's what!

:rofl:

[Bluebear]

201. BlooInBloo

I never knew you had it in you. :toast:

[Neshanic]

202. I like the way you guys think.

[rocktivity]

205. It was too pointless to be offensive.

I expect beer commercials to be pointless--after all, they're not allowed to talk about beer any more. But candy bar doesn't need to make me make that kind of leap of faith. And at the risk of being a total stick in the mud, it didn't make me want to buy the candy bar, either.

:headbang:
rocknation

[deadcenter]

214. I thought it

was hilarious. The same way I thought the scene in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles was hilarious:

Steve Martin: Lyle, where's your other hand?
John Candy: Between a couple of pillows.
SM: Those aren't pillows!
JC/SM: huh, ahem, ahuh, How 'bout them Bears?

Could have the quote wrong, it's been a while since I've seen it, but that's what the commercial made me think of.

[Lilith Velkor]

216. I didn't see it so I wasn't offended

Hope that doesn't make me a bigot or something.

[Bluebear]

220. Did you vote?

[Lilith Velkor]

256. No

I'm just here playing that ole "There's more to life than teevee" tune, if ya can dig that.

[deutsey]

222. You left off my choice: it was lame.

[Puglover]

225. What an asinine poll.

Civil rights nor sensibilties are not measured by majorities. Jesus, I can't believe I'm seeing this shit on DU.

[Balbus]

226. What do I think?

I think this commercial was Joe Biden's wet-dream come true. Biden who?

[dysfunctional press]

228. what's offensive is the number of people who seem to be offended...

lighten up, and get a fucking life, already... :eyes: sheesh.

[terrya]

230. Ah...post number 12,512 telling us to "lighten up"

No, I don't think I will on something I would find offensive.

But thanks anyway for posting the same patronizing shit I've seen here ad nauseum. Gosh, you've been SO helpful. :eyes:

[dysfunctional press]

233. how often do straight males have hissy fits when they feel they've been parodied...?

and then you wonder why people mention that you should lighten up, already....:eyes:

[Puglover]

235. Yeah straight white males

have had it so fucking rough over the centuries. The persecution has been horrific. :sarcasm:


Next time I'm all set to have a "hissy fit" I'll think of how you would act and try to muster up your manly strength. :eyes:

[dysfunctional press]

236. and the "persecution" in the snickers ad is...what, exactly...?

l.i.g.h.t.e.n. u.p.

[Puglover]

239. Non sequitor pal.

I didn't mention anything about how the ad persecuted anyone. What I take issue with is you holding up straight white males as if its some shining fuckin example for how us gays should act.

Correct bad, mad English on edit.

[dysfunctional press]

249. like i said-

you don't see strait males throwing hissy fits every time they get parodied on television- "some" people could/SHOULD really take a lesson from that... :hi:

[LostinVA]

257. "Hissy fits"? Oh brother

[JackBeck]

258. I guess Matthew Shepard's mom should stop throwing a "hissy fit" as well.

"I am outraged that Mars, the NFL and these players would promote such an anti-gay message. This campaign encourages the same type of hate that led to the death of my son Matthew. It essentially gives 'permission' to our society to verbally or physically harass individuals who are gay, lesbian or bisexual," said Judy Shepard, Executive Director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation. "In particular, I am dismayed that these players, who are role models to our young people, would participate in perpetuating such discrimination and prejudice."


http://www.matthewshepard.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Press_Media_PR_NFL_COMMERCIAL_020507

[dysfunctional press]

261. apparently so.

having read that, anyway...

[JackBeck]

262. Wow.

[ThomCat]

242. It validates mocking gayness.

It validates that gayness is something to be mocked.

It justifies bullying and bashing against gay people because we're clearly just something to be mocked and ridiculed, not people to be shown even minimal respect.

Geez, it's not that hard a concept to get. Mocking has always been used by bullies, and they always use the same defense, "it was just a joke."

[dysfunctional press]

247. EVERYTHING is something to be mocked.

by somebody.

"some" people really need to learn to lighten up, and get over themselves, already.

[ThomCat]

250. "lighten up"

The first refuge of the bigots who don't want to be called out on their bigotry.
:eyes:

"It's can't be offensive because it was only intended as a crass, mean, demeaning joke. Really. Grow a sense of humor."

[dysfunctional press]

260. we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one-

because i just don't see it in ANY WAY as being any kind of attack on gays.

and yes- grow yourself a sense of humour...please.



and did i also mention- "lighten up"...?

[swimboy]

243. All this aside, Question All

Can I count on you to support my quest for equal rights as a gay citizen of the United States?

[dysfunctional press]

246. yes, you have my support.

i believe in equal rights.
but people getting their undies in a bunch over a candy commercial because of what they THINK that THEY see in it still makes my eyes roll.

:eyes:

and the people who do, need to lighten up about it.

[swimboy]

248. Thank you.

[ThomCat]

251. So if mocking people for being gay, or being perceived

as gay is okay, then what prejudice would you bother to get up and help us fight?

If we can be mocked in the workplace like that they we'll never be treated as equals there. You've basically announced that a hostile work environment is okay because it's just humor.

If we can be mocked by our straight (supposed) friends like that then we're not really treated equally by our friends. Our friends feel it's okay to mock us for being gay.

What kind of equality are you sticking up for?

[dysfunctional press]

259. i don't see it as mocking people for being gay- sorry.

and as far as "get up and help us fight"- that's not what i said or signed up for.

we all have our own battles in this society- i'm permanently and totally disabled, due to an arthritic spinal condition that went un/mis-diagnosed for almost two decades, and for which i take narcotic medication and medical marijuana to alleviate chronic pain. (i'm not saying this for pity's sake, but to illustrate the various "battles" i'm already engaged in.)

and then there's the whole war in iraq thing, and the whole global warming thing...

but i'm not gay- so that's not my battle to fight.

but you have my support and my vote...always.

and if YOU feel that this television commercial is 'mocking' you, then that's YOUR problem, because i just don't see it that way.

[ThomCat]

277. If you don't see blatant homophobia when it's staring you in the face

then we'll never be able to count on you for anything. Your support will be token, and easily taken away by any bigot with a smooth tongue.

Thanks anyway. :eyes:

Funny, I'm a permanently disabled person, chronic pain patient, I'm gay, I'm Jewish, and I work on a lot of causes related to all of these.

But I also work on women's issues and I'm a feminist.
I support civil rights for African Americans and every other racial/ethnic group.
I support justice and sovereignty for Native Americans

I support a lot of causes that aren't "mine" and I don't dismiss people when they say their entire class of people are being mocked, sterotyped or belittled. Long experience has shown me that when a group of people say they're being targetted, they usually are, and they're the ones in the best possition to know.

But thank you for your support, such as it is.

[dysfunctional press]

287. and if you see "blatant homophobia" that isn't even there...

maybe you need to seek out professional counseling.

on edit- the ad in question is an "attack" ON homophobia, not making a homophobic attack on gays- that's what i meant by homophobia that isn't even there. Gay people that are offended by the ad that i saw, really need to LIGHTEN UP... A WHOLE HELLUVA LOT.

[meow mix]

310. yah right, wink wink. its just anti-homophobia wink wink

get real. its anti-gay tailor made just for you so you can laugh and wink and not feel too guilty

[ThomCat]

241. How often do straight men have to worry about

discrimination and prejudice? How often do straight men have to worry that straight jokes are going to result in bulling against straight people by all those gay people out there who just love to mock straightness?

Get a clue. Bigotry uses mocking humor as a way of keeping people down and justifying bullying behavior. Straight white men don't have to worry about bigoty, so you would don't have any first-hand perspective on this. It would be nice if you had the empathy to understand the views of people who do have that first-hand perspective, but I guess that's asking too much.

[foreigncorrespondent]

253. Quite often as a matter of fact!

Just take any group of people, then segregate the males in that group, then offend them and see what happens. In fact I just watched a straight male a week ago have a "hissy" it when I told him a few home truths.

So don't come here and tell people to lighten up. And don't think you are the expert on what people should and shouldn't find offensive, we are all different.

On edit: typo

[Bluebear]

264. Fuck you. Laugh THAT off. nt

[LoZoccolo]

267. Don't bring that kind of language into this thread.

Don't try to get it locked by starting fights. That's not fair, and I wouldn't do it to one of your threads.

[Bluebear]

275. Why would one post lock the thread?

Don't worry, your opinion is in the majority here.

[LoZoccolo]

276. It wouldn't, but if you were planning on going on a rampage I wanted to warn you. n/t

[Bluebear]

282. Yeah that's me, old rampager. nt

[Bluebear]

361. .

[Beelzebud]

238. I think the focus on super bowl ads is a HUGE WASTE OF TIME.

We have plans to SURGE the iraq war, and possibly invade Iran, and THIS is the outrage.

A fucking commercial.

I didn't watch the game. I didn't watch any of the ads, and if everyone wasn't making such a big deal about it, I never would have known of the ad.

This is much ado about NOTHING.

[Beelzebud]

244. Didn't watch it when it was live, and don't really give a shit now.

How many Iraqi civilians has America slaughtered while we discuss how offensive a super bowl commercial was?

[PresidentObama]

245. I was not offended.

But I hear more pieces being added to the puzzle like the NFL players reaction to it, and I heard there is more then one version of the advertisement. I saw one, the one during the SuperBowl.

[DaveJ]

252. I voted offensive

But then I think 99% of TV ads are offensive.

[mmonk]

255. When I viewed it, it looked as though it made fun of

homophobic types. However, if it offends, then it was offensive and maybe an apology would be a proper course.

[Darkhawk32]

263. How many were offended by Jack in the show, Will and Grace?

Portraying all the stereotypes of gay people, which certainly isn't the case. How many were offended by that?

[Zhade]

265. I'm queer; I wasn't offended. Saw it as mocking homophobes, made them look dumb.

NT!

[Bluebear]

266. Did you see the whole campaign?

[Zhade]

283. No, just the ad on tv.

NT!

[L A Woman]

268. you are smarter than the target audience

i believe it was intended to appeal to the stereotypical, hypermasculine, brainless football fan who still giggles when men kiss. i am not easily offended by gay jokes and that type of thing, but when this aired, it did jump out at me as being homophobic. shame.

[LoZoccolo]

271. These remarks are uncalled for.

You are complaining about stereotypes while putting quite a few other people under them yourself. This Super Bowl was the third most-watched television event in history and thus the audience can't be presumed to be that narrow, for starters.

[L A Woman]

274. you misunderstand...

i SAID....stereotypical, hypermasculine, brainless football fan who still giggles when men kiss.

i SAID those things are stereotypes. I didn't say they were true. I believe Snickers thinks that is the target audience and I believe THAT ad was an attempt to appeal to that audience. So it was offensive two ways; it was offensive (obviously) to gay men by insinuating that it is disgusting when two men kiss, and it was offensive to straight men, by insinuating that they are brainless morons who giggle when seeing two men kiss.

[mondo joe]

292. Zhade, I haven't seen it and don't intend to - but my lesbian neighbors told

me about it on the day of the Superbowl BECAUSE they they thought it was funny and mocking homophobes.

There are so many things that can at once be understood to be anti gay or gay positive, depending on where the viewer thinks its coming from.

For myself, after all the furor, I feel disinclined to watch it because there's no way I can approach it with an open mind.

I'm more sad about the response than anything else. I hate when we can't even rationally discuss something.

[Bluebear]

293. mondo joe can I ask you to look at one thing?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2pcGABklyw

Part of the ad campaign filmed pro football players reacting to the two men kissing. Still mocking homophobes?

[mondo joe]

294. Bluebear, I'll try to look at it later. I'm really in too foul a mood to do it now without

my own attitude coloring the whole thing, and if I'm going to do it I want to do it from a better place than I'm in right now.

Without seeing it, I can tell you this: I believe it's very possible that the add-ons from the web site that I've read about are anti gay. I don't know if I'd think so, but I believe it's possible.

That said, what most people initially responded to was just the ad itself. And based on the disparity of opinion about that alone, I don't think it's cool to condemn people for disagreeing about that.

I'll really try tomorrow to watch the whole set of videos, assuming they are still available on youtube. But I don't want to be in a bad mood when I do it.

Thanks.

[Bluebear]

269. Yay, two to one! You're almost there!

:eyes:

[LoZoccolo]

272. If you really don't like me asking this question, or this thread...

...I should remind you that you have probably kicked it more than any other person.

[Bluebear]

273. It's important everyone gets a chance to vote! Majority rules! nt

[Name removed]

278. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[keepCAblue]

279. Yes, and it appears many of them have taken the bait.

Hook, line and sinker.

[LoZoccolo]

280. I would like you to qualify that more than just acting like you know it's true.

From what you've given, it's an unfair accusation, and from what I understand, you are not supposed to accuse someone of that here.

[Bluebear]

281. Careful. YOU'LL get censured. nt

[LoZoccolo]

284. Besides, everyone is welcome to vote.

So I don't exactly get what you're saying.

[ScreamingMeemie]

285. And it is wildly skewed already. I did not vote on it, after clicking on

it several times. priyanka's poll is much fairer and very well expressed.

[ScreamingMeemie]

286. Come to think of it...you cannot poll a person on what they "think"

for thinking is open ended, no?

[BuyingThyme]

289. Thank you for this poll, LoZoccolo.

As you know, there is a mob of DU bullies going around, trying to stifle debate on this issue. In large part, they have been successful, as they've gone to great lengths to assure that threads get locked and posts deleted.

Keep it up.

[Bluebear]

295. Trying to STIFLE debate on this??

I think there has been a ton of discussion on the ads! Meanwhile, let's point out some traits of passive-aggressive behaviour:

*FEAR OF DEPENDENCY

*FEAR OF INTIMACY

*FEAR OF COMPETITION

*OBSTRUCTIONISM

*FOSTERING CHAOS

*FEELINGS OF INADEQUACY/SUPERIORITY

*FEELING VICTIMIZED - The p/a protests that others unfairly them rather than owning up to their own misdeeds. To remain above reproach, they set themsevles up as the apparently hapless, innocent victim. (!)

*MAKING EXCUSES & LYING

*PROCRASTINATION

*CHRONIC LATENESS & FORGETFULNESS

*AMBIGUITY

*SULKING

[BuyingThyme]

296. Case in point.

[Bluebear]

297. I am just glad that they are getting on to you.

[BuyingThyme]

298. No, you're insanely mad that the truth is still out there.

But thanks for proving my point yet again.

[Bluebear]

299. And you are just plain insane. nt

[BuyingThyme]

300. Again, point proven.

[Bluebear]

301. "It is embarrassing to be perceived as gay if you're straight,

particularly when you just found yourself kissing a co-worker of the same sex. You might want to do something to convince the co-worker otherwise, just to clarify the status of the relationship."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=128937#129238

You know, you could have just said you made a mistake uttering the above instead of going bananas because you're mortified that you actually typed those words.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

302. Honestly, I'm embarassed when people percieve me as straight.

I mean, look at how some of them act.

[Bluebear]

303. Is it genetic or learned behaviour?

;)

[JackBeck]

304. It's so embarrassing, why not beat the crap out of them with a wrench?

Or better yet, why not...(laughing...gasping for breath) pound motor oil like I'm pounding a beer!

(Wipes tears away from face) Ahh...dude, that was hilarious. Especially when I kicked that boys ass with a wrench. Man, did I split his head open good...

Ahhh...good times...

[Bluebear]

306. I liked when my football heroes almost puked on camera

Remember, when they saw two men's lips meet? "Oh whoa! Whoa!!! Oh no, that ain't right! I hope they got paid a lot of money for that!"

Because, you know, it's embarrassing to be perceived as gay.

That was awesome.

[JackBeck]

308. Dude...you know what...hate to be a TOTAL downer...

But wouldn't it have been cool if the guys that kissed....wait for it....DIDN'T MAKE SUCH A BIG DEAL ABOUT IT????

Could you imagine...wait dude...give me a sec....if that when they kissed...they didn't have to PROVE ANYTHING!!!!!!!

AHHHH....OOOOHHHHH...WHOOOOO....ahhhhh.....ahem.

Nah. I'm just kidding man. I'm glad that dude took a wrench and bashed that guy's head in. Fag deserved it.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

307. Honestly, I prefer the billy club I inherited from my dad.

It has sentimental value.

[JackBeck]

309. Then we could have passed it around.

Initiate all of us.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

312. Wait?

I thought you were already inducted into the gay mafia?

[JackBeck]

313. Rumor has it.

But I didn't know there were blunt objects involved.

Is this the second part of initiation?

I must confess...I am a top...so be gentle.

[sniffa]

342. beautifuL

:rofl:

[JackBeck]

305. We're the ones locking threads?

Heee-larious.

I wish I could show a running tally of how many posts you've had deleted and sub-threads you've killed over the past few days.

"Mob of DU bullies"? Give me a break.

[BuyingThyme]

353. I wonder how you know about that.

It's difficult to put the pieces together.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

340. asking people to get over it hardly helps debate

[BuyingThyme]

352. What are you referring to?

[FunkyLeprechaun]

311. I'll jump in

I did watch the advertisements on the Snickers websites and the player's reactions.

From what I've seen on the websites and YouTube, only one ad was shown.

I honestly have to agree that this was satire.

As I live in Britain, I told my UK gay friend all about the commercials (we were at a pub, no computers within reach of us) and tried to be as detailed as possible. He thought the description was hilarious and didn't think it was bashing gays at all.

There's many commercials here that would never be aired in the US (too graphic (the Think! Road Safety commercials), but there is one commercial that comes to mind. It features two obvious men (5 O'Clock shadow, beer gut from watching too many Football games) wearing women's clothing and women's wigs, one demonstrating how the kitchen towel is better than the other one.

I haven't heard any outrage from THAT. I also think it's funny as well.

The discussion over this is so silly. It's up there with Janet's boob. I'm not sure how Mars is handled here in the UK, but the version over here is much much better than the US version. Also the Mars UK company is no longer marketing/advertising their candy to under 12s because of the obesity crisis, a good move on their part.

If it was an anti-gay marriage Snickers ad, take offense.

If it was an anti-gay adoption Snickers ad, take offense.

Above all if it was an anti-gay Snickers ad, take offense.

It was NONE of the above. And I studied media at University well enough to know that the aforementioned commercial was just that, Satire. It was blatantly bashing homophobia, the football player's reactions even bashed homophobia as well, showing themselves in a bad light. I bet people want to go out and buy Snickers and M&Ms now because of all this chatter about boycotting a candy bar.

I haven't had candy in a while, which is good. They're fattening, including the UK version of the Mars Bar.

[Bluebear]

315. 'The discussion over this is so silly.' - We American gays are a silly, silly lot.

Always offended about something. It's marvelous, too, that every straight DUer has a gay friend that OK'ed the ad!

Meanwhile, I will stick with Matt Shepard's mother, GLAAD, and the Human Rights Campaign that agrees that the whole campaign encourages hate against gays.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x140349

Finally, if you think that a candy bar manufacturer who is trying to reach 18-24 year old American males is going to do it with "brilliant satire", I suggest you spend a couple months in, say, Waco, Texas to familiarize yourself with our demographics.

[meow mix]

316. yah, as soon as were done laughing at your fag asses

we liberals are going to spearhead up a real gay rights movement

what kind of movement is ever going to happen when this is the atmosphere? were not even willing to stop ridiculing you publically!

good going on winning this poll du hateapologists you should be ashamed

[Bluebear]

317. Thanks meow mix. It's been a hell of a couple days here.

I haven't felt so welcome since us gays lost the 2004 election for Kerry, then "lost" the 06 midterms because of the New Jersey civil union bill.

[FunkyLeprechaun]

319. Hmm

Even if I support Gay Rights and have gay friends, you call me hateapologist?

Way to make friends, meow mix.

This commercial is so overblown, it's not funny anymore.

[meow mix]

321. if your apologizing for they way they chose to ridicule gays

your a hateapologist no matter what the hell else you are. imo

[FunkyLeprechaun]

343. I am not

Apologising for the way they ridicule gays. Nor does the commercial ridicule gays.

Name calling gets you no-where, meowmix.

[meow mix]

344. making up flimsy excuses for them is the same thing

thats exactly what hateapologists do, good work!

[FunkyLeprechaun]

346. Do you think Rosie O'Donnell is a hateapologist?

She's gay and said the ad didn't offend her.

Hmm!

[Bluebear]

347. Your "hmms" are really getting irritating.

Just thought you'd like to know.

[JackBeck]

348. Did you see Tuesday's "The View"?

She had plenty to say about the whole ad campaign and homophobic it was. As far as the commercial iteslf, she said she kind of bristled because she knew that, in her words, "there were going to be lawsuits flying".

So to answer your question, no. I don't think Rosie is a "hateapologist".

[Bluebear]

362. I got a KICK out of that episode.

[Bluebear]

377. .

[FunkyLeprechaun]

318. Oh Bluebear

There are so many commercials that were aired during the Superbowl, and you JUST had to single this one out. The GM Robot ad, to me was the most offensive and the most depressing, and you're talking about a stupid anti-homophobic commercial.

I am an American but my outrage meter on this commercial is minuscule. I thought it was funny and it WAS directed at homophobics. That's the crux of the matter. Everything about that commerical screamed to me ANTI-HOMOPHOBIA!

Thank you, you just got people to think about Snickers bars.

I've seen this sort of thing within the hardline deaf community (they get outraged over the smallest things too, such as Gallaudet's Jane Fernandes' learning to sign at a late age), and I'm not surprised the hardline gay community is outraged over this tiny minuscule commercial.

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.

[Bluebear]

320. I could care less about your outrage meter on this commercial.

I hate to be rude, but sorry, it doesn't target you so your outrage quotient is easily explained away. Be sure to write Mrs. Shepard and tell her she is making a mountain out of a molehill.

By the way, what is the "HARDLINE gay community"??

[meow mix]

323. and the hardline deaf??

im kinda wondering that too?!?

[Bluebear]

325. It's code for "UPPITY". nt

[FunkyLeprechaun]

330. That's people

Who are outraged over little things like this commercial. If I so much say the f-word to describe a cigarette, you'd, in a split-second, label me homophobe. Nevermind that the word is most commonly said here instead of Cigarettes.

There are much MUCH bigger domestic issues to deal with, such as promoting gay marriage, gay adoptions and gay rights. Why not deal with those issues in light of the Snickers bar, not highlighting how offensive the commercial is.

I can name the number of instances on my hands and toes that people like you could have been outraged with but stood by silently. There are many movies with anti-gay themes, many companies that promote an anti-gay agenda, etc, but I only hear about them like months later because there's no one talking about these things.

You could also have turned the commerical to a more positive light on the gay community (my gay friend said, "Good, that'll teach those homophobes." when I told him about the commercial), instead you and other people are getting your knickers in a twist and trying to grab on the non-existent homophobia in the commerical.

Sheesh.

[Bluebear]

331. "people like you", eh?

By the way, I know that fag is cigarette in Britain, I'm not stupid.

Do "people like you" also visit threads where people of color are discussing something that irritated them and tell them not to be so sensitive too?

What haven't I learned about "people like you" here the last couple days.

[FunkyLeprechaun]

333. Hah..

You should have read closely.

People like you= people who get overly upset with wee things like Janet Jackson's boob and the non existent anti-gay overtones of a Snickers commercial.

That's WHO I am talking about.

[Bluebear]

334. You know NOTHING about me. NOTHING.

And you don't care to. Because you have already made up your mind. Some "hardline gay" who gets upset with Janet Jackson's boob.

:rofl:

Goodbye, you are quite a piece of work.

[meow mix]

335. "Some "hardline gay" who gets upset with Janet Jackson's boob"

i know ROFL fitting that this guy would be leading the hate charge right now

[Bluebear]

336. God, mm, some people sit at their computers & type such smug crap. nt

[FunkyLeprechaun]

338. Hmm

Yet again misreading.

Nice talking to you, too. (BTW, have you seen the comments on YouTube, including the ones you linked to? Most of them thought it was funny... hmm!)

[meow mix]

345. yah, those were funny little comments and its no surpise you liked them

lets examine the first couple right off the bat!

"please just be normal, dont be offended by small stupid things like this, and NO ONE WILL HATE YOU
and also dont talk with a lisp, cut thats fukin gay"

"The football players reactions are totally valid because they are straight men, to them it is gross and odd. I think the commercial is one of the funniest"


sadly enough this reads a lot like DU at the moment. jerks.

[Bluebear]

375. kick

[meow mix]

314. definitely offensive, wtf ppl

especially considering the target audience, i cant believe a lot of people are supporting this crap

[FunkyLeprechaun]

322. The commercial isn't offensive

and nor do I support eating processed chocolate.

I'd rather a Cadbury's Milk Chocolate bar over Snickers any day of the week.

There are a couple people here missing their funny bone. It was hilarious, it was anti-homophobic. It showed the stupidity of homophobes.

That's all the commercial was.

[meow mix]

327. we all know its good to laugh at gays... just like the commercial shows.

anyone who cant see the wrongness here is a bigot, or a troll, or is being completly mind controlled by the tv.

[Bluebear]

329. And she SAW the one with the players mocking us!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2pcGABklyw

Another subtle swipe at homophobes! Brilliant!

[Duncan Grant]

337. That's a must see video.

And the comments section doesn't surprise me. :eyes:

[terrya]

341. That was telling.

That part was revealing...it tells me all I need to know about the attitudes towards homosexuality in Professional Football. If there are any other Esera Tuaolo's in the NFL (the former pro football player who came out a few years back), you'd better close that closet door and weld it shut. Because I'm seeing some nasty attitudes there.

And seeing the comments on youtube about that video...Mars knew exactly what they were doing.

[Bluebear]

328. She's "missing her funny bone" too

The Matthew Shepard Foundation today strongly condemned an ad campaign by Snickers.

The campaign was launched during CBS television's Super Bowl programming on Sunday and was watched by tens of millions of Americans.

It shows two mechanics eating from opposite ends of a Snickers bar and, after their mouths touch, ripping out their chest hair in an attempt to "do something manly."

The Snickers website shows alternate endings for the ad, among them, a version called "Wrench" where one man grabs a wrench and uses it to bash the other, who responds by slamming the hood of the car down on his head...

Judy Shepard, Executive Director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, said she was outraged at the NFL and at the Snickers brand, which is owned by Mars and is the official chocolate bar sponsor of the NFL: "This campaign encourages the same type of hate that led to the death of my son Matthew. "It essentially gives 'permission' to our society to verbally or physically harass individuals who are gay, lesbian or bisexual," she said. "In particular, I am dismayed that these players, who are role models to our young people, would participate in perpetuating such discrimination and prejudice."....

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-3646.html

[FunkyLeprechaun]

332. Maybe it's a good thing

(like my last post)

Despite the commercial not being offensive (it REALLY isn't, fergoodnesssake!), it highlighted the plights of the gay community.

I would have found the commercial REALLY offensive if one of the men said, "Quick be manly!" and tied the other to a fence. That would have been VERY VERY offensive. I would NOT have laughed.

But it shows them pulling out their chest hair (the only commercial to be shown, if anyone hasn't seen the other ones). They are inflicting abuse on themselves (aside from the Wrench commercial, where they beat each other), in a lame attempt to be manly.

Not anti-gay at all. You should be promoting the positives of the gay community rather than jumping on the tiny negativity of this commercial.

You shouldn't come here to the UK, there's a lot of really offensive (but the British think they're funny) commercials dealing with blacks, gays, women, etc. There was a stereotypical Japanese-style commercial here with bright colours and quite exuberant host and hostess speaking only japanese while a British guy is looking on quite confusedly and stirring his tea with his drumstick. The Japanese woman drinks the tea that he had stirred with his drumstick.

You probably might think this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4zx1ZX8GW4) is offensive, but psst... the guy who's playing Dafydd is gay, having married his partner last year in London.

[nadinbrzezinski]

324. Ok how bout this one?

I have NOT seen it...

Sorry... don't watch much tv any longer, does it show?

[LittleClarkie]

326. Where's my option, which was that the snickers ad was just plain stupid

I wasn't offended, but more than one gay friend was. I defer to them.

[Auggie]

339. Seconded. I'm in advertising, and professionally speaking, the ad was awful.

The ad agency creative director that presented that ad and the Snickers brand manager who approved it should be fired.

[Bluebear]

349. Thought you might enjoy this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x144618

[Auggie]

355. Thanks Bluebear

We're seeing too much advertising lately where product attributes are being overshadowed by sophomoric humor. That does nothing to promote the brand. It's not that I have anything against humor, just stupid selling propositions. And the clients are as much to blame as the ad agencies.

[NaturalHigh]

351. I was not offended in any way.

I did, however, find it a major letdown after last year's "monkeys in the office" commercials. Were there any of those this year? I didn't bother to watch most of the game or the commercials.

[paulk]

354. I found the ad offensive

and homophobic.

I've spent a good part of my life living and working with the kind of Neanderthals portrayed in the ad - and while their behaviour was obviously overblown - the attitude portrayed was not that far off the mark. IMO.

[Bluebear]

356. kick

[Maven]

357. Kick.

[Bluebear]

360. The polls are still open!

Kick!

[cynatnite]

358. No choice for 'completely stupid'?

I wasn't offended. I just thought it was stupid and juvenile.

[Maven]

370. Yes. That choice is built in.

It's called "voting in this poll."

Kick.

[Bluebear]

373. kick

[LoZoccolo]

374. Kick.

:kick:

[Maven]

376. Kick.

For self-flagellation.

[AtomicKitten]

359. I don't care.

outrage fatigue

[meow mix]

363. marsapologists, this poll symbolizes a complete breakdown of peoples ability

to resist socio-mental programming. it was so cleverly veiled no one knew what hit them, and they happily accepted the message that gays are gross.

[LoZoccolo]

365. Would it have helped if I put the choices in a different order? n/t

[meow mix]

367. i could always use my imagination that would have helped i guess

good idea =)

[Maven]

368. Kick.

[Bluebear]

369. No, it would have helped if one were given some profound choces.

this one reminded me of something I got in 5th grade.

DO YOU LIKE ME CHECK ONE

____YES

____NO

[meow mix]

371. might some people take this as a negative attack against gays?

something like that.. i dunno im really not good at that type of stuff heh but not hard to beat Yes No lol

[Maven]

372. The OP is highly skilled and very persistent in that area.

It's a sight to see, really.

And everyone should see it.

Kick.