Women will once again be objectified in Super Bowl ads this year, although not nearly as much as usual, and one company famous for doing so decided to go another route this year but still can’t seem to avoid offending consumers and has been forced to pull the ad.
USA Today is reporting on the controversies swirling around several Super Bowl ads this year.
One involves an ad created by the infamous burger chain, Carls’s Jr., which so famously featured Paris Hilton erotically washing a luxury car while eating one of its burgers. Although it will only be seen in western markets, this year’s commercial uses model Charlotte McKinney, most widely known for her Guess ads, who is supposedly strolling naked through a farmer’s market. The ad is promoting its “All-Natural Burger” and features McKinney using “strategically placed fruits and vegetables” while supposedly shocked vendors look on.
In a sultry voice, McKinney says, “I love going all-natural . . . it just makes me feel better.”
At the end of the ad, she’s shown to be wearing a bikini.
The good news is that many advertisers are finally starting to realize that objectifying women in Super Bowl ads doesn’t pay off, especially because almost half (46%) of Super Bowl viewers are women. This could explain why we’re going to see ads featuring Paralympian Amy Purdy and comedian Mindy Kaling this time around. Even this year’s Victoria’s Secret ad, which usually features models in their underwear, will depict fully clothed models in football uniforms.
The women’s rights group, UltraViolet, will also run a powerful ad showing a football player tackling a woman, then flashing the message, “Let’s take domestic violence out of football” in reference to the case of Ray Rice who was caught on camera knocking out his fiance in an elevator.
Even the highly offensive GoDaddy ads of the past are finally giving way to something other than scantily dressed women. But this company still can’t get it right. This year’s commercial, entitled “Journey Home” is about a puppy that finds its way home after being separated from its family. Unfortunately, at the end of the ad, viewers learn the puppy had been sold by the family on a website built using GoDaddy.
A sneak preview of the ad caused such an uproar on social media that the company was forced to pull it.
“This morning we previewed GoDaddy’s Super Bowl spot on a popular talk show, and shortly after a controversy started to swirl about Buddy, our puppy, being sold online,” the company wrote in a statement. “The responses were emotional and direct. Many people urged us not to run the ad…. The net result? We are pulling the ad from the Super Bowl. You’ll still see us in the Big Game this year, and we hope it makes you laugh. Finally, rest assured, Buddy came to us from a reputable and loving breeder in California. He’s now part of the GoDaddy family as our Chief Companion Officer and he’s been adopted permanently by one of our longtime employees.”
Many of this year’s commercials have not yet been previewed so parents are urged to beware that they may need to intervene during commercials (again) this year.
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