Snickers

[gentlepen9]

I was just wondering if anyone here saw that Snickers commercial that was shown during the Super Bowl? If you did what are your thoughts on it.

My thoughts:
I thought it was gutsy for a company to show two men kissing especially during a prime time event.
What I didn't like was the whole "I think we just kissed...quick do something manly." And then the two guys ripped hair off their chests as if kissing made them less than a man. I found that to be demeaning.

So what are your thoughts?

[not2normal69]

I dont see what the big comotion is about. No diffrent than seeing two men almost hug when they are excited.

[trip1]

I dont see what the big comotion is about. No diffrent than seeing two men almost hug when they are excited.

Yep. My thoughts to a T. I just thought it was cool showing it...

[LoveLion]

haha, I didnt see it originally on TV (Canada has to put Canadian ads over the super bowl) But here is the link to it if anyone wants to see it:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JHkoZ7ngAM0

I though it was hilarious

[Fire Lotus]

I dont see what the big comotion is about. No diffrent than seeing two men almost hug when they are excited.

What was wrong with it was, the men thinking the kissing was wrong/gay and thought by doing something 'manly' such as drinking motor oil or doing something violent to themselves would counteract the act.

After many people speking up, it ads were pulled. I'm glad.They were insults to querr men. Snickers were not thinking on this one.

[LoveLion]

What was wrong with it was, the men thinking the kissing was wrong/gay and thought by doing something 'manly' such as drinking motor oil or doing something violent to themselves would counteract the act.

After many people speking up, it ads were pulled. I'm glad.They were insults to querr men. Snickers were not thinking on this one.

I dont think its that bad. Sure they thought it was wrong that they kissed, but to me the ad is making fun of the Stupid "macho" guy attitude (Thinking they have to pull out there chest hair to be men) rather then a taking a shot at men kissing being wrong. I think its kinda ridiculous that queer men would be offended enough to speak up against it. Its just a commercial and its all in fun. Even gays need to be able to laugh at themselves and the world around them. I say, lighten up and enjoy the laugh. Its not going to hurt anyone

[jookboxcharlie]

I was just wondering if anyone here saw that Snickers commercial that was shown during the Super Bowl? If you did what are your thoughts on it.

My thoughts:
I thought it was gutsy for a company to show two men kissing especially during a prime time event.
What I didn't like was the whole "I think we just kissed...quick do something manly." And then the two guys ripped hair off their chests as if kissing made them less than a man. I found that to be demeaning.

So what are your thoughts?

My thought is that Snickers suck! Really, I thought it was hysterical! I mean what could be funnier than two closeted auto mechanics who were probably dying to kiss for years finally doing it- and then overreacting with boorishly hetero machismo...

Or am I reading too much into their relationship?

[bearisbare]

Two other ads showed those same two men, after the kiss, attack each other in the garage in one, and pour motor oil down their throats in the other (I'm sure of course they didn't actually do so, but an implication is "anything to get the thought of that kiss out of my head").

Another ad showed various NFL players reacting to the ad, some in a positive way, but two of them were decidedly negative in their reactions to the idea that two men could ever possibly kiss.

Not everyone is going to keep their opinions to themselves. There's always going to be some people who think it's fine to bash queer people. A visual like those in some of the Snickers ads is going to give an impression that it's okay to do so.

Of course, looking at the youtube link, within the comments, there's a lot of homophobes speaking up.

[TorontoGuy2007]

my take on the ad is that snickers only wants "straight" customers.. i certainly won't be buying their product ever again...

[Fire Lotus]

Not everyone is going to keep their opinions to themselves. There's always going to be some people who think it's fine to bash queer people. A visual like those in some of the Snickers ads is going to give an impression that it's okay to do so.

Of course, looking at the youtube link, within the comments, there's a lot of homophobes speaking up.

This is exactly my thinking as well. It's things such as this, that really burn me. I find no humor inthe homophobic content. It was irresponsible for Snickers to make such ads. Fortunatly, I never liked their products in the first place. But if I did, I'd no longer give my money to them.

[AngelOfTheMystic]

I too would have to say that that was very gutsy of them to show. However much like you I think it sucks that they had to do the whole "quick let's do something manly because we kissed" thing. One of these days though people will get over it!!

[darkeyes]

my take on the ad is that snickers only wants "straight" customers.. i certainly won't be buying their product ever again...

We do get ourselves in a wee commotion sumtimes.. didn c the ad an hav no wish 2... first time me remembers havin a "Snickers" wos so long ago me prefers 2 forget. It wos also the last. Got it in a selecton box at crimbo an here they wer called "Marathon" then.. the bar wos so disgustin it wudda been a marathon 2 chomp through an me fed it to me dog (for wich me got a bollockin off me mum).

Nuthin 2 do wiv the thread really jus part of me anti crap sweeties campaign!

[izzfan]

Ah, I wondered if THAT infamous Snickers ad would turn up on this forum lol. My very first reaction when I saw the 'chest hair' version was just amusement and a general feeling of "what's all the fuss about?". But as for the other two adverts, well they were a bit more violent/dangerous and the humour had worn off by then and I started to think about the adverts in more detail. Basically, they are a little bit homophobic as they belive that same-sex kissing is 'unmanly' [Have the advertising people at Snickers ever seen a Tom of Finland picture?lol, gay kissing/sex can be even more 'manly' thn str8 activities lol ]. Also, another website [either gay.com or pinknews.co.uk] pointed out something interesting about the adverts that show that they're at least a bit homophobic - basically the fact that the two men react with violence when they realise that they've kissed each other, its hardly going to discourage homophobic violence is it?.
I can see the kind of audience that snickers was aiming it at, the sort of crass American sports 'jock' who would probably be more homophobic than the advert itself. I mean Gentlepen 9's point that it is rare to see 2 men kissing in an advert is quite a valid one but I also agree with her point that it lost all value due to the demeaning context it was shown in.
However, I have to also agree with some of the comments about the fact that it may be satirising homophobia [by showing 2 ppl overreacting to an accidental same sex kiss in ludicrous ways] but to your average 15-25 year old str8 American sports 'jock' kid, they probs wouldn't see the irony and probably interpret it as supporting homophobia and this is hardly going to prevent homophobic bullying or stop them using the term "faggot" freely to describe anything/anyone they don't like.

Just my :2cents:

Izzfan :flag3:

[Ps: I have to agree with the comments about the taste of snickers bars - they are one of my least favourite chcolate bars anyway lol]

[will8112]

I for one didn't see anything homophobic about it and people should really lighten up. I have several gay friends and they were not offended at all. They lauged their asses off. Just because we don't mind kissing other guys doesn't mean every straight man out there has to support that or even understand it. They have a right to be disgusted by it. I found the commercial hysterical. I suppose we could water down every ad that is out there and just make them all politically correct but that would be pretty boring if you ask me. This is the part of society I just don't get. There were probably millions of gay men out there that thought that commercial was funny, but a handful complain and suddenly Snickers is against gays and anyone that thought that was funny is a homophobe. I don't get it. I'm offended that the ad got pulled. Think about this....that would be like saying that anyone that doesn't support a Gay Pride parade is a homophobe and a racist and that just simply isn't true. I wonder what kind of uproar we would hear and see if people were allowed to put on a Heterosexual Pride parade. I can promise you that someone somewhere would put a stop to it before it's even started. The ACLU would certainly step in and complain that it discriminates against gays and lesbians. But some cities are forced and threatened with a lawsuit if they don't allow a gay pride parade. When did it start to happen that if one person is offended by something that thousands have to change their lives? Relax, there are certainly more pressing issues in this world than whether or not 2 men in a Snickers commercial are uncomfortable with kissing each other.

[Herbwoman39]

In my opinion the big problem with the ad itself is that it asserts that having homophobic tendencies is socially acceptable. Remember, many people don't have minds of their own. They do what they're told, think what they're told and act how they're toldso it only stands to reason that since advertising has such an impact on many people's lives those whodo not think for themselves will believe that the homophobic behavior they witnessed is acceptable.

Mind you I'm not asserting there will be a rash of chest hair ripping, only that the Snickers ad reinforced homophobic beliefs.

[bigirl_inwv]

I have to say that I really am slightly disappointed with some people here. Listen, the first commercial with the ripping of the chest hair, was funny. They took it a little too far with the others, yes. But come on people. Lighten up a little bit. It's a commercial. I really don't think that the people at snickers sat down and said "Oh man. We hate those gay guys. Let's make a gay-bashing super bowl commercial!" They were just going for comedic value. And it worked. If we really wanted to, we could sit down and find something politically incorrect with every commercial that comes on TV. It's along the same lines of people complaining that Prince's guitar looked like a phallus. If you are looking for something to complain about, you are going to find something to complain about. Im pretty sure the GLBT community has some better things to worry about than a stupid snickers commercial.

[DiamondDog]

I have to say that I really am slightly disappointed with some people here. Listen, the first commercial with the ripping of the chest hair, was funny. They took it a little too far with the others, yes. But come on people. Lighten up a little bit. It's a commercial. I really don't think that the people at snickers sat down and said "Oh man. We hate those gay guys. Let's make a gay-bashing super bowl commercial!" They were just going for comedic value. And it worked. If we really wanted to, we could sit down and find something politically incorrect with every commercial that comes on TV. It's along the same lines of people complaining that Prince's guitar looked like a phallus. If you are looking for something to complain about, you are going to find something to complain about. Im pretty sure the GLBT community has some better things to worry about than a stupid snickers commercial.

I agree bigirlinWV.

I think people are taking this WAY too seriously, it's only a commercial and people are being way too PC about it. I've chatted with gay friends about it and they all think that it's hilarious, and I found it funny too.

It's a funny commercial and it just shows how silly heterosexual men can act.

[weskain77]

at risk of being shallow:

I think it was just two goofy hetero guys trying to prove to the other that their desire for the delicious candy bar in no way represented their orientation.

...

:)

[darkeyes]

God knows there r few who hate stupid gay bashing than me, and still havent seen the ad, but agree with those who think that some are takin it way 2 seriously.

So much of our culture is founded on a variety of humour which parodies who and what people are. I loathe sexism and many adverts are probably sexist, though most reflect what our attitudes are to sex at any given time and it is our touchy sensitivities which make us riled. Similarly many reflect race and work in much the same way. Or they parody our sporting habits, or age or any other state of humanity. It appears that this advert falls into this category.

These days we can't even laugh at many of the subjects which have historically been part of our humour. No Irish jokes, no jewish, god forbid any about mean Scots.. all in the name of PC. Now having said that I am actually one who believes in political correctness, but within reason. It is when humour is used to belittle groups or worse of any kind I find offensive. Parodying how we see them I have no problem with, God knows women have been used in this way for centuries and will be for more, as indeed have men, and we shouldnt forget that. Using humour to parody our kind is perfectly acceptable in my eyes, but God help them if it is used in a truly offensive way to run us or anyone else down nastily as a group. We do it all the time to ourselves, as does every other group laugh at themselves, so if as a kind we do why not society as a whole?

Recently in chat a male friend got a bit huffy with me for being sexist and am sorry he feels that way. I can be a bit biting at times, and do have a habit of really going overboard when having a laugh, but the way I use humour in chat is essentially and sustantially of the parody. Similarly society uses it to reflect the human condition, and ads are but one aspect of that.

So lighten up and have a laugh, and worry about some real issues.

[allbimyself]

This has been way overblown. I saw it as degrading to homophobia, not to homosexuals. And we all know that the athletes that got upset about it obviously have latent homosexual tendencies or they wouldn't be upset.

The commercial was funny. Constantly suggesting body mutilation isn't. Right, Fran?

[spartca]

The problem of course is that there is no equivalent for straight-bashing, because straights are in the majority.

But if there were, it would look something like this:

http://heterophobia.tribe.net/

Enjoy! :)

[spartca]

I suppose the ad also plays with the fact that it's just not safe to come out as a gay athelete:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/495773p-417759c.html

[csrakate]

I have to agree with Weskain...I saw the ad as two stupid lunks doing stupid things to themselves because of a candy bar and the close proximity it brought them to. Nothing more. If anything, it should bring the mechanics to an upheaval for depicting them as such idiots! I hardly saw it as a slam against the GLBT community. Just my :2cents:

But then again, I love Snickers...maybe I was just blinded by my love of the candy bar! LOL!

Hugs,
Kate

[dnk6789]

Enough already. Why is it some group or other is offended about something as stupid as this candy commercial. They are just trying to sell their product. My advice to those this ad offends; lighten up already, and get a life.