Comments on: Desire and Yearning, Burger King Style

By: Jenn Q. Public

Jenn Q. Public — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:38:17 +0000

Great point about race, Chris. Now that sandwich is even more unappetizing. I’ll have the 7 incher slathered in racism with a twist of misogyny please.

By: Eclectic Radical

Eclectic Radical — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:21:39 +0000

If the add is from Singapore it is /possible/ that the point is not that the woman is a woman, but that the woman is a white European in a yellow country. So the point could be racist rather than misogynist, colonial Europeans are not seen well in Singapore, Vietnam, and a few other Asian countries that remember casual sublimation of their government to foreign powers. It could racist with a misogynist twist, with the deliberate intent of violating the enemy’s woman. Very Stone Age.

Normally, I don’t psychoanalyze ads that much (or even usually at all), but it’s hard not to join in. And I certainly understand that ads are very often meant to have a visceral or subliminal effect not immediately apparent to the conscious mind.

Then again, it’s very hard to be certain what the visceral/subliminal message is meant to be. It could be something very simple (if still basically sexist) like ‘this ain’t no girly burger.’ I know I am not alone among male fast food consumers with large appetites sometimes disappointed by the size of the portions at Burger King or McDonald’s.

None of this is meant to dismiss or devalue Jenn’s analysis, I am simply trying to enjoy thinking up subliminal messages. :)

By: PatrickKelley

PatrickKelley — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:25:00 +0000

Well, seven-inches is probably a pretty respectable size in Singapore ROFLMAO

By: DodiaFae

DodiaFae — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:44:36 +0000

“And just as an aside, if they really wanted the sandwich to seem impressive, shouldn’t they have added a few inches?”

ROFLMFAO Yes, 7″ is just average, isn’t it? Honestly, I’m busting a gut over here.

Yes, the woman in the ad does look completely horrified… right down to the dilated pupils of her eyes. I can’t imagine who their target audience is, either. Singapore? Are they still trying to export America’s obesity problems to the rest of the world? That’s at least a couple of regular sized cheese burgers worth, isn’t it? And the sandwich in the picture looks like they’ve topped it with fries, cheese, bbq sauce (?), and mayo… I can hear my left ventricle slamming shut just thinking about it.

By: Desire and Yearning, Burger King Style : The New Agenda

Desire and Yearning, Burger King Style : The New Agenda — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:19:09 +0000

[...] post originally appeared on the author’s blog, Jenn Q. Public. The author presents her own views, not necessarily those of The New Agenda. A [...]

By: Jenn Q. Public

Jenn Q. Public — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:12:25 +0000

DodiaFae, you’re right, I can’t imagine that this ad would appeal to a significant portion of the male population. Then again, it’s apparently running in Singapore and I don’t know a whole lot about their culture so I can’t really speculate. Are men supposed to think, she looked horrified at the idea of having that in her mouth, but I’m a man, I can handle the 7 incher? I’m fine with gender-targeted advertising, I just can’t figure out what gender/sexual orientation/level of aggression this ad is meant to appeal to.

And just as an aside, if they really wanted the sandwich to seem impressive, shouldn’t they have added a few inches?

By: DodiaFae

DodiaFae — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:16:33 +0000

ROFL
I’m sorry, I have to laugh at that ad.
It’s obviously not meant to appeal to any self-respecting women (I’m certainly not impressed by it).

And let’s consider for a moment the men that it would appeal to…

The men who have little/no respect for women. But honestly, how do they think they’re going to look while eating one of those “Super Seven Inchers”? A bit like the blond in the ad, I should think. Or maybe they’ll look like they’re getting more enjoyment out of it. Hmmm…

The closet homo-eroticism of all that makes me question whether my ex-boyfriend has gotten into advertising.

Yeah, that’s bound to backfire.

I wasn’t impressed by the square-butts ads, either… particularly when they were played on networks geared toward kids. Kids watching “Nickelodeon” shouldn’t be getting that reference in the first place.

I still prefer Wendy’s for my occasional “fast food” fix.