Thursday, April 15, 2010

I Think Too Hard about Commercials

If you're like me, you've seen this Chad "Ochocinco" Ochocinco commercial for Reebok 8,000 times.



If you're still like me, you have no idea how any of it makes sense, much less all put together. Here are some of my questions about it:

1. Reebok thinks Chad "Ochocinco" Ochocinco is a good investment as a pitchman?

2. Why would they pick a visual scheme that looks evil but then depict big silly cartoonish things with it?

3. Does the whole creepy-red-lines-against-a-background-of-infinite-inky-blackness remind anybody else of this hilariously old-fashioned Strong Bad video game?

4. Why, WHY, does he throw that giant hamburger? Giant hamburger?!?!

5. That song is for children, right? Doesn't it sound like a particularly high-quality Vacation Bible School song?

6. What are the words to the song, anyway? I can't understand them. (Are they, indeed, about Jesus?)

7. What does "the energy drink for your feet" mean? I mean . . . energy drinks . . . you drink them, and you get energy for your body . . . and your feet are part of your body . . . right? Aren't energy drinks the energy drinks for your feet?

8. Is that the ugliest shoe ever created, or just the ugliest shoe created in the last twenty years (because you never know when it comes to the 80s)?

Anyway.

I want to talk about another commercial that, very unfortunately, I can't find online. I'm counting on you to have seen it already, approximately 8,000 times. (The NCAA tournament had a frustratingly small pool of commercials, didn't it?)

It's a McDonald's commercial. There are two guys sitting in a booth at McDonald's; Guy #2 asks Guy #1 if he's heard that Sully (presumably a co-worked of theirs) has won Salesman of the Year. Guy #1 is clearly not that happy about the development, and (presumably jealously) scoffs that "that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee." (Guy #2 seems to share, though to a lesser extent, the mild disgruntlement about Sully's success.) Guy #1 then gets distracted and starts listing all the great things that a dollar will get you at McDonald's. At the end of the commercial, Guy #3 comes up to the booth and cheerily asks if they've heard about Sully. Guy #1, brought back to his irritation, repeats "Have you heard about Sully?" in a mocking voice. End scene.

Here's what I think: this commercial is about racial tension in the workplace.

Guys 1 and 2, who aren't happy about Sully's success, are black. We never see Sully, but if his last name is Sullivan, we can probably assume he's of Irish descent. Guy #3 is definitely white, and when Guy #1 mocks him, he uses a super-nasal, making-fun-of-how-white-people-talk voice. Is there any other conclusion to reach here?

I just think it's interesting--and weird--to overlay a commercial about all the wonderful products you can purchase for a dollar at McDonald's! with this little vignette about a black man (complaining to his black work-friend) resenting the success of a white man (who has a white work-friend). Why would the commercial people do that? What is the point? Why do I always type "commerical" the first time through?

Thoughts?

5 comments:

MacKenzie said...

I guess I don't watch enough tv, or at least not the same channels as you because I haven't seen either of those commercials. After watching the first one twice, I agree, it doesn't really make any sense and in no way is it convincing me to buy those ugly shoes.

I really wish I could watch that second video though so I could see what you are talking about. Craig had to wait a while for youtube to have the McDonald's video up for his post about the annoying coffee guy so maybe eventually yours will be posted too. I'll be watching for it.

Anonymous said...

I love everything about this post.

m said...

I agree 100%. Although Sully's race is not important, the underlying problem is that the 2 black guys make fun of the white guys voice by mocking him to his face. In a world of overly sensitive ethnicities, the door MUST swing both ways. I'm absolutely sure if the roles were switched and 2 white guys made fun of a black co-worker in a "black" voice.... all hell would break loose.

m said...

btw, I googled just to find out if anyone else found this particular McDonald's commercial odd. Nice work!

Rachel said...

Well, I want to clear up that I don't find the commercial offensive--I do see your point about the voice thing and how it probably wouldn't fly if a white actor were derisively mimicking a "black" voice. But for me personally, I just don't get offended by any fun-making or name-calling of white people. I don't think the door does swing exactly the same both ways, because you can't pretend that context and history don't exist. What do we have to complain about? We're white. But again, that opinion is just that, my personal opinion.