Insulting Commercial

Geez, lighten up! I'm sure if you tried, you could find something
insulting about every commercial.

Wow, it is people like you who hurt the feminist movement... wait, it
is femininists like you that hurt any movement.

I am a corporate America male (TG) with a number highly intelligent
female contemporaries and superiors, and one thing I have learned from
the best I know. If you feel a need to shout "Hear Me Roar." You have
some security issues. You will earn respect and know you have arrived
when you can say "I am woman, don't make me roar."

LOL. Thanks for the laugh!!

I will let you know when the "You are Woman, Mop my floor" Commercial
is in production so you can offer advice.

Please let me know when the next bra burning is. I have a digital
camera now.

...a song lead women out of subservience into ..., just when did this
"Classic" come out?

In numbers too big to ignore......



LOL---sorry I couldn't resist :)

"Feminist". Wow. People like this always smack me to be rather off.

How about being a "humanist", hmm? If you truly want everyone to be
equal, it shouldn't matter what sex you are.

I haven't seen the new Burger King commercial, and frankly, I don't
care to. I haven't been in a Burger King since I got a raw burger from
them several visits in a row, to all different stores several years
ago.

lately its the food thats insulting, I've even complained via this web
site and heard nothing from them except the freaky commercials blaring
on the tv. burger king has really went downhill since I was young.

I think, if anything, that commercial is more insulting towards men
than women. It makes them all lool like idiots.

How exactly is this commercial insulting?
Some guy just wants to eat something a little more filling.
Get off of the high horse.

In how many ways, shapes, and forms can you enter a Burger King,
anyway?

I love this commercial and so does my 7 year old son. LOL! Personally
I think its great. I think men have lost their voice in the last 20
years and its time they find it again.

That Burger King mascot guy they use in the commercials is pretty
freaky. I hate watching them!

Jessica, I don't know how old you are but I'm old enough to remember
when I am Woman came out . . .believe me . ..it did NOT inspire women
out of subservience, etc., etc. It was just a commercial song.
(with one really dumb line "I was just an embyro")

Stop being such a feminist. This commercial is funny. Don't take
life so seriously and you'll enjoy it much more. And remember, this
is post women's suffrage, women do have rights now. Life's not as
hard for us as you make it sound.

Jessica, how about you calm down and get me a beer?

I haven't seen this commercial but it sounds like something I would
crack up laughing.

The world needs more laughter. I think it was Max Bialystock from The
PRoducers who said "Laugh and the world laughs with you."

Or something like that.

Personally I'm getting tired of the 'sex wars' as it is. I've heard
too many times of women getting bonuses for being women while men
still have to deal with the same old (IE, women can have their own
health clubs, but men cannot). Poor guys.

But back on topic, I still eat at BK on occasion, and while the new
song seems a little chauvinistic, again I think its' taken from a
satirical point of view about men and shouldnt' be something anyone to
get their panties in a knot about.

I LOVE this song! I think its funny and cute. It also gets stuck in
your head for hours and hours.. but it's still cute. Every time I see
it, it reminds me of all of my male friends and boyfriend. I thinks
its clever and no matter how hard I search, I have a really hard time
finding something in it that insults women.

By the way, your little hero, Helen Reddy, isn't exactly the best
person to be all googly over. The composer of "I am Woman" was a man
and he happened to be a foreigner. EBcause of work permit rights, he
had a hard time collecting straight from the companies when the song
became huge and Ms. Reddy just decided not to pay him his fair share.
He finally had to sue her in 1998 to get royalties she had withheld
from him since 1972. He got some, but not nearly the change that she
pocketed. So, does it really surprise you that she sold out and handed
over this "women's anthem" to a fast food place? She's in it for the
money, honey.

I think ALL Burger King advertising sucks lately. Their creepy
"mascot" seems the product of some drug-induced hallucination, and
basically every ad I've seen from them recently suggests their
marketing heads are all college-age "duuuuuude" type guys anyway. For
the record, I think that particular ad is awful myself, but I doubt
they'll do anything about it.

Interesting background on the song:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Woman

It's a good thing I don't take the Grammys too seriously because this
song WON one!

Is woman-friendly anything like user-friendly?

The best advise I can give, do what my hubby does, switch channels. I
hardly ever get to see a commercial cause he usually has the remote
and it will NOT be on a commercial if he has anything to do with it.

I love Helen Reddy and i love her song. I was so idealistic back
then. We were going to right every wrong and change the world. That
only partially happened. I do believe that young women of today have
the luxury of taking a LOT for granted that wouldn't be possible if
not for the Gloria Steinem feminists of the 70's. I am proud to count
myself as one of those. However, look further before you throw a
hissy. Helen Reddy wrote the song and it could be that she still
retains the rights to it. If that is the case, she gave permission to
use it. I' not saying that's the case, just entertain the
possibility.

were women mistreated in prior generations ??

certainly

are women mistreated now ?


absolutely


was that song inspirational ?

yes (i liked it and i'm a guy)

should we all fight for FAIRNESS ? definitely

but the whole "subserviance" thing is taken a bit out of context

childbirth is required to propogate our kind

and FOR WOMEN childbirth was often fatal (or debilitating) prior to
modern surgical and medical techniques

(it's no picnic now)

but now , we take so many things for granted -- things that have
changed roles for men and women --
things like modern medicine, birth control, indoor lighting and
plumbing and appliances, differences in patterns of sending kids to
school, automobiles, commuting to work, automation etc etc etc

not that life is easy now but for the middle and lower classes, life
was much harder for men and women prior to the 20th century

what the upper classes did then (and do today) left (and leaves) much
to be desired -- but they make up a minority of the total population
(and always have)


and wasn't it primarily men who were drafted to war, who died building
dams and bridges and tunnels, who either worked hard on the farm while
their spouses also did so OR traveled away from the comforts of home
by necessity to work hard and mail money back home

sure women had hard times but so did most men


and people worked to survive and didn't sit around watching TV and
wondering how their gender or demographic group was being mistreated


I think sometimes we buy into the myth that our lives are supposed to
be like june or ward cleaver or carol and mike brady but those images
were always myths that never actually existed anywhere and if we have
unrealistic expectations, chances are we will be disappointed and/or
bitter

and I agree , the commercial is a bit annoying


but as for that one word "subserviant" -- if and when that word is
used to generalize or stereoptype prior generations, don't forget you
are then describing our grandfathers as abusive and our grandmothers
as doormats - that's not a fair generalization

You know what commercials offend me?

The ones about Erectile dysfunction. Try explaining THAT one to a 10
year old.

I see so many people on PFB who apparently alter their lives according
to the commercials they like or don't like.
How odd.

Grow up. There was nothing chauvinistic about the commercial except
for the portrayal of all men as mindless eating machines bent on
devouring fatty fast food and breaking stuff. If anyone should be
complaining it's men, but we've got a sense of humor. Your post is an
insult to women everywhere. You portray women as uptight,
thin-skinned, shrill naggers. I pity the man or woman involved in a
relationship with you.

What about all the comercials that portray men as beer-swilling,
chest-butting, woman-chasing Neantrathals (sp?)??

Parody is a two-way street. Sorry. Sounds like you're a wee bit too
sensitive. But thank you for posting this and letting us "hear you
roar".

I don't take offense to this and I am a woman so speak for yourself.

P.S has anyone seen the new pedigree comercial it is REALLY sad, about
shelter dogs? :(

The second wave of the feminist movement started in the 1950s with
Betty Friedan and culminated in the late '60s and '70s with people
like Gloria Steinem and movements like the ERA. Voting was only the
beginning. Women had (and still have, I would argue) a long way to go
before they even came close to approaching equality with men.

Sorry, but it's the history geek (and feminist) coming out in me. :-)

It's parody, clear and simple.

It's offensive to men. It's offensive to women. It's offensive to
construction workers and mini-van owners.

It may be a stupid ad.

But, in the end, it's very clear parody.

That said, if you want to tell BK that the ad doesn't resonate with
you, go ahead. They need feedback like that. On the other hand, they
have other ways of measuring the success of an ad.

(P.S. You're not the target audience)

OK... But...

But what if this ad used another another song in a parody way?
Suppose, oh, it used a Hebrew traditional song to sell a new pork
sandwich?

Would we still find it acceptable parody or funny?

I'm a woman and I don't want an apology! I love that commercial - it
suits my husband perfectly! When I first saw it I was laughing so
hard I scared my dog! I watch cooking shows and when they show the
small portions my husband always says that he's have to go out for a
burger after that cause it's so little food.
Personally I think Paris Hilton has made a mockery out of women more
than this commercial!

Ha! C'mon now were all adults here, if you get offended by some
commercial you really need to get out more. Being stressed over
commercials is really not worth my time of day. If I dislike
commercials do you know what I do? I press that button on my remote
that says channel up! No song ever led the feminist movement to a
higher plain of existence. That was done by the women themselves. I
mean its fast food for goodness sakes! Not some subliminal religious
mind probe set to make you think cattle are the new overlords of the
world.

For any one interested here is a link to a youtube version of the
commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9e4QD1zm0Q

Alastor.

As a woman friendly man, I take more offense at the "vonage"
commercial with the blonde wanting to swim with the sharks (thinking
they are dolphins) than this BK "Spoof"

Okay, here's your apology:

I'm sorry you are so easily offended.

How, exactly, did a song "lead women out of subservience into a
position of greater power?" Isn't that something other women did?

I actually thought the commercial was pretty funny.

I am however anti-feminist and just generally anti-ist. I don't want
to be treated with kid gloves just because I don't have a "piece."
Everyone should stand on their own merit and be treated in a manner
consistent with their attitudes and abilities. It doesn't matter what
"equipment" you have, what color your skin is, or which deity you
worship.

I have found in my experience, that it is women like YOU who make it
harder for women everywhere nowdays. Being hyper-sensitive only
increases the problems, and solidifies stereotypes.

It's not even a good song! And it's just Helen Reddy (isn't it?).
I'm 38. I assure you, no women my age or younger thought of that song
as our "anthem." I'm betting most women older than I feel the same
way.

I'm as friendly to women as the bouncers or restraining orders will
allow.

Turn the channel, thats what remotes were invented for. Im sure that
you dont let your hubby hold the remote at all seeing as how youre a
proud woman and all.

As a female, I find the commercial funny, and darn it, it makes me
wanna have Burger King! The only thing I have a problem with is "The
King" as he is creepy as hell.

Another letter writer that wants to influence other people not to shop
at somewhere they don't like. If you don't like a business, good - why
the quest to get everyone else?

change the channel. This one will give you high blood pressure, if
the "regular" fast food doesn't. This was a wonderful diversion from
the usual, however.

I hate to say it, but in spirit at least, I agree with ole' whassiname
on the Grey's Anatomy letter. Some people really need to stop watching
TV if they get this het up over stuff.

Please set away from the television and the computer.

Its JUST A COMMERCIAL! And its a funny one at that.

I consider myself fairly feministic (is that a word? LOL) but that
commerical is funny and who ever came up with it did a great job.

There are lots of things to get worked up and offended about but a
Burger King commerical isnt one of them. Well...at least not THIS
commercial.

I never eat fast food, but I have to laugh at the utter stupidity of
the commercials from Burger King, at least they show it for what it
is, fattening and nutritionally empty. They admit it is not good for
you unlike McDonald's which tries its hardest to make you think they
serve health food.

Well, for one, that commercial is over a year old. They are just
bringing it back.

What I don't like about it is that it seems Burger KIng is condoning
vandalism when the men push the mini-van off that bridge

I really think if anyone should be offended by this ad campaign, it
would be men. Here are some of the lyrics of the original song:

Oh yes I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman

As you say, inspirational stuff. Helen Reddy is telling us that we as
women have suffered, and have been made strong through our suffering.
And not just strong, but actually invincible. Now that's the kind of
thing that makes you hold up your head and feel good about yourself,
am I right? I know it does me. Makes me feel like nothing can get to
me. Especially not a stupid commercial for a cheeseburger.

Now here's a sample of the "I Am Man," version:

Oh yes I'm a guy
I'll admit I've been fed quiche.
Wave tofu bye-bye
Now it's for the purest beef I reach
I will eat this meat
'Till my innie turns into an outie
I am starved
I am incorrigible
I am man.

Hmmm, now that is interesting. Apparently, Burger King believes that
men are unsophisticated jerks that only enjoy eating American fast
food. Not only that, but men are disgusting gluttons that if left to
their own devices will eat until they actually herniate themselves.

I don't know about you, but if someone said that about my gender I'd
be pretty bent out of shape. I might even write an angry letter. :)

I'm lost. Exactly how did the song "I am woman, hear me roar" inspire
and lead women out of subservience into a position of greater power?
It is my opinion that WOMEN inspired and lead other women out of
subservience into a position of greater power. But, that's just me, I
guess.

I haven't seen the commercial you are speaking of but I agree that the
freak that I've seen running around on some BK commercials is quite
scary looking!

The one thing that disgusts me in that commercial is that smiling
plastic man who shows up anywhere to scare the whatever out of you.

I haven't seen the one you are talking about yet. Or maybe I have and
I didn't take offense to it.

I consider myself a very strong, proud, professional woman.

Why, oh why, are you so worked up about a commercial that wants you to
buy a hamburger?

I'm sorry - if you really have been led out of subservience and into a
position of greater power, then you would be able to laugh if off.
It's only a mockery and direct insult if you let it be.

Speak for yourself; I am a woman and I find it hilarious.