I assume by now you've already seen this one. Let's talk about it.
Before I'm accused of hating fun again, I should note that this commercial is somewhat funny. The first time or two, anyway; after that it just gets kind of tiresome. But, uh, this is an ad for a kid's meal, right? Someone get Clyde Clemens on the line.
To be fair, most of the song is relatively innocuous considering the source material. And then there's this:
Sir Mix-a-Lot: "Now, Spongebob! I wanna get witcha, 'cause you're makin' me richa!"
The original "Baby Got Back" features Sir Mix-a-Lot rapping about how much an appealingly large ass makes him want to fuck a woman. When he says "Oh, baby, I wanna get witcha," that means he wants to fuck her. Therefore... he wants to fuck Spongebob? This = not good. And then at the end of the ad he declares, "Booty is booty!" Sir Mix-a-Lot, you once said of booty, and I quote, "That butt you got makes me so horny!" I don't even want to know what you're thinking here.
Really, what is with the by now time-honored tradition of taking songs about sex and putting them in really inappropriate contexts? It's not like Sir Mix-a-Lot is famous for anything but this song, and the song is coming up on 20 years old at this point, so Burger King - and no doubt the guys at Crispin Porter, masters of subtlety and class - had to really want to use it. In an ad for a kid's meal. So, what other completely inappropriate songs from my youth can Burger King drag into their next ad?
"Relax, no big deal / When you wanna get a kid's meal / Relax, no big deal / When you wanna sponge"
"Like a kid's meal / Burgers for the very first time / Like a kiiiiid's meal / Got your square pants on my mind"
"I don't want anybody else / When I think of Spongebob I touch myself / Oh oh oh, I don't want anybody else / Kid's meal, kid's meal, kid's meal..."
4 comments:
Counter argument, from a Chicago Sun-Times article:
"Miami-based Burger King and child network Nickelodeon say the spot isn't aimed at children.
The ad is "meant to appeal to the adults who take their families to Burger King restaurants," the burger chain said. "This commercial is intended to show that even adults can have fun, laugh and be silly with entertainment genres -- such as rap and pop culture icons -- that have become part of everyday life."
A different SpongeBob spot is being developed for kids shows, the company said"
My counter argument to that: Kids don't only watch kids shows, for fuck's sake.
"My counter argument to that: Kids don't only watch kids shows, for fuck's sake."
My counter argument to that: parents that let their kids watch shows that aren't for kids should know that "adult" content may occur. If you're going to argue that this adult-oriented commercial is an affront to decency because a kid MIGHT watch it, then you should just go ahead and pick up your pitchfork and join the Parents Television Council and go ahead and get rid of anything that isn't Touched By An Angel or 7th Heaven. Oh, what a coincidence, they also wrote a hyperbolic article, calling it "smutty".
Look, it's a stupid commercial. It's uncreative, it's unintelligent, and as was proved in your initial writeup, the lyrics are completely shoehorned in. I won't defend it. But is there anything more obnoxious than this "think of the children" bullshit?
In addition, I've only seen this ad while watching SportsCenter and Countdown With Keith Olbermann. Not only not kids shows, but shows I'm almost certain 98% of kids would avoid like the plague.
Oh, and on a positive note, the remixed lyrics at the bottom were quite funny.
SportsCenter, not a show kids watch? It's the number one show on the number one sports channel -- I know several kids personally who watch it. Maybe no 6-year olds, but certainly plenty of preteen-age kids.
You misunderstand my point: I'm not saying there can't be anything on TV that's smutty, just in case kids might watch it. It's totally different when you have a kids meal that's aimed at the 4-8 demographic and you represent it with a remix of Baby Got Back. Kids see the commercial, they recognize it's a product aimed at them, and then they see the King measuring girls' asses. I think parent groups have a legitimate beef there.
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