Have We Crossed the Line?

by Kim Tarabetz

Edgy and racy is what draws attention and attention is what wins advertising awards and sells products. But have advertisers gone too far? Some think they have. Just because you can tie something catchy or provocative back to the product doesn’t always mean you should.

The only relationship I know of between hamburgers and bikinis is, if I eat one, I probably can’t wear the other. But Carl’s Jr and Hardees feels there is a bigger connection. For the last couple of years, I can count on watching at least one PG-13 rated commercial with my family on network television thanks to Carl’s Jr’s line of commercials featuring sexy young women sprayed with oil, dripping sauce all over themselves and wearing next to nothing. I can assure you my teenage son thinks Carl’s Jr is one of the best burgers in town. And no doubt has dreams of running into Kate Upton in the drive through at our local Carl’s Jr. But I can’t help but wonder about the impact this exposure has on my teenage daughter. All I really know, is that the commercials motivate me to stop eating all together!

Another company that feels the bikini sells is Fiat. Yes, the little Italian sports car that is making a resurgence has targeted the sexy lady and her swimwear as the perfect accessory to sell the convertible edition of the vehicle. Now, I can honestly admit, I see the connection to the topless model and the “topless” sports car. However, the scorpion that cuts the strings of the bikini makes me turn the channel.

At this point, it’s fair of you to question whether I am opposed to any commercial
where a girl wears a bikini. The answer is no. I am supportive of a woman’s
right to use her sensuality to sell a product. But apparently, sometimes humor
and sex can cross the line. One example of that is a recent series of
caricatures featuring sexy women in the trunk of a Ford. These drawings were
done by a unit of WPP, the world’s largest advertising outfit. The proposed
campaign for the Ford Figo was to run in India. One scene in the series
features a caricature of Paris Hilton in the driver seat with the three
Kardashian’s tied up in the back. The script reads, “Leave
your worries behind with Figo’s extra large boot”.

Pause for laughter. Unfortunately, the next spot features Italian politician Berlusconi, who was recently charged in Italy with paying for sex with a minor, sitting in the front seat of a Ford Figo hatchback flashing a victory sign, with a trio of half-dressed women tied up in the trunk.

Interestingly enough, this comes on the heels of new legislation in India which increases punishment for sex crimes. Are you still laughing? Probably not if you work for WWP. Although Ford states they never approved the pieces, they are still issuing an apology and doing damage control for an advertising campaign they never approved. Somewhere I feel like it should be mentioned that we as advertisers, should never, and I mean ever, embarrass the client!

But sometimes society has a way of deciding what the client should be embarrassed about. Take the example of NBC’s faux pas during the London Olympics. Following a huge win by US Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas, commentator Bob Costas gave a complete analysis of her performance and concluded with the compelling statement ‘There are some African American girls out there who tonight are saying to themselves: “Hey, I’d like to try that too.” More from London in a moment.’ NBC then segued right into a commercial for their new show Animal Practice.

The commercial featured a monkey in gymnastics regalia competing on Olympic rings. Now, in case you have been living under a rock for the last year, allow me to point out that gymnastic phenomenon Gabby Douglas is an African American woman. I’ll pause while you connect the dots. Yes, people were outraged. Angry viewers lashed out at the lack of sensitivity. NBC issued a hasty apology and explained there was no ill intent, simply poor timing. But, as the saying goes, you can’t un-ring a bell.

But is it safe to say we all have a different metric for measure propriety? Consider the Geico commercials featuring a mildly annoying pig with a voice that doesn’t seem at all to be what I picture a pig’s voice to sound like. One of the most recent spots features the pig on a date with a young woman. The two of them are broken down and the pig uses Geico’s mobile app to request a tow truck. Much to the disappointment of the young woman, who had hoped the mishap would give them some “alone time”. As it turns out, some moms have protested the ad saying it promotes bestiality. And you know, I’m not even going to touch that one!