“I Am Man” Burger King Commercial
| May 15th, 2006Andrea at Shrub.com has a good post with a feminist analysis of “Mantham” (YouTube link) the Burger King ad with new lyrics to Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman” (although in her count of women in the commercial, she seems to have missed the line of cheerleaders behind the guy burning his tighty-whities). Gayprof has some good comments, as well.
Although not always this blatant (how could it be?), smaller fast-food places have been hitting on similar sexual themes in their commercials for years. Jack In The Box, a few years ago, had a series of commercials based on Jack Box sponsoring a football team (the first commercial featured Jack’s plan to fire the male cheerleading squad - a silly gag, I know, but the symbolism of rejecting homoeroticism in favor of “real man” heterosexuality is hard to deny). And Carl Jr’s (doing business as Hardees in some regions) has had a series of aggressively sexist commercials, from Paris Hilton washing a car to commercials showing befuddled men in a grocery store having no idea what to buy, with the slogan “without us, some guys would starve.”
(It’s amazing how anti-male the “guys should be guys” mentality quickly becomes. Sure, the “some guys would starve” commercials were funny, but c’mon - their premise is that men lack the smarts required to choose a loaf of bread).
So the “guys should be guys” ethos of the Burger King commercial is nothing new, although it’s perhaps a new achievement in the compulsive over-the-topness of its sexism. For example, at the climax of the commercial, the mob of whopper-eating men toss a minivan off a bridge, symbolically rescuing the pleased family dude who got out of the van from his emasculating family attachments. (And if you think I’m reading too much into it, tell me why else they would throw a minivan off a bridge while singing about manhood?)
(Compare the auto-as-symbolic-emasculation theme in this commercial to the auto-as-invulnerable-manhood theme in the recent Dodge Caliber commercial, in which the macho Dodge is the one thing in the world that fairies can’t feminize. Ad writers are convinced that men have a thing about cars…).
But putting the feminist analysis aside, since Shrub.com has already done an excellent job of that, you know what I found striking about this commercial? The absence of fat people. Often, commercials about “everyday guys being guys doing guy things” will include a guy or two with a spare tire, because what’s more everyday than that? Not this commercial. The singer who opens the commercial is if anything a bit scrawny for TV men, and all of the dozens and dozens of guys who crowd through this commercial are thin. There are just two exceptions. First, they cast someone a bit round-faced to play the minivan owner, presumably because family men are stereotypically a bit chubby. Second, the dude pulling the dump truck by a chain isn’t thin, but professional truck-pullers usually aren’t.
It’s odd, isn’t it? On the one hand, the whole commercial is saying “screw the wife/nanny nagging you about health - eat what you want” ethos, while at the same time the casting is trying to assure men that eating at Burger King won’t make them fat.
Now, as it happens, I believe that eating at Burger King won’t make you fat, nor will being fat make you unhealthy (more on that subject here). And I think people should feel free to eat what they want, even if it is unhealthy. But the way this commercial endorses ideologies of thinness and of sexism - even while waving a “just kidding! You’re not allowed to analyze what’s going on, because we’re! just! kidding!” banner - pretty much wipes out any possible beneficial message iit might have carried.
What’s interesting is how the ideology of “healthism” is now predominant enough so that hamburgers are sold the way beer is sold - as an appeal to base male instincts. “C’mon, be bad.” Eating burgers, which are probably the single most popular food in the country, makes you a rebel. Yeesh.
P.S. So why is there a mime? Is that the ultimate example of a feminized man coming back to manhood, or did they just think sticking in a mime would be funny, or both? (Look in the background about 32 seconds into the commercial).
***PLEASE NOTE***
Comments on my posts on “Alas” are heavily moderated. If you’d like to avoid all that, you can post comments on the identical post at Creative Destruction.
May 15th, 2006 at 8:46 am
the macho Dodge is the one thing in the world that fairies can’t feminize
Not to mention the end of the ad, where the “fairy” - dazed from being blasted off the road by the Dodge car’s machoness - is accosted by a tough-looking dude with a bulldog, who remarks “Silly fairy!” She magic-wands him into a slender guy with white shorts, a pastel polo shirt, and three little poodles on leashes (. . . a “silly fairy”).
Not only do they do the “too macho for women” bit, but they give it a “more macho than macho men” twist (she can turn a tough guy into a silly fairy, but can’t change the car), with a very retrograde anti-gay joke thrown in (one that adds nothing to the message about the car) including and an all-but-explicit (and similary old-fashioned) anti-gay slur. I was really startled by that one. It was so 1972 it just seemed like it came out of nowhere.
One measure of the rightwing backlash is how far back in time you have to go to find attitudes or beliefs that are just now resurfacing. On the sex front, the abortion panic has now given way to an outright assault on contraception and sex before marriage (i.e., we’re beyond Roe and back to Griswold and “fallen women” - which would be mid-1960s). On the home front, we’re back to stay-at-home moms and no-divorce laws, which would be 50s-60s. On the masculine-image front, we’re back to open and unabashed fag jokes. Oy . . .
This comment was written by Kevin T. Keith.Report this comment to the moderators
May 15th, 2006 at 9:29 am
It’s a stark contrast to the last in the series of the “Guy in the scary plastic King mask” commercials. You know. The one where he wakes up in bed with a construction worker, offers him whatever horrendous food-like item BK is passing off as breakfast & has a slumber party type pillow fight with the construction worker & other manly men.
The “manthem” commercials are among the worst that I have seen. And not only for content. The desperation with which it shouts, “It’s funny. FUNNNY!” is just pathetic. It has me wishing that they would bring back the creepy King (who I never enjoyed or got) in place of this crap.
I will admit to utterly missing the message of the tough car commercial. I didn’t make the connection between the fairy, the various transformations & the anti-woman/anti-gay message. I just thought it was a mishievous thing transforming things via magic, being upset that this one thing was immune to magic & lashing out at the passerby what made fun of it. I was clearly oblivious on that one.
This comment was written by Jake Squid.Report this comment to the moderators
May 15th, 2006 at 9:33 am
You’d all be happier if you just gave up on TV and became an elitist, like me. Besides, Amp, you’re a big hypocrite because the only reason you won’t got to the Cup and Saucer with me is because you know that it’s crawling with buffed, polished art farts– even if they are all brandishing giant burgers and heaping slabs of dead burnt fowl. :p
This comment was written by alsis39.9.Report this comment to the moderators
May 15th, 2006 at 9:48 am
Drinking beer definitely makes you a rebel.
I think Del Taco started these types of campaigns a while before Carl’s Jr. jumped on that bandwagon.
This comment was written by Radfem.Report this comment to the moderators
May 15th, 2006 at 1:37 pm
To throw classism into the mix: aren’t these ads about BK and big cheesy pickups really trying to make really bad, high caloric food and polluting cars about saying f you to the so-called elite? Anyway, it’s a desperate attempt to grab a demographic. Burger joints are losing ground to places like Paneras and Qdoba, and finally people are turning from trucks and SUVs.
This comment was written by Elena.Report this comment to the moderators
May 15th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
Aaaaaaaaah, I can’t believe I missed them! Do you realize how many times I went through that commercial trying to pick apart everything I could talk about under my headings (part of me still wishes I had gone for the heterosexist angle, but maybe I’ll pick the theme up in a different post).
Thanks for the link :)
This comment was written by tekanji.Report this comment to the moderators
May 15th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
05/15“I Am Man” Burger King Commercial
This comment was written by FeministBlogosphere.Report this comment to the moderators
May 15th, 2006 at 4:48 pm
It’s because the lyrics are instantly recognizable as a riff on the old Helen Reddy song, and the dancing is so, well, campy (I thought of the old movie “Fame”, or of “Hair”) that it struck me as a rather amusing spoof 1970s rock musicals.
I take all the points y’all have made, mind you.
This comment was written by Hugo.Report this comment to the moderators
May 16th, 2006 at 4:18 am
link) the Burger King ad with new lyrics to Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman” (although in her count of women in the commercial, she seems to have missed the line of cheerleaders behind the guy burning his tighty-whities). Gayprof has some […]Continue reading at Alas, a blog … posted 11:25 am at Alas, a blog
This comment was written by feminist blogs.Report this comment to the moderators
May 16th, 2006 at 4:59 am
Wasn’t the plastic-faced King also in that horrendous “Whopperettes” commercial? He was scary, but I kind of liked the one where he’s in bed with the guy, because you can just see that guy thinking, “Where was I last night?”
This comment was written by Ledasmom.Report this comment to the moderators
May 16th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
Not to mention the plastic King being probably the greatest football player in history (he’s substituted for various players in great plays shown in the commercials during football games).
And for all your “elitism,” alsis, you still drool over Joel Hodgson. Admit it.
This comment was written by Aaron V..Report this comment to the moderators
May 16th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
on Burger King’s latest train wreck of an ad campaign. In chronological order, because that’s exciting or something. Start with Shake’s sis, from whom I have blatantly stolen the title of this post. Then move on to Amanda, RMAN, tekanji, and finallyAmp.
This comment was written by The Headpiece for the Staff of Ra.Report this comment to the moderators
May 16th, 2006 at 7:14 pm
Another good commentary on the ad went up May 7th:
Shame of the Week Musical
It deals with Helen Reddy’s past comments and refusal to allow “I Am Woman” to be used in any commercial due to the fact that the song was so important to her and to a movement. Guess she needed money real bad.
This comment was written by Ben.Report this comment to the moderators
May 17th, 2006 at 12:29 am
Ben: Do you need the artists’ permission to do a parody piece? I didn’t think you did…
This comment was written by tekanji.Report this comment to the moderators
May 17th, 2006 at 5:26 am
Initial post:“I Am Man” Burger King Commercial by at Google Blog Search: health man
This comment was written by Health man Latest News.Report this comment to the moderators
May 17th, 2006 at 7:10 am
You need the persmission of the songwriter (Helen Reddy co-wrote “I Am Woman” — check the link) and the publisher (she’s also one of the publisher’s of the song). I can’t record a poem I wrote to the tune of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and tell Ashford & Simpson, “I’m doing a parody! You don’t get a cent!”
You might also check into Bette Midler’s law suit and Tom Waits lawsuits and that was an issue of “voice” which can’t be copyrighted.
An ad campaign under the fair use “parody” clause? I don’t think it will fly especially since it’s more of a satire than a parody.
Good link from Ben. Loved it.
This comment was written by Martha.Report this comment to the moderators
May 17th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
I haven’t seen this I Am Man (manthem) BK commercial yet. But I really really really disliked the big-plastic-faced King (in the bedroom, on the football field, or standing outside your window — the dude was just freaky). The King just freaked me out, in a weird way. I mean I’ve never had that phobia about clowns that a lot of people talk about but with the King I had what I think the clown phobia must be for some people. He freaked me out in a bad-vibe, very-weird, too-weird-to-put-your-finger-on-it probably Freudian subconscious sort of way. I mean did ANYONE like the dude? Was it/he appealing to anyone at all????
This comment was written by Laylalola.Report this comment to the moderators
May 18th, 2006 at 7:43 am
[...] Although I’m a big fan of Shakespeare’s Sister, I didn’t like her choice to include, in a post about that “I Am Man” Burger King commercial, a quote from Vanity Fair about Dick Cheney’s weight. Here’s the quote: The extent of his atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries, which, if it extends beyond the heart to the brain, can cause hard-to-recognize changes in cognition) is unknown. Bypass surgery itself has long been associated with subtle changes in neurological function. At age 65, Cheney is easily 30 or more pounds overweight, seems to have slacked off on what was once a more rigorous diet, and appears to suffer from recurrent bouts of gout. At a roundtable lunch with reporters a couple of years ago, two who were present say, he cut his buffalo steak in bite-size pieces the moment it arrived, then proceeded to salt each side of each piece. [...]
This comment was written by Alas, a blog » Blog Archive » Let’s Not Discuss Dick Cheney’s Weight.Report this comment to the moderators
May 18th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
I was an elitist then, too, Aaron. How can I prove it ? Well, there are dozens of episodes I never taped because I couldn’t be home to snip out the ads. Yep, I so bitterly resented the thought of immortalizing all that shit for an eternity that I just decided to forgo watching them altogether.
I dare any other elitists lurking in the room to top that. :p
This comment was written by alsis39.9.Report this comment to the moderators
May 18th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
You want elitist?
This comment was written by elitist.I would never put anything from BK or any other fast food hell-hole into my mouth. Furthermore, I think anyone who does is repulsive.
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May 18th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Although I’m a big fan of Shakespeare’s Sister, I didn’t like her choice to include, in a post aboutthat “I Am Man” Burger King commercial, a quote from Vanity Fair about Dick Cheney’s weight. Here’s the quote: The extent of his atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries, which, if it extends beyond the heart to the brain, can cause hard-to-recognize changes in cognition) is unknown.
This comment was written by Creative Destruction.Report this comment to the moderators
May 20th, 2006 at 11:23 am
I don’t get offended when female oriented products have commercials that make men out to look stupid, clueless, brutish, or otherwise uncouth.. I often find it funny, because those commercials can sometimes be clever.
I laughed a lot at this commercial, and anybody who doesn’t understand the hyperbole in it needs to take a step back and relax..
This comment was written by mike.Report this comment to the moderators
May 20th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
Apparently she did sign off on it. Scroll down to comment 15.
This comment was written by Brandon Berg.Report this comment to the moderators
May 21st, 2006 at 5:34 am
Oh, for fuck’s sake, look. “You just need to relax, ladies, no big deal.”
This comment was written by ginmar.Report this comment to the moderators
May 22nd, 2006 at 1:39 pm
[...] I don’t really have anything interesting or non-shrill to add to the discussion of this ad, which you can read here, or here, or here. There’s not much point to a feminist analysis of this ad, because it’s not like there’s some occulted patriarchy that needs to be teased out. This is an openly anti-feminist assault ad. It shows us a corporate America that’s about 3 weeks away from showing 5 frat brothers sharing a tasty stuffed-crust pizza while they take turns banging some passed-out co-ed. It is repulsive, and its reception shows how repulsive this society has become. [...]
This comment was written by Eat my meat at The Republic of Dogs.Report this comment to the moderators
May 25th, 2006 at 3:53 am
I don’t really have anything to add to the already point-well-madecommentary, so I’m linking it in order to spread the word. When is Burger King gonna make some decent commercials that don’t alienate anyone, aren’t soft porn or going creep people out? Keep reading….
This comment was written by Welcome to the Nut House.Report this comment to the moderators
May 30th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
I liked your thoughts on I am Man. Are you sure that was a mime? I thought it was a man getting a facial?
This comment was written by Bradley.Report this comment to the moderators
May 31st, 2006 at 7:43 am
Wow.
Now I know why my mom told me to never over-analyze television ads. It just drives you insane.
We’re still trying to get Dad to calm down after Jack’s Challenge. That was rough. I mean, it was a businessman trying to take on a king and a clown. That’s some hard-hitting stuff. Once again, another example of the wealthy trying to take everyone down. Including clowns.
This comment was written by Name (required).Report this comment to the moderators
June 8th, 2006 at 4:22 am
The Galaxy Song ~~ Monty Python (14 comments | comment on this) 1:37 pm - links Dangerous Motorcycle Safety Myths - I had most of these debunked for me at Action (they seem to have moved).I am man burger king commercial
This comment was written by Rainbow's Ramblings.Report this comment to the moderators
June 9th, 2006 at 11:58 pm
that together sink deep into our collective psyches. The links below (and links wihtin the posts) do a good job of pulling apart this commerical - not only looking its anti-feminism stance, but at its, ultimately, anti-male stance. via Alas, A Blog -”I Am a Man” Burger King Commercial via Third Estate Sunday Review - Shame of the Week (Musical) Posted by Russell at 07:14 AM | Comments (0)
This comment was written by The Uncommon Man.Report this comment to the moderators
July 16th, 2006 at 8:31 pm
No one seems to remember that the composer of the I AM WOMAN song was an Australian MAN called Ray Burton. Read his comment on the ad on his website http://www.rayburtonmusic.com
I can imagine him dancing around his apartment in LA singing it out loud in front of his girlfriend and her saying “what tha….?”
This comment was written by Casey.Report this comment to the moderators
October 28th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
for eating a giant fat-ass steak-burger. Honestly, I found it hilarious — here men are declaring their masculinity in one of the least manly ways possible — through an impromptu musical number! But it managed to get a lot of complaints from all over the blogosphere for its apparent misogyny — though I would think that the correct complaint would be misandry, as in saying guys are nothing but neanderthal beasts who must eat giant slabs of meat, and cause destruction throughout town. But I think that’s the thing
This comment was written by Sterling Ambivalence.Report this comment to the moderators
January 14th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
WAY TO GO! I completely agree with you on Burger King’s portraying Burger King consumers as being perfectly thin and fit. Because it’s unbelievably fattening, and if men ate it as often as they “felt like it,” they’d all be whales, not to mention the fact that they’d probably have major heart conditions. And as for their reference to “chick food,” I don’t think that there is ANYTHING wrong with eating foods that are different from whoppers and fries, and I wouldn’t see that as being particularly feminine. I’d call it being smart and healthy so that men don’t have to be “emasculated” by sitting in a hospital bed for a week after a major heart attack, or undergo lyposuction (yes, men do that too) to get rid of all that fat. It’s called being cultured (in cultures other than our big mac and whopper-obsessed one) and SMART. On the same note, I don’t think it’s very masculine for ANYONE to be wolfing down a whopper whenever they “feel like it.” Women do it too, and it’s not sex-linked, it’s just UNHEALTHY (if not moderated).
This comment was written by Kristin.Report this comment to the moderators
February 2nd, 2007 at 2:17 am
Hahahahaha… You are absolutely right… HOWEVER this is one of the greatest commercials EVER I think the creativity that went into every tiny detail is just amazing… Watching a group of guys throw out that mini-van had me cracking up for hours!
-Nate
This comment was written by Nate.Report this comment to the moderators
February 2nd, 2007 at 8:11 am
Here’s Helen Reddy’s take on it –
I saw the ad for the first time ever last night and thought it was so over the top as to be funny.
The blog I got that quote from also ripped on the GEICO “Caveman” ads, and with the current Honda Pilot thread, I thought I’d touch on ads, in general.
The goal of an ad is never to convince you that the product has fundamental merits that make you want to immediately go out and purchase the product. It’s to get the product stuck in your head so that when you need a product such as the one being advertised, the first image that comes to mind is the overly horrible ad. The classic example from when I was growing up is the Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef!” campaign. I was at a talk by Sen. Joe Biden in the early 1980’s and he talked about that ad campaign. That was an actual tag line he used during his talk — “Where’s the beef?” Here it is, 20-some years later, and I still remember “Where’s the beef?”, but for the life of me, I can’t remember much more about his talk, what questions I asked him, or anything else. Just “Where’s the beef?” I predict the furor raised over this commercial will insure that for decades to come the BK “Manthem” will be discussed, hummed and sang in much the same way. Long after the misogyny and misandry present in that ad has been over-analyzed and stuffed back into the hole from which it emerged, that song will still be out there.
On a more serious and femististic note, I continue to believe that every group has a right to make fun of itself. Since I don’t believe the ad really wants men to burn their briefs in favor of boxers, I think the men who made that ad have every right to play on male stereotypes of ineptitude in the grocery. Men have made too many advances in their own lives for me to think this ad is going to have any long term impact on their own decisions. Taken at face value, the ad is a misandrist and misogynistic pile of crap. Taken as parody, it’s brilliant.
This comment was written by FurryCatHerder.Report this comment to the moderators