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Burger King in the Singapore area has just started to run its new oral sex ad. A quick compare-and-contrast of the Burger King ad with the latest Calvin Klein billboard is the stuff that academics dream of. Read More
Sexism
Well, what I see is a woman with wide-open, anxious eyes. There's no smile and no enjoyment on her face - clearly, and I'm afraid clearly visible to young children as well - something is going to be forced into her orifice(s) that she doesn't want there.
Her make-up on the other hand is garish or even clownish. Maybe it denotes that she is stupid or gullible and had it coming? The respect for women who perform oral sex is generally low, I suspect, but the viewer is clearly invited to identify with the gigantic, penetrating object and not with its "victim". Somehow, oral rape is meant to be funny when it is depicted in a fast-food ad.
On the other hand, we could say the joke is on the viewer as the male BK customer who eats this no doubt unhealthy treat will pay for it with malnutrition, obesity, and clogged arteries, ironically lowering his future chances of seeing his member in the sandwich's place in real life...
This specific ad (portraying
This specific ad (portraying an anxious women as a blow up doll) aside, it's a myth that respect for women who perform oral sex is low these days. Among men, at least, it's actually quite the opposite, with most having the utmost respect for women who are sexually liberated enough to fully enjoy performing oral sex.
Men never, ever forget girlfriends who adopt this proper feminist attitude (that women can enjoy sex too, guilt free) and always wish their more constrained girlfriends, who sometimes view it as something akin to a service performed for the man's benefit, were similarly liberated. If women could hear how men really talk about women in private - as opposed to what they tell women, or public or private surveyors - they would realize how truly revered, respected, and prized women who truly love performing oral sex are.
Neither prudish, judgmental morality on the right or immature versions of feminism on the left, when they view performing oral sex as something that's either unseemly or degrading, gives women the proper respect they deserve.
(It goes w/o saying, of course, that men should truly love worshiping their partners down there too, without feeling degraded or unworthy of respect. There's nothing wrong with being turned on by one's partner to the point where they look good enough to eat.)
Teaching Sex
I see it as a question of "How is sex being taught by parents?" If I were not a parent I wouldn't give two licks (pun intended?), however I have a 7 year old to explain these commercials to. If I send a message to my child "OMG SEX?!?!?" or would I rather send a message "Sexy ad" or "Blow jobs aren't sexy". These are the things parents must deal with in a free society, not a bad price to pay from freedom, imo.
Just Plain Tacky
This ad, and the Hardee's ads are silly and tacky, in my opinion. They are obviously geared towards men, and shallow men at that (ie. "real men" don't bake -- how asinine!)
Frankly, this ad made the Calvin Klein one look all that more artful and tasteful. At least it's pretty. I guess maybe that proves your theory that the CK ad was geared towards women and homosexual men?
Who is the target audience?
I just don't understand who the target audience of the BK ad is.
Clearly not women, because as the first respondant pointed out, the woman in the ad doesn't look too happy about the idea of that going in her mouth. In fact, the woman is practically dehumanised - she looks more like a blow-up doll than a person with opinions and feelings (perhaps this is intentional - another play on the word 'blow'?).
I would assume that the usual target audience for a food item like this would be macho, heterosexual men, but are they really going to want to be seen wrapping their mouth around something that has very un-subltely been likened to a giant penis?!
Sure it's eye catching, but it's also demeaning to basically everyone involved and surely unappealing to the majority of its target population - weird advertising strategy if you ask me!
strange stuff
Reminds me of some of the early cigarette ads from the 1920s, where oral sex was clearly being used. One quibble though, isn't the CC ad a foursome, rather than a threesome? Three guys and a woman = 4, no?
threesome vs foursome
Christopher--depends on your POV. My take on the ad is that the threesome on the couch is the masturbation fantasy of the guy on the floor. However, that's just looking at this billboard in isolation. The 'foursome' argument easily comes into play if you look at the entire spread of this particular shoot--of which the billboard is just one image: http://www.calvinkleininc.com/jeans/
As for your reference to early cigarette ads from the 1920s, I'd be very interested in seeing links to what you have in mind.
Oral sex was still pretty hidden in the US during the first part of the century. Beginning in 1933, the American Social Health Association began doing a survey of the kind of sex acts that were requested of prostitutes. It found that only 10 percent of the requests in 1933 were for sex acts other than intercourse. By the end of the 1960s, nine out of 10 requests of prostitutes were for oral sex or a combination of oral sex and intercourse.
As late as the late 1800s, you had to pay extra to get oral sex in the brothels, and that assumes the women would even do it. Oral sex was sometimes called "gamahuching" and was considered to be a depravity.
Brothels where oral sex was offered were often called "French houses" and the prostitutes who did oral sex were often looked down upon by the more upstanding prostitutes who only offered vaginal intercourse. Yes, there was a pecking order.
Maybe I'll do a posting on oral sex in America during the 1800s and early 1900s. It's a very colorful subject.
3 vs. 4
Hadn't thought of it that way (the guy is imagining the sofa situation).
Did you see that Slate took a look at this ad campaign as well today?
http://www.thebigmoney.com/blogs/daily-bread/2009/06/24/burger-king-blow...
I'll look around to see if I can find the ads I mentioned. I remember seeing them in a media course I took back in the early 80s, so no promises, but I might still have the book around here someplace.
You know the story that lipstick was first used by Egyptian prostitutes to advertise their oral skills? Not sure if it's true, but it's something I've read in various places.
Looking forward to your ruminations on oral sex in turn of the century America.
Interesting. I've been a sex
Interesting. I've been a sex worker since the late 80s and at that time anal sex was the oral sex of its day - prostitutes who did that were at the bottom of the pecking order. On the other hand they could charge what they liked because the demand always outstripped supply. These days if you don't offer anal you're thought of as weird or "too posh to tush push" - and you can't charge much more than you can for vaginal. I suppose it reflects what's out there in the real world, women now pretty much do all that prostitutes used to so our value has gone down. To make big money now you have to do some seriously degrading/dangerous/exhausting shit...
but are these ads effective?
but are these ads effective? i mean i understand the idea but why would i buy that burger ?
Let it all hang out?
I grew up in the 60's, but the older I get, the more I'm appreciating the value of propriety. There's nothing wrong with the locker-room talk, but it belongs in the locker-room. By mainstreaming the low stuff, we degrade ourselves, and also take the fun out of our small transgressions. We've transformed from connoisseurs of sin into gluttons, and we tell ourselves we're better off for it. Dammit, what's the point of porn if you don't have to be sneaky about it? What's so special about sex when it's just another commodity?
As a side point, I wonder if the female model for the BK ad knew what she was posing for. Of course they just took her picture by itself and worked it into the ad, so there's no reason she'd have known that it would appear in such a blatant display. It may even have been a stock photo. I can imagine that might have played out as comedy or a great humiliation (depending upon her situation) if the model was caught by surprise when her image went public.
Smart piece, well-written
Thanks for posting this--I found it witty and smart. So many nice erection jokes, too! I like the Calvin ad; it's imaginative and sexy. The BK ad, however, makes the woman look almost like a blow-up doll, which would support your reading that this is somehow supposed to flatter straight guys into thinking they're enormous. Then again, that's soooo close to conjuring a fantasy of being on the receiving end of oral sex, surely, that BK risks sparking a little gay panic in that same demographic.
Maybe that could wind up productively, but still . . . zero points for subtlety, BK.
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