Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Heinz Laughs at Gays
I was going to post on the Heinz Deli Mayo TV ad that showed two men kissing, but, somehow, it all seemed so damned obvious - an 'ishoo' waiting to be discussed. Now, however, it has become interesting. Heinz has pulled the ad as a result of 200 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority. (I never know which word is funnier, 'standards' or 'authority'.) Nigel Dickie of Heinz said, in justification that the ad was meant to be humorous. What on earth does he mean by that? Are married gays making sandwiches funny? If not that, what? Perhaps we're just supposed to fall about laughing at the mere fact of two male partners. Come on, Dickie, stop squirming, what did you mean? Let me guess - it's funny because getting the ad being complained about and then pulled was all part of the game plan. As ever, the advertising industry succeeds in making the world just that little bit worse.
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
They've got the commercial posted there too:
ReplyDeleteWatch the Heinz Deli Mayo ad
Yours,
Rus
I get the joke. they aren't gay partners, it's a mum who looks and talks like a new york deli man. the quality of the product alters the perception of a typical mother. hey, I should be in advertising!
ReplyDeleteobviously, as you say they also must have understood how a small number of viewers would react - only 200 needed to pull the ad? their people must have been chomping at the bit...
So what you saying? You think I'm funny, like a clown? You saying I'm a clown? With the tacky makeup and the ill-fitting jumpsuit?
ReplyDeletePoor old Heinz, you try to please everyone in a focus group and what do you get...
ReplyDeleteWhat annoys me about these stories is that the number of complaints is so low, when compared to the size of the audience. Homeopathy only seems to work for complaints.
ReplyDelete