Is it just me or is this ad offensive?

[UdoKier]

I saw this at the bus stop in my neighborhood in San Francisco.

This bugged me on so many levels I don't know where to start. They have another ad that says "For that Late Night Booty Chirp".

Am I just being a square old fogey?

[noahmijo]

1. You think the guy they paid to pose for that ad is offended by it?

[UdoKier]

3. I dunno. A lot of people will do a lot of things they don't like...

...for a few bucks.

[Shadowen]

36. Indeed. Case in point:

Not gay, but I'd take a drilling for a few million.

[JohnnyRingo]

7. It's unfortunate that Madison Ave has conditioned an entire....

generation into believing that "It's all about the bling"

Notice the shock and awe everytime a multi millionaire football player turns down the cash and pursues other ventures.

It's too bad people will do anything for money, even sell out their heritage through stereotypical parody.

[UdoKier]

8. Ricky Williams, right?

It seems that the fans think he OWES them X number of years or something. He's got enough to retire comfortably if he's frugal, and if he wants to smoke grass, more power to him.

"Tune in, turn on, drop out" never seemed to distant... I couldn't afford to do that if I wanted to...

[jdj]

2. What does it mean

What is 'chirpin'? I have noticed that soda and fast food ads are being marketed almost exclusively to African Americans now.

One I question is the Office Depot "Rubber Band Man" spot, because it seems so parodyish and exaggerated,and the Black guy is bringing supplies to mostly white office workers. It reminds me of when Esther Rolle who played Florida Evans on "Good Times" complained to the writers about the portrayal of J.J., she said they were "making fun of young black men". It's all in the eye of the beholder though, I guess. I'm too old to understand this ad

[UdoKier]

5. Chirpin' is the ring tone of a cell phone, I believe.

The character looks like a cross between the ugly stereotypes of 1930's minstrel and gangsta.

The ad uses hip-hop lingo, too. I wonder if this thing isn't targeted towards white teens. I ccan't imagine that this is the way African-Americans like to see themselves portrayed.

But then, what do I know, I'm white...

[LizW]

34. I was thinking about "Rubber Band Man" too

The singin', dancin' smilin' black man is quite the stereotype. But I can't help loving that guy in those commercials.

[kabalevski]

4. um...

.. i don't know what would be offensive about that?.. but.. I REAlly LIKED THE pop up.. WITH THE CHICK INTHE BIKINI.. THAT CAME up when i clicked your link..

[UdoKier]

9. Sorry - got a photobucket account now.

For those who don't like pop-ups, there is now a direct link pic...

[LeftistGorilla]

6. I'm offended....

an orange cap bill...

yuck~!

[SoCalDem]

10. Just more Madison Avenue "dumbing down"..

Whatever sells their stuff is what they will use..
Women have been demeaned for years.. If you are "of a certain age", you will remember the ads with women in their starched shirtwaist dresses and HEELS..and PEARLS...waxing the kitchen and cleaning the toilets..

whatever sells a product is what they will do..

It's got to be irritating to any group that gets stereotyped..But if they buy the crap that's being sold, the marketers think they hit a home run...and they did.:(

[ronabop]

11. Quick thought:

If the ad had the same text, the same facial expression, and the guy was white...

Would it be racist or offensive?

[UdoKier]

12. It would certainly be annoying...

A "white" equivalent might be those "Ernest Goes to..." movies. That guy annoyed the heck out of me. And he didn't present a very positive image of the rural white male! But then again, take this stuff too far and comedy as we know it no longer exists.

I don't know what to think about this ad. My visceral reaction to it is very negative. Whether that is due to my own latent racism or simply a distaste for the negative portrayal., I don't know.

It certainly doesn't make me want to buy one of their cell phones...

[DavidFL]

13. His facial expression kinda reminds me of Flava Flav

from back in the day. Maybe they were going for an ol' skool angle with this ad to go after the oldhead demographic, but he's missing the shades and the huge clock on a chain around his neck that Flava used to wear, so I'm not sure myself. I listen to hip hop, rap, R&B and ol skool and I'm not sure what they're trying to get at here. I've noticed that unless it's a company that keeps in touch with 'the street' like Russell Simmons or Marc Ecko, ad firms will screw it up and their ads will end up looking like parodies of hip hop culture. I don't think this ad is trying to be offensive, but it's an example of what not to do when trying to appeal to the hip hop demographic.

[UdoKier]

14. Flava Flav - yet another phenomenon whose charm was lost on me.

Although I totally dug what PE had to say. After doing a search on this ad campaign, it appears that it was discontinued back in March due to widespread protests of the stereotypical portrayals! Funny thing is, the billboards and bus signs are still up all over the place - they've been in no hurry to take them down..

[hughee99]

15. Billboard space

I have a friend who has a picture of his office staff on a billboard. The company "bought" the space for thousands (I think it was about $20,000). They will have their ad up on the board for at least a month, but the ad will remain until someone else buys the billboard space.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

16. No - thats degrading on so many levels

:puke:

[UdoKier]

17. Yeah, and I like how they chose "boost" for the name.

"Boost" being slang for a carjack...

[skypilot]

18. He looks like Stimpy...

...of "Ren & Stimpy".

[Gregorian]

19. Uh oh. Call up the Old Fogey police.

Yeah. Might need to lighten up. Especially if you're from SF.
No Chirp's were injured in the making of that advertisement. Reminds me of DYN-O-MITE!
The way I see it is if you're offended, then it's offensive. So you just made it offensive. But if we laugh at it, it's funny. (I find it funny. )
You know, though, there is a line. I see your point. But still, I feel my theory is correct. I mean, in an art forum I belong to, someone inevitably photoshops over that famous vietnam napalm picture of the kids running in the street. The first time I saw that, I was disgusted. It's because I remembered seeing that while eating dinner. And I still cringe when someone uses it. But I see how it's me. I'm the one making it sick.
How open minded are we? How low can we stoop. Ted Dansen in blackface. Racist, or funny?

I remember seeing a live Monty Python show, where they end up saying that they would eat someone's dead mother and vomit into the grave. That was the funeral they were conjuring up. I mean, it was gross. And by the time they got to that line, the audience had gotten out of their seats, and had surrounded the stage in a riot. It was an epic scene. I thought it was hilarious. But it's 2004, and not 1971. Perceptions have changed.

Geez, did I just type all of that? I need a life!

[UdoKier]

22. Hey. THere are lot lot of us squares in SF!

Ted Danson in blackface! LOL! What a blast from the past! I didn't find it offensive OR funny. I just thought "What the hell is wrong with this guy?" Wasn't he dating Whoopi at the time? Maybe she was f**king with him. "Go on, Ted. It'll be fun! No, nobody will be offended. I'm black, believe me, I know! (inward snicker)"

[skypilot]

20. Quite frankly...

...I'd have a difficult time standing in that bus shelter waiting for a bus with that poster there--especially if I were stoned. Just imagine it.

[jdonaldball]

21. It's ugly. That's what matters most.

The race doesn't matter as much as the ugliness, at least in this one.
Not everything is about race. Sometimes ugliness is the worst offense of all.

[UdoKier]

24. Oh, so now you're calling black people ugly. RACIST!!!

Just messin' with you. ;)

[jdonaldball]

27. I could mention Condo Rice. But is she really Black?

Now SHE'S a real mess! :-)

[UdoKier]

28. She should give Schwarzenegger his teeth back.

Snap!

[TexasSissy]

23. I don't know. I'm not black. I think only a black person

could say if it's offensive to their race. It seems to me to be stereotyping, esp. the "Where you at?" sentence, but maybe that's the ebonics thing.

I don't know. I'm a white old fogey, so I can't say. The pics of scantily clad sexy women pastered on the front of mags and all over America in subways and whatnot seem not to be considered offensive, against women, so I don't know why this picture should be viewed differently. But maybe it is.

[UdoKier]

25. Well, nowadays there are just as many scantily clad bufffed men in ads...

And I find their washboard abs and chiseled faced highly offensive. It's not fair! Who the hell has time to go to the gym that much! Gives me a complex every time I see them. I guess we men are getting a taste of what regular women have felt all these years. I really think that most of those bikini babes could use a bit more meat on their bones, though, really.

[TexasSissy]

29. LOL LOL!

[theboss]

26. Skeet! Skeet! Skeet!!

I have no idea what I just said. All I know is that I have enough trouble trying to explain Stuart Scott on ESPN to my dad. I can't imagine having to talk him through this.

[ronabop]

30. Watch where you point that thing!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=skeet&r=f

[theboss]

31. I am so white

That is all.

[Sparkle]

32. Yes, it is offensive.

And also stupid.

[Dastard Stepchild]

33. yes, but...

I find all advertising at least mildly irritating. I understand that it is there to help me know that Company A produces Product B, but really, I can't help but feel that I would be happier without it. I don't mind advertising in magazines or newspapers because I can simply not read those. Problem solved. It's the advertising in public places that I find more pestering - I didn't ask to see a large face and cell phone while waiting for the bus, but there it is.

[Warren DeMontague]

35. He's got great teeth..

The ad may be cheap and cheezy, but the orthodonture isn't.

[UdoKier]

37. I thought the same thing.

Wish my teeth looked like that. I suppose it would've been worse if he had the "gold tooth smile" look.

I wonder what this guy looks like when he's not pulling a freakish grimace like that for a fisheye lens.

It would be funny if he looked like Denzel...