Commentary

I Could go for a Snickers....haha.....

by Erynne , February 8, 2007

Congratulations Snickers! After the Superbowl, everytime I see a snickers bar, I laugh...I feel a little sick, but laugh. Though extremely upsetting, the snickers commercial was successful in their marketing.

So we were all sitting in front of the big screen and in a matter of seconds we were all laughing, and then we were all wide eyed as we watched the two grown men kiss..and then we were all cringing and then we broke out into disbelieving laughter peppered with disgusted groans.

I agree with many that it was overdone and I did NOT need to see that, but I have to give them credit. From a marketing perspective I think it was a job well done. Since the superbowl, any time snickers is mentioned everyone I've been around begins to talk about that commercial and the controversy as well as the humor. On the unfortunate side, marketing has gone that far, but it's working. Thank god I don't have to see it again, even if it did make me chuckle.

10 comments about "I Could go for a Snickers....haha.....".

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Dean Collins, February 12, 2007 at 11:33 a.m.
Oh wow, get off your high horse Erynne.
As a straight guy I cant believe how many anally retentive people have lambasted this ad.
I thought it was funny but I've been sickened by the horrific comments from people like you after the event.
Cheers,
Dean Collins
www.collins.net.pr/blog
Reply

Ellen, February 12, 2007 at 11:50 a.m.

I didn't really think Erynne was lambasting the commercial, Dean. I actually thought that when she referred to it as "extremely upsetting" she was referencing the varied responses that it generated (e.g., groups who found it offensive). I think her point was that the shock value (whether laughter, fear, disgust, anger, etc.) of the commercial made it memorable . . . regardless of feelings that it evoked, it at least evoked a reaction.

Joseph Bua, February 12, 2007 at 12:05 p.m.

Okay, Dean, then I'm sure that you won't mind when Neutrogena produces an ad where at the end, Hayden Panettierre looks into the camera and says, "Great skin, silky skin the feels great. Touch it, except for you, Dean Collins from Cognation, because any thought of having to be intimate with you, or thoughts of you being intimate with anyone else, make me want to slam a car hood on my head over and over until I bleed."

Do you get it? Why is it that our intimacy is disgusting and yours is okay? To me, the thought of you having sex with a woman is off-putting, but I don't need to express that to make you buy a candy bar.

And I certainly don't think that I would have to turn to violence or pain to erase the memory of a heterosexual encounter.

And your saying that you need to turn to pulling out chest hair or swinging a wrench baseball bat-style at someone (both seen in alternate endings online) to wipe the thought of your lips touching a man's from your memory is demeaning and insulting, and if you don't get that, I feel bad for the people in your life.

Christine Hauck, February 12, 2007 at 12:08 p.m.

Heck yes, Dean.

IMO, the ad's premise was that a Snickers bar is so irresistible, it can even drive a pair of "manly" men to such levels of choco-greed that they won't notice they're about to accidentally brush lips.

For people to "feel sick" and "cringe" with "disgust" over what is obviously not even a real kiss is pretty lame.

Christine Hauck, February 12, 2007 at 12:29 p.m.

Ellen - please re-read Erynne's post. It's pretty clear that she was personally disgusted by the ad.

Joseph - from my POV, the Snickers ad was making fun of the candy-greedy, wildly overreacting homophobes, not of gay people.

The fact that many viewers got no further than "ewwww, I just saw two guys kiss!" is a sad commentary on social intolerance (and contextual ignorance), but I'm not sure one can assume that this was Dean's own reaction, based on his very limited comments.

jorge martinez, February 12, 2007 at 12:39 p.m.

Lack of creativity in salesmanship. Do creative people at ad agencies necessarily need to go for controversial ads to deliver a brand message? I think some people will stop buying snickers because they find the spot repulsive. Effective marketing?

Carolyn Grantham, February 12, 2007 at 1:15 p.m.

The best thing about the Snickers ad is that it sparked discussion--which I hope will lead to a greater understanding of the fact that homophobia is still so deeply ingrained that it's become a punchline to sell candy.

Good prediction, Jorge: I've sworn off Mars products ...

Franco Cefalo, February 12, 2007 at 1:30 p.m.

This blog is supposed to be "Next Gen Thinking from the Next Generation of Media Insiders."

Erynne & friends breaking out into disgusted groans from seeing two men kiss seems to be regressive thinking.

Erin Koller from ShareBuilders, February 12, 2007 at 1:33 p.m.

Here's what I don't get: the mechanics weren't ripping out their chest hair because they watched two OTHER gay men kiss, right? They reacted so strongly because THEY kissed. Is there anything wrong with straight men (or women, for that matter) feeling grossed out because they kissed another man? They didn't say there was anything wrong with being homosexual, they just weren't homosexuals themselves. Are all straight people supposed to be ok with engaging in homosexual acts themselves because it makes homosexuals feel better?

Check out this post on The Malcontent, a blog with the slogan "Real Gay. Straight Up." http://www.malcontent.biz/blog/?p=2132

I, by the way, am not at all homophobic, and recognize that as a straight woman I am not in a position to understand personally how homosexuals feel about their treatment in the media. I also thought the commercial was stupid. Not offensive, just stupid. And as someone else mentioned in another forum, the reaction this ad is getting doesn't at all suggest that the campaign worked. The truth will be in the sales.

vida morkunas, February 21, 2007 at 2:54 p.m.

The ad was funny and memorable. So Snickers made some people snicker - isn't this the point?