Recent ads by big companies go awry, spark controversy

Recent ads by big companies go awry, spark controversy

Ah, advertising. The 1930s performer Will Rogers famously referred to it as "the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need."

But that time-honored tradition can easily run afoul of the other mandate of the modern advertiser: to amp up the imagery, language or overall shock value of an ad to get your client's product to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Lately, the clash of these central directives has generated a lot of buzz for some major ad clients — just not the kind that they were hoping for.

Burger King's "The King's Gone Crazy" campaign

The ad in question features BK's trademark king running frantically through an office building, apparently as an escaped mental patient, pursued by a man dressed in a white lab coat who yells, "Stop that King, he's crazy!"

The runaway King proceeds to run through the glass window of a break room to hand a burger over to a woman standing next to a microwave. Then two bow-tied men materialize and subdue him — the clear implication being that they are attendants from a mental hospital. They tell the shocked woman holding the burger that "this King's insane" for giving away "so much beef for $3.99." Smitten with the low price, she replies to one of the attendants, "you're the one who's nuts." You can watch the spot here:



Once the ad aired, it drew outraged protests from mental health advocates. Michael Fitzpatrick, the executive director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, told the Washington Post that he found the ad "blatantly offensive," saying that he was "absolutely stunned and appalled" when he saw it.

Some have pointed out that the ad — which recently ended its scheduled run — was reminiscent of the old "Crazy Eddie" discount electronics store ads that ran in the Northeast for a number of years. The real Crazy Eddie, a man by the name of Eddie Antar, spent a number of years in prison on fraud-related charges. The cheap-burger-slinging King remains on the right side of the law, so far as we know.

Nike's Tiger Woods comeback ads

By now you've probably seen the commercial Nike started running last week in conjunction with Tiger Woods' return to the golf circuit, and there's a good chance you found it creepy. The ad featured a sorrowful-looking Woods staring into the camera, accompanied by a voiceover of his deceased father, Earl Woods. The spot made it appear as though the superstar golfer's dad was giving him a good talking-to from beyond the grave.

"I want to find out what your thinking was," Earl Woods is heard to say. "I want to find out what your feelings are. Did you learn anything?"

Earl and Tiger @ Yahoo! Video

The ad sparked an immediate backlash, from both the public at large and industry professionals. One ad executive blasted it as a "deeply manipulative" attempt by Nike to kickstart merchandise sales, a "vile economic rescue mission" as he put it. Worse, the ad's format — a voiceover played atop a static shot of a nonspeaking human — made it easy for Internet muckrakers to insert their own audio clips into the video and unleash a slew of parodies, which wound up being more popular than the ad itself.

And if all that weren't enough, it turns out that the audio of Tiger's father was taken from a scene in a documentary in which Earl Woods is discussing his relationship with the disgraced golfer's mother. When Tiger Woods was approached about the controversy surrounding the ad during his return to competitive golf at the Master's Tournament last week, he defended it by saying, "I think that's what my dad would say. ... It's amazing how it — how my dad can speak to me from different ways, even when he's long gone."

POM's "Cheat Death" campaign

You may have heard something in the last few years about pomegranate juice helping you live a longer, healthier life. In the event you haven't, POM Wonderful, a company that harvests, packages and markets the antioxidant-laced beverage, is going the extra mile to make sure that you do.

A recent outdoor print-ad campaign by the company in the Chicago area featured a bottle of the juice with a hangman's noose draped over the neck of the bottle. Next to the image were the words, "Cheat Death," a not-so-subtle implication that drinking POM Wonderful will help you elude the Grim Reaper's clammy grasp.




The company recently pulled the ads after Chicagoans complained that it conjured up all sorts of unpleasant memories of lynchings and executions. But according to one advertising insider, POM is an old hand at death-themed come-ons, so don't be surprised if you see similar campaigns from them in the future.

Why Americans are Overweight and How the Rest of the World is Thin

There is this belief that Americans are not only fat, but fatter than people in other countries- every other country… which might be why we ravenously devour Euro-centirc books like the bestselling French Women Don’t Get Fat, and tailor our diets to olive-oil touting diets like The “Mediterranean Diet.” Still, we Americans stay massive. How massive? According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, 63.1% of adults in the U.S. are either overweight or obese.

Why Are We So Fat?
Let’s look at the historical (and by that I mean 10 years ago) food and lifestyles of us (Americans) vs. them (the World).


AMERICA:

-Fast Food. We preferred “complete” meals made up of fast, fried, and handheld foods- for cheap. These foods have little nutritional value. You can keep Track of what you eat with Jillian Michaels’ Keep a Food Journal on ExerciseTV.




-Home-Cooked… what? Why cook when processed foods are so easy to nuke n’serve?

-Size Matters! Heaping portion of spaghetti topped with gigantic meatballs (tomato sauce is a vegetable right?), over a demure plate of handmade ravioli with a side of fresh-picked sautéed veggies? Any day! Personal trainer Kathy Smith believes it’s “Partly based off the financial aspect, ‘more bang for your buck’ – Americans associate value with size as opposed to quality – so why buy healthier foods (which tend to be a little more expensive) when they can get a huge hamburger, fries and a coke for $2.99.” Learn more about portion control from Kathy Smith on ExerciseTV.

-No Carbs, No-Fat, No Flavor. “No” somehow meant “good for you,” ie: no-fat, no-carb diet crazes that led to lots of overeating and little satisfaction.

-Drive to the Gym. We were either sitting or spinning.

-Playtime=TV Time. Why run outside when you can sit and stare at the TV?



THE WORLD:

-Small Portion, Big Flavor. Small portions of favorite, full-flavor foods.

-Lifestyle Exercise. Walk or bike to work, stroll and socialize after dinner, play and adventure outside on weekends. Exercising and staying active plays a huge role in weight maintenance. Cardio, Pilates and yoga can help get more activity packed into the day.







THAT WAS THEN… THIS IS NOW


Top Chef’s Stefan Richter, who lived and cooked all over the world (including Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Thailand, France, Italy, and of course America) before showing his culinary skills (coupled with a heaping portion of confidence/cockiness) on national television, has something to say (doesn’t he always) about how food, fitness and lifestyles are evolving… possibly for the better in the US and the worse everywhere else. "The idea that America is fat and the rest of the world is skinny is not really true. It used to be. But food and lifestyle have changed since then… We didn't eat processed food like we do now. We also walked 2.5 miles to school each day and played outside instead of commuting to school in the bus and sitting inside playing video games.”

“Globesity”

Obesity has gone global. Yup, it’s not just an American issue anymore. Sadly, even in developing countries where hunger has always been the known issue, the number of obese individuals is outweighing those who are underweight.


Seems America is going back to “old ways,” while the rest of the world is adopting “new ways”- like fast food and living a sedentary lifestyle. The result is that weight seems to be flip-flopping, with Americans seemingly slimming down while the rest of the world is beginning to bulk up. “Now, other countries are following American lifestyle,” says Stefan, “You see fast food chains are all over Europe and Asia.

(Parents) sit their kids in front of the TV to keep them busy because it's safer than playing outside. Americans are starting to focus more on fitness and cooking fresh meals at home again. We may still be sitting our kids in front of the TV, but at least we are putting on fitness video games to get the kids to exercise. There's a shift in focus and priorities as we are becoming more health-conscious.”

It will be interesting (and sad) to see if a reversal ensues, if Americans in fact start to get skinny while the rest of the world gets fat.