OH, MY - The Queers Are Upset!

Saw this commercial while watching the hockey game this evening, found it amusing, and started to look for a download that I can send to a buddy...


While surfing around I discovered that homosexuals seem to find this little ad extremely offensive:

The ad earns a Negative rating because it directly finds humor with the term "fairy" -- referring not just to the type that flies around with a magic wand, but also to the universally recognizable gay stereotype of an effeminate gay man. Frankly, it could end simply and appropriately with the female fairy being repelled by the car's toughness.

Chrysler's customer service department has received several telephone complaints, spokeswoman Suraya Bliss told the Detroit News.

"We were pretty surprised that there are individuals that are making the conclusion that sexual orientation can be determined by the type of clothes you wear and the type of dog that you're walking," Bliss said. "Are they suggesting that men that wear colored shirts are gay … or that all gay men dress alike? What we would ask someone to do is look at the ad for what it is."

The ad received a scathing review with no stars from Advertising Age critic Bob Garfield, who quotes the spokeswoman too. " 'Was it intentional? Absolutely not,' says Bliss, whose voice quavered as she spoke, perhaps because she was choking on the corporate line. 'It's not the kind of company we are.' "

Garfield continues, "But, of course, the corporate line is preposterous. Much more likely is that someone at BBDO realized they could call people fairies if their commercial depicted an actual fairy. Get it! How subversive! A flitty little fairy! We can imagine the hilarity in the cubicle as they contrived a way to set up the "Not for sissies" selling proposition based on an innocent magical fantasy.

"Look, there's nothing wrong with positioning an economy car as a car with truck values. In fact, "the manly subcompact" is a very good idea. You can even suggest that everything else in the category looks effeminate. Though political correctness is out of control in this society, you're still allowed to choose your own sexual demeanor.

"But what no advertiser has any business doing is calling people fairies, because it is cheap, because it is gratuitous, because it is hateful.

"Also self-destructive, undermining Daimler Chrysler corporate entreaties to gay and lesbian consumers -- not to mention the much larger sick-of-sexual-bullying population. But never mind the business consequences.

"There is simply no room in advertising for hate speech. Period. For the record, Daimler Chrysler and BBDO protest that this spot is obviously not homophobic because the guy with the lap dogs is a preppy type-as opposed to some flamboyant queen. Of course, the same people swear they were totally unaware of the "fairy" double-entendre. They say we're seeing things. We say they're living in a fantasy world, and it's anything but cute."

That comment came from an organisation called "Commercial Closet" who make it their mission to bring "GLBT sensitivity to corporate advertising".

Well, isn't that precious. It's all about them...

It seems that the Dodge fairy isn't the only corporate fairy they're going after. Nope. Nabisco has a "Snack Fairy" that they don't agree with. Here's a quote:

Two cowboys lean against a fence in a rural setting. The shot is a nod to the movie Brokeback Mountain, conjuring a gay motif. One of the cowboys asks the other, "So you're saying he's a fairy?" His friend responds, "A snack fairy."

The snack fairy, a foolish man in a tutu (Colin Mochrie of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"), is the centerpiece of an ongoing campaign for the brand. He is running from a tractor: "Help? A little help!"

Without acknowledging the fairy's plight, the first cowboy asks the other, "And he brought you gifts?" His friend replies, "Yup, he brought these." Pleased, he thinks aloud: "Fig Newtons? 100% whole-grain?"

"They're good actually," his friend adds.

"Yup, they are good."

One of the cowboys shouts to the snack fairy, who is now riding the tractor, "We love your cookies, Sir!"

The incompetent snack fairy shouts back, "What?!" He proceeds to fall backwards off the tractor: "Ahh!!"

The cowboy reacts by yelling, "Walk it off, snack fairy!"

The snack fairy pops up from under the brush to say, "Snack Happy!"

Despite the ongoing appearance of the Snack Fairy in other ads, it is the first to directly address the cross-dressing nature of the character. The ad earns a Stereotypes rating because it plays off of the age-old reference to gay men as "fairies," a homophobic slur used unambiguously. While some might find it humorous, many others will find it offensive.

A way to remedy the commercial's treatment of the subject would be to have the cowboy address the snack fairy with a more indifferent tone, as opposed to a bossy and belittling one.

And here's the best part:

Gay people are shown in this collection as classic gay stereotypes, including leathermen, sissies and queens, and Liipstick Lesbians, but are otherwise accepted by characters in the ad. While some in the gay community now accept these depictions as "diversity" and "reality" -- others remain sensitive to them and do not. These ads do not meet Commercial Closet's Best Practices.

Note to "leathermen, sissies, queens and Lipstick Lesbians": The image of the cowboy doesn't belong to you. It never did and "Brokeback Mountain" will never change that. The word "Fairy" or it's images don't belong to you either. Get used to it.

Some days a guy's just gotta shake his head, walk away, buy a Dodge and some Fig Newtons...