A side of hypocrisy: Burger King and Fox mock Jessica Simpson's weight
Filed under: Company News, People, Healthcare, Media
In its latest attempt to offend its way into America's stomachs, Burger King (BKC) and Fox (NWS) have put together a skit that combines America's love of fatty food, its adoration of sports figures, and its supposed preference for anorexic women in a rancid bouillabaise of sexism, size-ism, and shame. On Sunday, Fox NFL Sunday ran the clip, which featured animated versions of the Dallas Cowboys trading fat jokes about Jessica Simpson, the ex-girlfriend of Dallas quarterback Tony Romo.
Although the piece was put together by Fox, Burger King's willingness to attach its name to the sketch has led several commentators to point out the chain's astounding level of hypocrisy. After all, this is the restaurant that gave the world the triple whopper, with 1230 calories, 82 grams of fat, and 1560 grams mg of sodium, and it has long since positioned itself as the go-to chain for burly, meat-munching manly men. Naturally, this begs the question of why the restaurant would want to open itself to fresh criticism by hurling fat jokes at Jessica Simpson.
The answer might lie in another Burger King ad campaign. This July, the chain ran an ad for its "Super Seven Incher" burger extravaganza that featured an image of a wide-eyed, open-mouthed woman facing down a massive sandwich. Meanwhile, the slogan stated that "IT'LL BLOW your mind away." If the heavy-handed double-entendre wasn't enough to convey the promo's sexualization of a burger, the model's vapid, inflatable-doll expression should have made it clear that this ad was about a lot more than a piece of flame-broiled meat.
And how about Burger King's Sponge Bob/Sir Mix-a-Lot mash-up? Featuring the freaky, plastic-faced Burger King mascot, the ad offers images of mini-shorted models shakin' their phonebook-shaped rumps to the lyrics "I like square butts and I cannot lie...," suggesting a level of odd sexualization that seems somewhat inappropriate for Sponge Bob's target audience.
It's worth pointing out that, even with her much-noted weight gain, Jessica Simpson is still well below the size of the average American woman, much less the Cowboy's bloated coach, Wade Phillips. With this in mind, the fact that BK is making hay with pre-adolescent fat jokes opens up quite a few very interesting questions about the sort of emotionally-stunted man-child that the company has identified as its core audience. Why is Burger King trying to scrape up the bottom of the misogynistic low-self-esteem barrel? Is it trying to suggest that, in the end, it's the only one who really loves the fat kid? More important, will this strategy work?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 13)
10-13-2009 @ 4:54PM
G said...
That's just stupid.
Reply
10-13-2009 @ 11:17PM
babs said...
Really is stupid! Not just the slam at Jess, but fox carries the Cowboys games. I'd have thought twice about pissing off Jerry Jones.
10-14-2009 @ 12:24AM
greg said...
that was funny u people need to just laugh
10-14-2009 @ 10:59AM
Cynthia said...
Think of it like this: Health-conscious people aren't going to be eating at Burger King. (I know I don't.) Of the people who DO eat at Burger King, a large percentage are probably unhappy with their weight, since most Americans are unhappy with their weight. AT LEAST half of them are probably women. Of those women, I bet most are heavier than Jessica Simpson, who is thin by most people's definition. (Unless you are in Hollywood, that is.) So why would Burger King intentionally offend half of their customers? Stupid move on their part.
10-14-2009 @ 10:51PM
Sandy said...
My sentiments exactly,G.
10-13-2009 @ 8:08PM
LESLIE said...
IF OTHER NETWORKS CAN PICK MC CAIN AND PALIN APART I DO NOT THINK A JOKE INVOLVING BURGERKING IS OUT OF LINE. AFTER ALL.... THE INSULTING SKITS AND DEPICTIONS OF MC CAIN AND PALIN WERE FELT TO BE IN GOOD HUMOR.
Reply
10-14-2009 @ 9:57PM
Hannah said...
I can't believe some people are still stuck on that...
10-13-2009 @ 10:43PM
kSMith said...
u r obviously a republican politics has nothing to do with this clip its about the hypocracy of BK and poking fun about a woman who obviously had trouble with weight. Im sure many can agree that weight is much more sensitive topic than politics...everyone gets picked on during election season...Jes Simpson has nothing to do with BK nor the ft-ball team anymore therefore it was totally inappropiate to throw her in there
10-13-2009 @ 10:42PM
teri said...
I agree....the media has a gripe against fox right now, just wait what they have to say next....
10-13-2009 @ 11:07PM
Ian said...
But they SUCK.... So how can you not make fun of the two of them..... lol
10-13-2009 @ 11:13PM
babs said...
Leslie - get over your politics!
10-13-2009 @ 11:48PM
Nichele said...
kSMith: Before you start insulting people based on their politics (And that poster had a point, by the way. And no, I'm NOT a Republican. I'm an Independent.), I'd suggest you learn how to spell. After all, aren't Democrats the ones who consider themselves "educated?" With that grammar (or lack there of, rather) and your "creative" spelling, you must be a redneck from the deep South, right (hypocritical stereotyping done purposely?
10-17-2009 @ 2:05PM
Damien Thorne said...
Go bake some cookies and STFU
10-14-2009 @ 1:35PM
kathryn said...
leslie: other stations are not fast food resturants that sell fatty foods all day and with comericials encouraging people to come and buy their fatty foods. none of what you are talking about involved food. now, if those stations that made fun of mccain and palin was out campaigning for them came and made fun of them, then i can se your point.
10-14-2009 @ 1:57PM
Jalane said...
just think: IF Marilyn Monroe were alive today she would be considered obese by Hollywood standards.
10-13-2009 @ 8:08PM
tony said...
hey these people strive for the spotlight they have to take it for better or worse
Reply
10-13-2009 @ 8:13PM
dan said...
stupid thing for burger king to do. offend AMERICAS team!
idiots.
Reply
10-13-2009 @ 8:38PM
lynetteod856@aol.com said...
How about stupid thing for Burger King to do - offend a beautiful woman??
10-13-2009 @ 9:16PM
reefinder said...
America's team? Ha, that train left the station years ago.
10-13-2009 @ 11:49PM
Anne said...
10-13-2009 @ 9:16PM reefinder said...
America's team? Ha, that train left the station years ago.
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