Burger King’s Spongebob Commercial: What Do You Do?
For several weeks, Burger King has been airing its ad for a kids’ meal deal. I don’t normally watch commercials if I can help it, but this one is hard to avoid. While I thought the whole thing was pretty dumb, I was quietly amazed to discover that it was marketing a kids’ meal.
Naturally, the ad has caused plenty of controversy, which was probably Burger King’s goal to begin with – more talk = more sales. You’ve got people on both sides crying out their points of view: “Get over it! Your kid has seen worse!” or “I am never going to Burger King again.”
My question is, what do you do when your kid sees this? Do you discuss it with them? Turn it off as quickly as possible? Explain to them in pre-school vernacular about the objectification of female bodies and using sex to sell hamburgers?
As a rule, we generally don’t watch t.v. when our kids are awake. It only comes on after they go to bed. But when they get older, this will inevitably change. I don’t look forward to seeing that line be pushed even further in a mere couple of years. Sure, we won’t allow them to have their own televisions, and yes, we’ll be monitoring what they watch as much as we reasonably can. We’ll be big supporters of reading books for entertainment and cultivating hobbies that exercise creativity. Bottom line, though, it’s pretty exhausting, trying to let our kids be kids in a culture that wants to make them grow up so fast.
Thoughts?
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I’ve been hearing chatter about these commercials but, have not see any yet. Probably a good thing
Ugh! The first time I saw that commercial I was horrified! Especially when I realized it was advertising kids meals! I find them completely inappropriate and just downright distasteful. Then again, I find Spongebob rude and crude, so my son has no idea who he is and if the commercial comes on, he doesn’t know it. I also make it a point not to watch tv that has commercials when my kids are awake and active. (Disney Channel and PBS are our friends!) I don’t know how I would handle it if he was actually aware of it all yet… and I don’t look forward to it when he is! (And my daughter as well!) It’s bad enough we can’t even drive down a freeway (especially here in Houston) without being bombarded by billboards advertising sexually driven businesses, but now they are using “children’s” cartoon characters in combination with sex to sell hamburgers?! It’s really sad.
I started a Boycott Burger King Group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=92228140218
May not amount to anything, but I was so ticked I had to at least try to do something.
I cringed since we do our best to keep our kids from being exposed to that kind of music or that cartoon.
It’s one of the many reasons why we keep our TV off or on PBS.
are you kidding me? any child who actually watches the show does not see objectified women of sexual connotations, they see one giant JOKE about how Spongebob has a square butt… you cant expect to shield you child from the world forever you just have to own up to it and be honest with them, children are dumb they are just inexperienced (thats where the parents come in) to guide them in the right direction. Plus if this stupid commercial is making such a huge impact on parents try actually watching some of the cartoons and shows on TV that children are watching Hanna Montana or the Jonus Bros. which are basically Disney poster children designed to market and mold children into drones to follow Disney. its a horrible world we live in yes, so as parents ya have to not shield them from these things but help them to understand whats happening.
If you shield your children forever they will never know how to deal with what they learn the first time they come in contact with these sort of things.
Dave,
I don’t think anyone is saying that we SHOULD sheild our children forever. I don’t think anyone is that naive. But, I do think that it is up to parents to speak up about the sexual issues that are a problem with our American CULTURE. Children (any age) exposed to things of a sexual nature are affected in a deep way that in many people’s opinion, is not healthy.
I think many would agree with you that it is part of the responsibility of parents to explain and help children understand the world around them–but it doesn’t mean that we have to agree with everything that is being communicated to our children, nor should we remain speechless.
I have to disagree with you that children are dumb–but maybe you meant to say they aren’t dumb, just inexperienced? Our children are MUCH smarter than we give them credit for and even if they can’t verbalize what is going on in the world around them they pick it up and it forms their values and personalities.
And on a personal note, I don’t want my children growing up thinking that it is OKAY to make fun of people and their bodies. Even if it is a cartoon, it is still communicating the value that making fun of body parts is okay.
When I read this post, I was thinking.. ohhh it can’t be that bad. Surely they wouldn’t put blatant sexuality into an ad for a kids meal. Ohhh how wrong I was. WOW I am just blown away by this. The sexism, the objectification of females, not to mention the ridiculousness of the whole thing. Do they think kids are stupid? Seriously? This ad is offensive on so many levels.
I am horrified by this commercial. They are crossing the line with our children. It is really up to us as parents to shield our children from these kind of things. Yes, our kids need to know right from wrong and know the ways of the world but this is going to far for a kids meal add. I also am not a fan of sponge bob. I feel most cartoons are boarding the line of too far into the adult world as well. PBS/Noggin seem to be our household channels of choice.
So, my kids have no idea that that commercial is referencing a song that degrades women’s bodies. They think its funny that everyone (boys and girls) have square butts. I think the problem is not that burger king had a funny idea on how to market sponge bob, who does have square pants, but that your kids would have any idea that the other song existed. Its as simple as someone could use the “F” word in front of my 6 year old, and he would have no idea anything bad had just happened. However, if you say “shut-up” or “stupid” in front of him or his 4 year old brother, they will call you on it and ask you to apologize. When someone on TV does say one of these words, all I have to say to them is “Do you think they made a right choice?” they will say No, and I will reply “just because they are making wrong choices doesnt mean you have to”!
Who cares about the square butts dont you think you all should be more worried about taking your children to a fastfood restuarant in the first place kids shouldnt even know what a burger king or mc donalds is. Thus the reason all these kids in America are Fat and overweight!
Great discussion, all.
Lara, I agree with your logic. My problem is that if this isn’t about sex, they should have had ugly old men walking around with phone books in their pants. That would have made me at least smile. All the jiggly rumpshaking of young ladies in tight short-shorts echoes the current dancing styles in (inappropriate) music videos. Also, for some families, having the kids say “butt” is considered too much. I know it seems prudish to write it here in this space, but I know I don’t want my 3 year old saying, “I have dirt on my butt!” We moms have all kinds of cute replacement terms, don’t we? And I’m sure most of us use them. So the funny rap song in the funny commercial about square butts will make them giggle, and encourage that word to show up in their young vocabulary more frequently. To each his own – we all have our opinions. Still, your suggestion for how to converse with the kids about what they see on t.v. is right on the money. Thanks for chiming in!!
Dave, my hope is that my kids will have better taste than just ingesting whatever mediocre t.v. show Disney puts on the air, and I plan to tell them so. No, they can’t be shielded from everything forever, and that is the very reason we should talk about these issues and work to find solutions for how to handle them, like the one Lara offered. No, I’m not kidding you.
Andy, that’s beside the point, but thanks for stopping by!
You think THIS is the worst ad BK has aired???
Check out my TV.com blog to see how unregal BK truly is:
http://www.tv.com/users/skaizun/profile.php
(scroll down to the BK blog in the middle of the screen,
then click its title to view the entire blog in all its glory!)
Well I suggest we get off our square butts and do something about it. After all it only takes 1 person to make a change and 1 million to take a stand. If you have guts, and you are sick of of Burger King promoting sex commercials to our kids, during prime time. Then lets give them a call, or you can write them; see the information below. And last thing is stop buying their food. This add is nothing compared to the Paris Hilton May 2003 commercial, and to think the silent minority can whine all the want but it won’t stop this kind of crap. STAND UP AND TELL THEM WE ARE TIRED OF THIS CRAP.
Burger King Corporation
5505 Blue Lagoon Drive
Miami, Fl 33126
Corporate Headquarters – 305 378-3000
Seriously??? Its a dumb commercial, your kid will forget it as soon as the commercial is over. I think its a over reaction, its only a big deal if you make it a big deal.