The topic of potentially offensive Superbowl commercials came to my attention as soon as the light faded from my neighbors 50 million inch TV I could watch through my window…but I really didn’t think much of it.
But the chatter among news sources, gay bloggers etc continued. A friend brought this particular article to my attention and while I really only skimmed it, it did stop and make me think. At first I seemed to agree with the sentiments “…the ad [could be seen as] a parody of homophobic attitudes…” or “It’s basically the behavior of boys in a high school lockerroom…” I do think it’s important to choose your battles and expend energy wisely. But then, as the article continued, I realized something important. I shouldn’t be eating Snickers anyway.
Wait, more important than that.
These aren’t hairless tween boys in a locker room fidgeting because they don’t know how to act like an adult. These are huge corporations, franchises, institutions with very big boys (and girls) at the helm. I have been conditioned to accept that homophobia is acceptable in traditionally straight male spaces like sports television. I have come not to expect much from professional sports management because no one has forced them to be accountable. The article goes on to point out that companies that are rich enough to run ads during the Superbowl, as well as the NFL itself spend millions on marketing research and are generally very very careful with how they are portrayed in the media, who gets access and their public image as a whole. So why don’t they care as much about their gay demographic? A representative finally got back to AfterElton.com with the retort that “…humor is subjective.” I’m not hugely PC myself (among friends there have been exchanges rivaling Sarah Silverman) but there is no excuse not to know that the ad your company is producing is offensive, and that the Superbowl is not the place for humor as instigating as something that might appear on Comedy Central after 11 pm.
