Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Urban Advertising

Has anyone heard the Burger King radio ad in which a woman exclaims " 'cause I don't like all that bread" in reference to a Big Mac? And I know those in the tri-state area have seen the Optimum Online ad for Latinos. What is really going on? Have we become so mind numbed that we can't see how these companies are using the racist stereotypes they created about us ON us? The lack of articulation in the Burger King ad was the first thing I heard one morning listening to The Steve Harvey Morning Show (i love it!!!). I'm laughing and preparing for work and this ad came on and I actually heard it. Not the glossy skim over I usually do with advertising, I heard it and was offended. I'm more and more offended nowadays at what I consider to be a general dumbing down of society, to hear that - during something that I cherish for it's blackness- made me feel complicit. More than that that I was embarrassed. In my house, my safe space preparing for my day of work- embarrassed. There's no reason for inarticulate black people to sell me burgers. It may be elitist and what do I expect from urban radio (the urban euphemism for ghetto withstanding) but Dr. King didn't die for us to wallow in mediocrity. I don't care if that's how people sound or if it's "real". We must change the reality of our lives and it can begin with telling Burger King and Optimum that it's not okay to feed us poison to get us to buy more poison.

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