Module #5

This ad appeals to the Reptilian brain with the highly sexualized content, appealing to the minds of male teenagers. It appeals to the Limbic brain with the rap music and altering atmosphere from a classroom to a dance club. It appeals to the Neocortex when one asks themselves how the hell this can get on television in the first place (it was fortunately banned after several weeks)...when one analyzes the connection between the exploitation of women and fast-food chains (pop culture).

1. Humor - The concept of "flat buns", making the connection between women's bodies and hamburgers, is obviously supposed to get the viewer laughing. Similarily, I would argue, the white rappers "rapping" about flat buns is a racist and sarcastic portrayal of black rappers and invites a humorous response. I would say that the target audience of Carl's Jr. is white America because, clearly, they do not include people of color in their ads and assume that whites will find the white rappers hilarious (being that they are making fun of rap and black culture). ... I'm not even going to get into the assumption by the media that white America will inherently accept the racism in pop-culture, because, oftentimes a negative reaction is referred to as "well, you have no sense of humor." ... well, here is one white person who isn't f*ing laughing.

2. Repetition - In the commercial they repeat "flat buns" over and over in the rap. There is a connection made between any burger and a woman's body.

3. Diversion - What is Carl's Jr. really saying? "Hamburgers and fast-food are not unhealthy... actually, contrary to that belief, skinny people eat them ALL the time ... and, with this ad, we are actually making the connection between an ideal skinny female body and eating fast-food.... because, well, since this new burger is made with "flat buns" it's almost like you're indulging in a sexual fantasy while you eat this burger. And, that claim that this burger is over 1000 calories is just well, insignificant because you're still reminded of this commercial while you're eating it and this commercial doesn't show obese people so this hamburger won't make you obese!"

4. "Beautiful" People - And, I mean come on people, women should all attempt to become the perfect image in a man's mind. ... because, well, women are just objects and deserve to be exploited! ... Honestly, how far can this metaphor between meat on burgers and women as meat for men go? Literally, a burger is a piece of meat between two buns...use your imagination. Also, I'm kind of bothered by this concept of using "beautiful" people in the commercial because the definition of beautiful in America has so many sexist and racist undertones.

5. The Race Card - Being that there is not a single person of color in this video, I would venture to say that by only using white folks in this video, Carl's Jr. is using the funny-card to let this ad slide. I mean, if there were black rappers rapping about flat buns, it would be so blatantly racist there would be a huge uproar over this ad. However, since white rappers are making themselves look stupid, it's okay! Also, the marginalization of black rap culture is accepted by white America, because, well, black rappers are all criminals and sex-fanatics. That's not a stereotype, that's the truth! ... mhmm, righttt.

In the end, Carl's Jr. should seriously dismantle its entire marketing strategy. I haven't been able to find a commercial or ad by them that fails to overtly perpetuate the marginalization of women or people of color. ... just another problem in the big media.