Feeling Hyped

The media reaches many different audiences around the world. With such a great audience, I suppose it is nearly impossible to make sure that no one is offended. Particularly in advertising, where people are perpetually stereotyped in order to reach a certain audience, it is especially difficult not to offend certain people.

One particular encounter with the media that I found offensive was commercial that Burger King recently released that mocks women’s apparent affinity towards tiny things. I find it offensive because I feel that it mocks the intelligence of women, saying that they will simply love any item in miniature. There are many other ads that are equally offensive, but this ad strikes a chord with me.

If I had to name the feeling watching this commercial gives me, I would have to call it insulting. It provokes me every time I see it, forcing me to nearly always change the channel when it comes on. I would hate to think that men would be so stupid as to think that buying things in miniature would bring them flocks of women.

The feeling of being ridiculed for my gender is particularly offensive. Even if some women do find miniature food adorable, why would they all fawn over it? Even more so, I feel that this commercial suggests that women aren’t equal to men, and that women can easily be tricked into talking to men.

The way that this commercial offends me shows that I hate it when people doubt someone’s intelligence based on their sex, and I do not like the way that makes women seem like objects to be toyed with.

I think that ultimately what disturbed me was the commercials ability to make women feel small. It may just be a commercial for Burger King, but it still portrays women in a negative light. This showed me the importance of respecting the customer. I’m sure that just as many women eat at Burger King as men do, but what is the women’s incentive for eating there? Burger King should recognize that women are a group that should be respected, not objectified.