Thursday, 5 April 2012

Mary J Blige Burger King

Mary J Blige Burger King

Mary J Blige Burger King, An ad featuring a leather-clad Mary J. Blige belting out a soul anthem about 'crispy chicken' and 'ranch dressing' has been yanked off the air by Burger King, following criticism that it has 'racist' undertones (find the ad). While critics see the ad's removal as admission of its racism, the restaurant chain says otherwiseFast food restaurants have used R&B and hip-hop to sell products before, and its not stopping anytime soon. As Burger King rolls out its new and improved health-conscious menu, they've tapped singer Mary J. Blige to star in their latest commercial. It begins with a customer walking up to the counter inquiring about the chicken snack wrap, and Blige follows by singing all of the new ingredients over an R&B beat. Do you feel this is a good look for a legend like Mary, or is this a major fail?

The spot premiered this week. In it, Blige sings soulfully about chicken snack wraps.
But as the video went viral, some in the black community criticized the ad as stereotypical. The black women-oriented website Madame Noire likened it to "buffoonery."
Burger King said Tuesday the commercial was pulled because of a licensing concern. The company said it hopes to have the Blige "ads back on the air soon," though a spokeswoman would not comment on whether they ads would be the same.
The spokeswoman also noted that other celebrities, including Salma Hayek and Jay Leno, also are advertising the snack wraps.
A Burger King commercial starring Mary J. Blige — which has been passed around the web faster than you can make a Whopper – was pulled from the Burger King YouTube channel on Wednesday.

The clip, which you can still see on Gawker, features Mary J. obliging those behind Burger King’s new celebrity endorsement marketing strategy by standing on a table and belting out lyrics such as “crispy chicken,” “fresh lettuce” and “ranch dressing” to the tune of her song “Don’t Mind.”Well, someone at the fast-food behemoth clearly did mind, because the offending piece of advertising, which has sparked some to call the diva a sell-out, was swiftly pulled, apparently because of a vague “licensing issue” and not due to viral vitriol.

Even if the King has shunned the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, there is still plenty of celeb-happy content on Burger King’s YouTube channel.

Highlights include employees, male and female, swooning at David Beckham’s (rather wooden) request for a strawberry and banana smoothie, Salma Hayek making an order of “garden salad” sound sexy, and Jay Leno driving around a restaurant in a flashy car.

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