Are the "Wendy's Bees" Racist?

Not sure that I follow you....

MrSuburbs said:

Ok drummerboy, or anyone else for that matter, racial connotations aside, the news reporter's comment in the commercial was about bees' wings being too small for them to fly. So, what benefit did the Wendy's bees having big red lips in their response bring to that commercial? Is it subliminal?

No problem drummerboy, I'm sure many feel the same way. In other words, how did the bees having big red lips help that commercial?

I can not believe you are all still going. It is a dumb, awful, ineffective commercial. And your are all analyzing it like it is a piece of Pulitzer Prize winning literature.

I don't think analyzing how the commercial affects people and how it passed through Wendy's marketing department is ineffective. How else do people work towards preventing things like this in the future if we simply call it dumb and nothing more? That commercial can be applied to many aspects of current cultural attitudes on racism. Wendy's message leaves me thinking about a lot of things...the least of which is their products.

why do you care? according to you, racism was eliminated in 1964

Gilgul said:

I can not believe you are all still going. It is a dumb, awful, ineffective commercial. And your are all analyzing it like it is a piece of Pulitzer Prize winning literature.

beats the eff out of me.

MrSuburbs said:

No problem drummerboy, I'm sure many feel the same way. In other words, how did the bees having big red lips help that commercial?

drummerboy said:

beats the eff out of me.

MrSuburbs said:

No problem drummerboy, I'm sure many feel the same way. In other words, how did the bees having big red lips help that commercial?

Hmmm. I'm starting to think you guys really don't understand how computers work.

so tell us again how using this particular offensive stereotype leads to a successful advertisement?

I understand using a stereotype as a convenient means of narrowing the audience, but that was not the intent in the Wendy's commercial. So what was the intent?

flimbro said:

drummerboy said:

beats the eff out of me.

MrSuburbs said:

No problem drummerboy, I'm sure many feel the same way. In other words, how did the bees having big red lips help that commercial?

Hmmm. I'm starting to think you guys really don't understand how computers work.

C'mon, DB. Anybody who har-hars his way over inferiority with such relish ought to ace this.

I've been known to do that, and for the life of me I still can't see it. Unless some poor soul hilariously thinks Wendy's was intentionally targeting racists, of course, in which case, well, I'll quietly har har my way over inferiority with great relish and move onto more important things like a brief trip to WaWa.

If you're going to Wawa, you can leave the relish at home.

ctrzaska said:

I've been known to do that, and for the life of me I still can't see it. Unless some poor soul hilariously thinks Wendy's was intentionally targeting racists ...

Perhaps targeting, with "an attempt to interject humor into the act," the pleasure we get out of making fun of others.

drummerboy said:

so tell us again how using this particular offensive stereotype leads to a successful advertisement?

I understand using a stereotype as a convenient means of narrowing the audience, but that was not the intent in the Wendy's commercial. So what was the intent?

flimbro said:

drummerboy said:

beats the eff out of me.

MrSuburbs said:

No problem drummerboy, I'm sure many feel the same way. In other words, how did the bees having big red lips help that commercial?

Hmmm. I'm starting to think you guys really don't understand how computers work.

My man, I'm not going to explain this one to you. I will give you a push in the right direction...

You have been losing your mind for over two months about Trump. For the past year he used various stereotypical tropes to win the presidency and will now launch what will probably be the biggest long con the world will ever see. Do you think his strategy resulted in a 'narrowing' of his audience as you suggest above?

The only thing worse than being talked about negatively is not being talked about at all. (paraphrasing)

--Oscar Wilde

MrSuburbs said:

Ok drummerboy, or anyone else for that matter, racial connotations aside, the news reporter's comment in the commercial was about bees' wings being too small for them to fly. So, what benefit did the Wendy's bees having big red lips in their response bring to that commercial? Is it subliminal?

Controversy works well in marketing because it generates rapid attention and any action taken soon thereafter listening to protests creates additional positive attention. "They heard us!" "Honest mistake." "What is 4 for 4?" "A double stacked burger for only $4?" "Even home town's message board is discussing this."

Or, "there is no such thing as bad publicity [unless it's your obituary]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Succès_de_scandale

hmm, will have to think on this.

flimbro said:

drummerboy said:

so tell us again how using this particular offensive stereotype leads to a successful advertisement?

I understand using a stereotype as a convenient means of narrowing the audience, but that was not the intent in the Wendy's commercial. So what was the intent?

flimbro said:

drummerboy said:

beats the eff out of me.

MrSuburbs said:

No problem drummerboy, I'm sure many feel the same way. In other words, how did the bees having big red lips help that commercial?

Hmmm. I'm starting to think you guys really don't understand how computers work.

My man, I'm not going to explain this one to you. I will give you a push in the right direction...

You have been losing your mind for over two months about Trump. For the past year he used various stereotypical tropes to win the presidency and will now launch what will probably be the biggest long con the world will ever see. Do you think his strategy resulted in a 'narrowing' of his audience as you suggest above?

The creators of the ad probably thought it was funny the way people used to think Amos & Andy was funny. I suspect that Wendy's marketing team and their creative agency don't employ any African American people. It's hard to believe that it would have made it out of the first meeting if they did.

ok. no. I'm still not buying that this was a deliberate attempt to use racism to sell hamburgers.

The analogy of Trump's use of ethnic tropes to get elected is a flawed one. Obviously, he is using the the hate and distrust that these tropes engender in people to 1) bring them together around common enemies and 2) present himself, as the messenger of these 'truths' , to be their savior.

The purpose ultimately is just to separate whites from others. How is that analogous to what Wendy's doing?

and just to be sure we're all on the same page, here's the ad again.

drummerboy said:

hmm, will have to think on this.

flimbro said:

drummerboy said:

so tell us again how using this particular offensive stereotype leads to a successful advertisement?

I understand using a stereotype as a convenient means of narrowing the audience, but that was not the intent in the Wendy's commercial. So what was the intent?

flimbro said:

drummerboy said:

beats the eff out of me.

MrSuburbs said:

No problem drummerboy, I'm sure many feel the same way. In other words, how did the bees having big red lips help that commercial?

Hmmm. I'm starting to think you guys really don't understand how computers work.

My man, I'm not going to explain this one to you. I will give you a push in the right direction...

You have been losing your mind for over two months about Trump. For the past year he used various stereotypical tropes to win the presidency and will now launch what will probably be the biggest long con the world will ever see. Do you think his strategy resulted in a 'narrowing' of his audience as you suggest above?

dave,

Good point. I believe negative or not, Wendy's was successful in getting people to pay attention to that commercial. I also believe the response to that commercial may do more damage than good to sales since those offended will think twice or stop going to Wendy's (temporarily).

There are zillions of ways to get people to pay attention to a commercial that don't involve the risk of alienating a segment of the population. Next we'll be arguing that Wendy's used Clara Peller to market to the geriatric set.