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"Racist" Burger King Ad With Mary J. Blige Singing About Chicken Gets Yanked
Indignant viewers of a brand new Burger King ad starring R&B diva Mary J. Blige singing about their Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap have prompted the fast food chain to yank the ad.
It's not necessarily that Blige was promoting unhealthy eating, or an unpopular restaurant, but rather that many believed she was promoting a cultural stereotype about eating chicken. Well, they thought the ad was "racist," to be precise.
In the ad, as described by MTV News, Blige is seen standing on a table belting out lyrics to the tune of her song "Don't Mind," about the chicken sandwich: “Crispy chicken, fresh lettuce, three cheeses, ranch dressing, wrapped up in a tasty flour tortilla," she sings.
The ad has been taken off the air and YouTube, but we found this copy:
Even an industry insider was disturbed that BK didn't mind having the "Don't Mind" crooner wax rhapsodic about what is basically fried chicken:
Hip-hop branding expert and CEO of Translation, Steve Stoute, who has worked with Blige closely on successful endorsement deals like Carol’s Daughter beauty products, shared his disdain. [Tuesday] he tweeted, “The issue is the burger king commercial is thT these agencies visit culture and then do work that is so in authentic it's embarrassing.”
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Not surprisingly, Burger King offers a totally different reason for the ad's swift removal from the airwaves and their YouTube channel. KTLA reports:
[T]he chain insists that a music licensing issue, and not the criticism, was behind its decision to pull the commercial. Burger King says it hopes to have the Blige ads back on the air soon.
A company spokesperson would not comment on whether the ads would be the same.
Burger King is rumored to have paid Blige $2 million for the spot; they've also reportedly signed other high profile celebs to hawk new menu items, including David Beckham and Sofia Vergara. (If they end up hawking fish and chips and tacos, respectively, the peanut gallery may have been on to something, no?)
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