America has spoken, and it appears that America really likes to see old people thrown roughly to the ground… the Mars Snicker’s 30-second spot featuring Betty White and Abe Vigoda won USA TODAY’S 22nd Annual Exclusive Super Bowl Ad Meter’s real-time consumer testing of how much viewers liked the commercials as they aired.
"Tell Mike it was only business, I always liked him." Vigoda in The Godfather
The joke is that a young man is playing touch football so badly that he appears to be an old lady. The tag line is “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry.”
White as Catherine Piper in Boston Legal
I’m a big Abe Vigoda fan – the Godfather, Barney Miller, even appearances on Conan O’Brian. Betty White – not as big a fan – I liked Sue Ann on the Mary Tyler Moore show. And Betty White is getting a lot of buzz from this ad. But I found it somewhat distressing.
And I am not alone.
Sherman Yellin writes in the Huffington Post, “Okay, maybe I’ve lost my sense of humor in my late seventies but there’s one Superbowl ad that I hated, and it’s the one that is getting the most attention…What’s the ad saying? That’s it’s a young man’s worst nightmare to get old, first — God help him — as an old woman, then as a decrepit old man, both lying in the mud, looking weak and ridiculous — only to be rescued by the magic of chocolate covered candy…”
“Now I am not asking the Mad Men of today to bow down in awe before the accomplished elderly — but they might take a break from literally beating them up as a gag ad. Guys, gals, you find contempt for the old in the culture, use it to make a buck or get a cruel laugh, and then let it ferment and fester in the world beyond show-biz, a world in which real violence is often committed against the real elderly. No, I can’t take a joke, not yours.”
Click here for the full article.
Lisa Bennett, NOW Communications Director writes “Betty White is a fabulous comedian, but the joke of this ad really is on women and old people–how lame we are physically and how funny it is when we go boom.”
But I am mainly alone. The ad has gone viral.
Branding expert Rick Mathieson writes, “The pitch: You’re like a weak old person until you eat candy. Okay, so maybe it’s not that ageist – the spot is fun and Betty White and Abe Vigoda are a hoot. But you know at some point Mars, Inc. had to have been wondering if this was the right follow-up to last-year’s issue-tinged Super Bowl spot. All that aside, given the candy bar’s young, male “super fan” demographic, this looks like a touchdown.
Well, take a look and tell me what you think? Creeping grumpy old man-ism or just creepy?
Interesting point. Weird to actually see that commercial after hearing the buzz!
I don’t know how I missed this ad during the game. I thought it was funny and wasn’t designed to denigrate Old people. I don’t think it was genius, but it was funny.
I thought it was a waste of time and money. I couldn’t remember who was the advertiser and after I reran it I have to ask what does this have to do with Snickers. All in all I thought it was very sophomoric.
As the Social Security fund is increasingly vulnerable to a weakened economy and as the vast boomer population ages, with fewer people contributing than withdrawing from SS-I fear for more “ageism” and the possibility of even age-related violence.
There is already commentary in cyberspace about how elderly people are taking cruises on the backs of struggling young families whose paychecks reflect so much going to SS. There are, in truth, people withdrawing from SS who really don’t need it. Rather than a safety net for those in dire straits, its become an “entitlement”. It needs reform. I am afraid it may be the basis for the last “acceptable-for-bashing” group (along with unresolved parental conflicts of course!)
Glad to hear Abe Vigoda is alive. I thought he died years ago. The ad was not at all memorable for me. I liked the ad for Google. That’s about it. Good game too.
I didn’t remember the product either until this post. I wouldn’t have noticed the spot at all really except for the controversy. But, truth be told, I’d tackle Betty.
Aaron:
You’d tackle Betty. Is this a show biz feud thing? I knew you weren’t crazy about Jackie Mason but Betty White!
i still watch Boston Legal because for me, this is the best coutroom drama TV series:;,
If you take a moment to think about the implications of that commercial, it really is disturbing. Imagine that commercial being done with short Asian men, or women, or blind people as the laughing target. I think it really does demonstrate the complete lack of respect we have for older people in our society – whether we are conscious of it or not (and clearly, for the most part, we are not).
Boston Legal is one of the longest running coutroom drama TV series~”
I think the ad is hilarious! I don’t think it insults older people at all. The joke is that sometimes when you’re tired, you feel like an old person when you fall or get knocked down, even if you’re only in your 20s or 30s. I’ve been there. A few years ago I was skateboarding and I fell and landed on my butt. When I was a teenager it wouldn’t have hurt so much, and I would have got right back up again and kept skateboarding. But I was older and the pain was tremendous and I felt like I could barely move. I just wanted to go home, so I picked up my skateboard, limped to my car, and drove away. I’ll never forget how I felt like I was 80 years old that day, even though I was only 27. Maybe if I had a Snickers bar packed with peanuts to rejuvenate my energy, I would’ve been ready to skateboard some more!