Whomp-Whomp April 5th, 2012 - 10:28 am | Posted by Zaria Poem

The Rant: Mary J. Blige’s Burger King Promo Was An Absolute ‘No Go’!!!

By now you may have read a blog, been a ‘CC’ on an email or simply heard through the grapevine about MARY J. BLIGE‘s Burger King chicken jingle.

In their latest series of commercials promoting new additions to the menu’s lineup the food chain went the surefire route of employing celeb faces to garner attention.

And attention they got.

Aside from MJB, comedian JAY LENO, actress SALMA HAYEK, and athlete DAVID BECKHAM all have spots endorsing the new items.

Playing on the skills of the celebrities or simply what they’re known for, LENO’s hobby for collecting automobiles was used in his commercial, HAYEK’s acting skills in hers, and BECKHAM’s handsomeness, not soccer, in his.

So that leaves singing to MARY’s spot which received the most backlash. Go figure…

Some viewers saw no harm in the commercial, which has now been pulled because of ‘licensing issues,’ but for many others it stirred a wealth of uneasy sentiments regarding the ever-present perpetuation of stereotypes in the media.

Not everyone gets the memo that Blacks + chicken is almost always a no go.

With her known ‘shoulder bop’ in tow, MJB’s praises for ‘crispy chicken wrapped in a flour tortilla’ was overall cringe-worthy and perhaps laughable for all the wrong reasons.

Companies have done quite well by building their brands off minority stereotypes– that is nothing new.

Celebrities and actors have and will continue to be compensated for these type of roles. However, they are as responsible for the image being put out as the bigwigs who’ve created them.

So at one point does one put integrity over the light bill? And when will we get that there’s no such thing as ‘taking it too serious’ when the smallest things help further such a never-ending cycle?

For every action, no matter the magnitude, there is a reaction.

Without a doubt, this conundrum has been a learning lesson for all parties involved and hopefully it sparks the much needed interest for everyone involved in (and out) the creative field to ‘think before they do.’

So how do you feel about this fiasco? Do you feel that people are ‘too up in arms’ about it? Or was its backlash rightfully received? Tell us why!

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