It wasn’t that deep to me. I laughed cause I thought it was funny and cute; then moved on to more important matters.

We had a power outage in the neighborhood and Superbowl parties were canceled, so I missed the Superbowl and accompanying commercials. I KNEW when I saw the “my mama and my Doritos” commentary on Facebook (accompanied by LOLs) that I would not like this commercial. The first time I saw it was on your blog a few seconds ago. The five million dollar price tag makes me like it less. I can’t laugh at a child slapping an adult. I don’t like what this child’s behavior implies about him being (or feeling that he is) the man of the house. I wonder why ads have become so lazy and predictable. Could this have been any other race of people? Or does “mama” just add special flavor to the punch line? Could this have been a single Asian-American dad who left his date alone with his little girl?

From the video game remote, to the lustful suitor, to the violent, disrespectful little black boy. We’re headed backwards in America. Marketing is driven by exploitation and stereotypes,not creativity. Violence and breasts were the order of the day on most of the commercials Sunday. Worse than that, our people are asleep Renita. Straight up ASLEEP! “We” don’t see it, so “we” can’t challenge it. If the Pro-Lifers can put their money together to run Superbowl ads and the Tea Baggers can pay for all sorts of media abuses, why cant “we” put our money together to market a thought provoking message to this country about backwards thinking? Please offer me a solution or next step.

Doc,

I thought I was the only person who found it quite disturbing. First off it is never cute for a child to be slapping anyone in the face let alone a grown man. I really can’t form an intelligent thoughts…I mean why do people think it is so casual to introduce their children to random men and then walk away, even for a few moments? Ummm, why do men continue NOT step up when they have the opportunity? Why is this man all googly-eyed over the woman right in front of her son? Why is this acceptable? It is sad because this is a common representation of our realty so I can’t even play the exploitation card. It is like nothing is sacred anymore. I have just been feeling so out of touch with reality lately, what with the Grammy’s and yet another round of reality shows that are so wildly popular. I don’t get any of it. Help me Rev. Weems….how does one grow mature and remain relevant in this world? I have been pondering this thought for some time because I want to be able to communicate and reach people where they are without judgment but it it becoming increasingly difficult as my acceptance meter is in overload. I can’t even make it through commercials without being disgusted/outraged/sad. And finally, I have two daughters aged 8 and 4 that I want to be able to relate to as they mature. I surely don’t want them to be sheltered but how do you establish boundaries when it SEEMS that the most private and disturbing things have become so commonplace and normal? I am becoming a crazy old lady at the age of 38 (I have to fight the urge to scream, “The devil is a liar!” while laying hands whenever/wherever I deem necessary)…..sorry for rambling/length/etc.

Come on. I don’t think it’s that funny but aren’t we reading too much into it. How many old white ladies- do you hear saying “Where’s the beef?” Are they all sassy and impertinent? Why does everything that black people do or say on TV particularily advertising (which has about 10 seconds to promote it’s product) have to be a reflection on the race, our sons, our daughters? Can I say get a life!

Greetings all. The comments are dead on. I heard about the commerical from someone who thought it was funny before seeing on your blog; after seeing it I beleive it’s deplorable. I would not have even accepted the acting job for this commerical.

This is just another reminder of the level of desenitization in our community. We’ve gone from Black Pride to no pride over the years. We’ve got to wake up and see what those with the dollars are saying and showing about our community.

This was a commentary on all the stereotypes of blacks: the broken black family, the desperate single feamle, the oversexed male and the angry and violent black male child. What’s chips got to do with it?

I believe Doritos is a Layes brand product so I may have to boycot.

It’s shameful.
V-

I was just talking about this over on Facebook after I couldn’t take all the folks who “loved” the ad. This is what I posted on my profile:

The cultural critic in me took issue with the commercial, especially since the actors were African American. It seemed to reinforce the idea that a young boy needs to defend his mother’s honor when he is neither emotionally or physically up to the challenge. Why put that type of baggage on a child? I did laugh, but maybe more because it was uncomfortable??!! I cringe thinking of all the young boys who were watching the Super Bowl yesterday who identified with that commerical, (in the service of chip sales at that). The narrative reinforced some madness in our community. Not so funny after all.

i saw the commercial a month ago. the amateur director i beleive received 100k for having his/her commercial aired. i was upset because the commercial shows atypical behavior that is not approved of by decent, upstanding, woman of color. i do not want to be lusted after. i do not want my kids to be mesmerized by video games. i do not want my kids to think it is acceptable to hit and adult. i do not want my kids fighting over food with an adult.

I just wonder when will the boy (or others his age) ever get to be just a child. When will he get to feel protected instead of feeling he needs to be the protector. I believe when children see that commercial and see adults laughing at the actions of the child it sends a message that there are times when it is alright to hit and sass an adult, although it must be said that the man was not acting like an adult who commanded respect in the presence of the child. I am surely old enough to be that child’s grandmother. I wonder if anyone in my generation thought that commercial was funny. I eat Doritos too!

@Janine

Great questions! I think this is what we’re getting at while still managing to have a life.

Many Blessings!

@Monique
Thanks.
I don’t know where folks get the idea that having an inquiring mind, that being a thinking woman, that questioning the subliminal message found in popular culture– means you must not have a life. The implication is that people who have a life don’t bother thinking, questioning, and challenging the way things are.

I see Super Bowl commercials for what they are - breaks in action and that particular break, as were a couple of others, was very funny. I mean, it’s DORITOS! I didn’t even think to take any of them that serious. But I appreciate, as always, the discussions. Blessings.

@WIT
Just because it was a commercial for DORITOS (for God’s sake), and just because commercials are commercials (for God’s sake), surely you don’t mean to say that commercials of these sort get a pass. I know you don’t mean that because you’ve had some pretty smart criticism to offer here on the blog about popular culture.

Hey, I haven’t called for a boycott of Doritos chips by black women (ha!), nor am I calling for a boycott of the Super Bowl.

I’m just saying…after the “isn’t that cute?” or “that’s so funny” you sober up and scratch your weave and think, “wow: unmarried single black mother, black son playing man before mama’s date, black boy ready to fight over Doritos (and of yeah, his mama), etc.

The commercial wouldn’t have been nearly as funny if it had been a white little boy, and advertisers know it. Black audiences are the only ones who don’t.

Can we fault the advertisers for knowing their demographics and writing an ad that speaks to that demographic? No, it would not have been as funny if it were a little white boy-that’s why it’s advertising and not a documentary. Sixty-seven percent 67% of little white boys don’t grow up in a single parent household.It is what it is for better or for worse. Perhaps you will say Dorito is exploiting an unfortunate reality in our community-art imitates life and life isn’t always pretty.

I will admit that I thought the ad was funny. It did what it was supposed to do: be memorable and get people talking. Commercials are not written to be politically correct nor correct stereotypes…in fact, they do just the opposite. I’m not saying the critiques I’ve read here aren’t without warrant…but to take this commercial and only this commercial on is problematic, because the vast majority of Super Bowls ads this year (as they typically are every year) were misogynistic in tone. So if we are to be truly womanist in scope, and look toward the broader human and universal implications, there should also be some posts bemoaning the treatment/exploitation of women and especially the female body in Super Bowl ads, the glorification of drinking in Super Bowls ads, etc. It shouldn’t have been just this one Doritos ad that was taken to task when there were so many offenders.

@Kimberly,
Browse around the blog. As you can see from the index to the right, this blog is not a one issue blog. I’m continually critiquing popular culture, and the exploitation of women’s bodies is a regular topic on this blog.

@Sharon
“Can we fault the advertisers for knowing their demographics and writing an ad that speaks to that demographic? ”

Speechless at such such reasoning. Following your reasoning. I guess the answer is no, we can not fault the advertisers. No more than we can fault power brokers throughout the media for “knowing” us, for being able to take socio-economic data about various populations and exploit that data for their capitalist and political purposes. You’re right. Why be mad at Fox News? Why get upset with Don Imus? Why keep harping on Daniel Moynihan? Why take issue with conservative think tanks. They only say what’s true about us.

@Kimberly,
Browse around the blog. As you can see from the index to the right, this blog is not a one issue blog. I’m continually critiquing popular culture, and the exploitation of women’s bodies is a regular topic on this blog.

My comments were not a pronouncement about the blog in general. My comments were reflective of the Doritos thread in particular. I meant posts in this thread, not the total sum of posts on this entire blog.

I know exactly what you meant. My point remains: I’m on record for challenging women’s exploitation in the media. I will continue to do that. Right now it’s the Little Man commercial that’s under my microscope.

@Sharon, don’t be so certain that the demographic for this commercial was just African Americans. This commercial was for everyone. It rang true (the common stereotypes about blacks) for everyone. That is exactly the problem! And I also disagree that it is just a 30 second commercial. The quick fast messages that rely on you to supply the rest of the context (single mom, absent father, etc.) are the most dangerous messages and they perpetuate stereotypes. Really, I am surprised more folks aren’t outraged.

I did not enjoy the commercial because I do not find children being out of order cute. A youngster must be taught to speak and behave appropriately with adults both inside and outside of the family. I understand that I would be considered old fashioned, but if my son acted as the child did on the commercial, I would have demanded that he apologize for his behavior, beat his butt and send him to his room.

I don’t like anything about the commercial. Don’t like the momma going off and leaving the child unattended with someone who is to him a perfect stranger - there was barely an introduction. Don’t like the man openly ogling the woman in the face of her son. Don’t like the ridiculous attempt at familiarity with the child, who rightly sees through it. Don’t like the term “little man” which contributes to the problem that so many on this blog are discussing. Don’t like the slapping of the face or even the in-your-face attitude of the little boy that reinforces the idea that the woman/momma and the Doritos are both property for men/boys to fight over. What I like the least is that all of those ideas are far more pervasive than just the commercial. I am more angry with the culture than with the commercial that exploits it. And yes the commercials were almost all crazily misogynist. Did anyone else find it odd that the Focus on the Family commercial that was supposed to celebrate Tebow’s motherhood included her beloved son tackling her? That wasn’t an image I appreciated either.

Thanks to all for reminding me why I don’t watch the Super Bowl or most other tv sports programs.

Did you all also see the commercials for the past few years, the men’s hair color commercials with basketball great Walt Frazier and the other dude whose name I don’t remember? Geez, we never get a break, do we?

@ Kesha, I just don’t see what is dangerous about the stereotype of single mom,absent father. All stereotypes are not negative nor untrue.

@Renita, you have me thinking about my reasoning on using socio-economic data about various populations and exploiting that data for their capitalist and political purposes. However, I would take Don Imus out of the equation his comments were on entirely different level of ignorance. I’ll get back to you:)

My $.02

Marketing is driven by exploitation and stereotypes,not creativity.

Yes, I saw the commercial during the game. I opened my mouth and shook my head and said, and even twitter the following statement, “They went Ghetto on a Dorito commercial…don’t believe it! yikes!!!”

For I believe that during the 2-3 seconds/minutes breaks during a game or sport event is the most crucial time to appeal and impact the human mind AND marketing folks knows it for it is embedded in our psyche and how we process information.

So, after I ‘twittered’ and ’scratched-my-weave’ or head in disgrace, I thought more about it and realized this was not creative at all - it was pure xploitation!

Amazing! Our willingness to explain, accept and justify demeaning and racist representations of Black people. This commercial does not exist in a social vacuum. It must be read within a landscape where the media, schools and even our own community criminalize Black boys and situate their lives in a deficit model. Cute? Not for a minute. The commercial places the young Black boy in an environment that reeks with raw sexuality and a message that subtly depicts Black women as sexual objects and loose women whose sexuality is so out of control that their sons have to protect them. The Black man is sexual predator. Not to mention that the little boy sounds like a modern day Willis. You know the one that said what you mean by dat? I don’t know about you, but I still adhere to boundaries. There is some adult business that children have no business in. This is one occasion. I could write much more on this commercial but I will constrain myself to avoid a rap on my knuckles.

By the way, Black people live in neighborhoods and communities not ghettoes. This is worth a conversation at a later date.

Ruby Sales

Thank you for this question. Before reading this blog I only knew one other person that had a problem with this commercial. I was surprised that the comments from everyone on FB and my friends were positive and supportive of what to me is a really disturbing example of how advertisers continue to present African Americans in as negative a light as possible. And even worse that we laugh at it and can’t see what’s happening.

You know you’ve got a problem when a ridiculously misbehaving little boy has the most sense. I agree with the critical assessments of the racist and sexist images used in this ad to sell snacks.
Thank you, Dr. Weems, for providing a space for critical thinking.

I thought that I was the ONLY one who was disturbed by this image. I think that they could have sold the message of a protective son without the blatant disrespectful image of him slapping an adult Black man. Other fans said, “Oh, it’s just entertainment”… but that is where the true sin begins… by our dismissive attitudes over issues that become concerns and then later, problems. I am glad, Dr Reems, that you brought this up.

Not saying anyone is wrong and I’m right but I am looking at this in the sense that Blacks are trying to move forward and these types of stereotypical personas depicted in commercials and other roles take us a step backward toward the ole Stepin Fetchit days.

The fact that we are desensitized to it speaks volumes and is scary.

There were a lot of symbolisms and stereotypes in the commercial:
Typical Black Woman = single parent, poor child rearing skills, hoochy momma
Typical Black child = disrespectful, violent, sass talking, games system remote toting person.
Typcial Black Man = lusty, disrespectful to children (lusting over mother in front of her child), poor role model, and a whimp

I guaruntee that this commercial would not have had the same effect if the characters were swapped out for caucasians.

We’re already viewed negatively WORLD WIDE I just dont think further confirmation is needed or necessary. Just something to think about.

one caveat: I don’t know one black man that would allow a child to smack him in the face and live to tell it.

I applaud this commercial for waking me up again. I used to write letters to the advertisers when I felt their commercials were based on racial stereotypes of African Americans and question who was working in their marketing departments that they would think content like that seen in this commercial was acceptable. I would let them know that thinking African Americans (who also purchase products of they type they were advertising) would most likely be offended as I was.

I certainly hope this was not the concept of an African American. As you all already spoke to, there are so many things wrong with this commercial. It’s like our people are a joke. Makes me sad and concerned for the future for our children.

Ok..I thought I was the only one that felt this way about the commercial. With the inundation of cynicism and soapbox speeches on facebook, I’ve been a little worn out. Sometimes I feel there is no reason to respond to the ignorance on television and/or the ignorant responses online BUT this really bothered me.
With that said - ugh! this commercial has so many things wrong with it. I cannot go into them all but everyone has touched on my concerns, as well.

Maybe it’s because I’m about to be a mom that I’ve become a little more aware of rude children. But this commercial takes the cake. The sad thing is that it was such a hit amongst facebookers! There’s even a huge fan page with over 100,000 fans (at least).

I am not a woman of color and my reaction to this commercial did not take into consideration the skin tones or ethnicity of the actors. I was simply taken aback by the violence and presumption that this was humor. It was not funny to me. The use of violence to sell anything: video games, music, movies, corn chips; is appalling. The man leered as the woman walked away, completely disregarding the small boy watching him. This sexual byplay with a child present borders on child abuse. This commercial not only denigrates women, it sexualizes children and frankly, is equally disrespectful of men. What really troubles me, however, is that so many people see nothing wrong with the commercial. Recently I saw all of the Dorito commercial entries for the Super Bowl and noted that every one of them used violence as a vehicle for humor. The tolerance of violence at any level only increases the acceptance of our increasingly violent society.

One caveat: the creative energy behind this commercial is a Puerto Rican man. This commercial was selected via a contest.

I heard about this ad and have not actually seen it (only stills from it) but my immediate reaction was ‘tongue in cheek’to say the least- especially since the person describing it to me obviously thought it was great. I’ve wondered if seeing it instead of hearing about it first, would have caused me to react differently but after reading several opinions on the matter, I think reaction to it is not so much a judgement on the ‘morality’ of the viewer as it is an indication of the different levels of sensitivity to matters of moral and social consequence. I think selling chips to millions of viewers could have been done without engaging in the tasteless reinforcement of negative stereotypes that encourages inappropriate behavior in children (i.e. it’s okay to randomly slap people whose behaviour you find offensive)