That's the question a lot of people seem to be asking. I haven't personally seen the commercial air on television that is quickly finding itself at the center of this online debate, but I know people who have and they all seem to be split on it's intended message.
In the commercial two black men are seen dancing together extremely close in a club while a woman who appears to be the girlfriend or love interest looks on as one of the men holds two Burger King chicken sandwiches in his hands. If this ad was supposed to entice the viewer to buy the sandwich it's doing everything but that...the sandwich is clearly an afterthought.
Here's what some black readers over at the notoriously homophobic AOL Black Voices had to say about the ad:
RxBlackAmerica: "Is BK endorsing down-low enjoyment? This is absolutely disgusting! I am appalled that Burger King even thought to create this, and that these actors would go along in participating in this! WHY do we have to have Black men behave?and be?depicted in this manner? And people wonder why Black women are tired of some of this mess. The down-low insinuation is more than clear in this piece."
kreal11: "Okay, although when I first saw that commercial the first thing came to mind was "damn, why dude gotta be all up on other dude like that" but then again, it's just a commercial about buying some damn nasty sandwich and getting another for free, and having both hands full, I dont see it as promoting down low activites. Dont get me wrong, there's possible subliminal messaging going on, but i doubt its really that serious."
Is it serious? Well I guess that depends on who you ask. But consider this line from the ad spoken by the black woman to the two men as they "bump and grind" on the dance floor: Woman: "This is kinda weird." Man: "It can get a lot weirder." And let's not forget the title attached to the video "Very strange black man."
Maybe the ad isn't to be taken seriously, but it sure provides a topic of discussion around water coolers and sadly ammunition for black homophobes.
Get into the video below:
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