Taco Bell: It's all about the Roosevelts (Baby?)
The minstrel show has gone white. What's up with all the blackface as done in boldface and blatant in advertising these days? There has been a slew of commercials with the same premise of white people acting out, mocking, replicating, biting, pretending to be black people. I suppose it's a homage to make Puffy proud as opposed to just a culture grab, but it's still over done. This 2:00 spot takes every rap video cliche and casted a few white guys and some iron thighed white women to shake their best video garden tool parts to cause a stir in the young white male hearts. At least I believe that's who the target is and these days it doesn't hurt to get a little negative press to mask insensitivity as edgy. See Burger King's square butts for children video and a myriad of burb babies-cum-hoody.
But hey it's not like Black people don't borrow from White culture sometimes too. It just seems that when Black people do it we own it. We change it, we know it implicitly, dare I say we master it. In a sense there is an unspoken respect and adherence to the codified language of whiteness. I think if general market agencies want to continue to borrow so heavily from Black culture it's fine, but do something greater with it. Flip it, change it. Take it somewhere new, like many other cultures do. See M.I.A. and her brand of rap music. She implores us to listen by loving hip hop and her own culture so much that the marriage feels genuine and authentic. Not just as shallow or thin as a dusky coat of black face make-up. Not just to repeatedly say, "Look at me, I'm doing something sorta like what Black people do, duh, aint I funny?" Hip Hop culture is not funny just because it has a White face spitting into a mic. The key is to truly appreciate, honor and respect the culture. Study it to see and understand it's virtues. I guarantee the homework will show up on the test, that is to say; the earnest appreciation will translate well in your final advertising work. Oh and by the way, not meaning to harp here, well yes I do, hiring a more diverse advertising team would not hurt you. In fact it may save you a few hospital trips if the wrong people find out who keeps making these ads. But I jest, like a jester, not a minstrel.
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31 comments:
i like the token brothas in the breakdance scene. like "Yo! we here to get our check, son"
i would like it if the music was good. this beats hammer and the Parachute pants... i think i'm desensitized to this kinda stuff.
i don't watch much teevee anymore...
cosign. my jaw dropped when i first saw that spot.
Dude, here’s the explanation
samax, they put the tokens in to cosign the nonsense. it aint really working for me.
MHB, it's like that old hip hop sample with the deep chuck d voice, "Here we go again!!!"
Anon, I saw that post a while back. I hoped things would change a bit.
I love how you articulated this, but I have to disagree a bit on a couple of points from a viewer perspective, not as a professional...First, looking at what hip hop has become (in the popular sense), I'm not sure that I want to own it in it's current state as truly reflective of African American culture. There are only a few popular artists anymore who I think on some level reflect the intelligence, creativity, and amazingness that I identify with as a black woman and even fewer (if any) who don't use violence and/or women as tools to convey their message. So I see this commercial as picking up on the more negative stuff, which has it's own implications, but...Anyway...
I think that it's sad that the commercial isn't more diverse with maybe a black and a white guy since this is obviously being pulled from African American music. What angers me is when people pull from other cultures, then exclude them from major roles, since it feels to me like plagiarism. I can, however, do without the women since the whole sexualizing and exploiting women thing is a cross-cultural problem and not something that I want to own as a part of our creative expression.
Beyond the lack of diversity that burns me up, I think that this reflects the new generation. White kids are now growing up on hip hop even if they've never had a black friend. I think it shows that they feel like this is their music and they identify with it. Could this commercial connect to other young people and even challenge our black youth to re-envision what hip hop means to them today...maybe it takes an outsider to throw up dimes to challenge kids about drugs and weaponry being cool. If part of our music comes from the pain of being outcasted, can this help in healing by creating a bridge? I don't know. Not that it is the white voice that has the power to make change, but it's sort of like having your mom tell you something, sometimes hearing it from a different source refreshes the message...I just think there could be a positive spin on this somewhere.
At the same time, I did notice the mention of the cul-de-sac and the convertible, which speaks to economic privelege. I am also aware of the fact that these kids in the clip can play these roles without the stereotypes and other baggage that black youth in the same roles carry.
Anyhow, you hit a nerve with me on this one. I agree that they clearly need a more diverse staff and maybe some time to reflect on the broader messages here, both negative and positive. Also, I have to confess that if I saw this at home with my husband, I'd be pissed off first, and then have to think about all this other stuff later.
Thanks for the thought provoking post!
nah, i know why the Token dudes are there... that's why i like it! i like it BECAUSE it's ignorant!
like "wow... that's ignorant!"
your response is right in a lotta ways. i've become numb to it.
as a black dude who showed creative talent, intelligence, and a sense of humor as a child, i was encouraged (repeatedly) to go into advertising. the main reason i didn't was so that i would not have to BE those brothers in this commercial, cosigning the nonsense.
it was a rough road to carve out some semblance of a living-wage-earning art career without going that route... but these commercials remind me why it was worth it.
The minstrel show has always been White. If you believe these ads are imitating Black people, then you must believe Black people do indeed act the way the actors in the commercial behave.
Oh, and the the "when Black people do it, it's different" arguement. Tiring.
And then end it off with a threat. You bring it on yourself. No one is scared of you Black man (a.k.a. 13% of the population). You better bring some new game to the table - homey.
bambizzoozled,
thanks for commenting. I said they are "acting out," "mocking" also "pretending to be" black or a conceptual shorthand there of. And yes there have been far too many black videos that display this behavior and worse. They get my eternal disdain as well as my active role in alleviate that ignorance too.
By no means am I suggesting any degrading portrayals of white people are right either. Any offenses against any human being are intolerable. Now that is trick to do sometimes in advertising. But it can be and has been done!
Also... I ended it with a joke, not a threat.
And for you to say, "No one is scared of you Black man," that was the nicest thing anybody has said to me in looooong time. I mean with all the pocketbooks being clutched tighter as I walk by, people avoiding eye contact, picking up their little kids as I come near, grown men afraid of me walking behind them and even crossing the street as I approach and gun sales going through the roof when a Black man was elected President. It's really nice to hear no one is afraid of a Black man. Makes a brother happy. Thank you.
We should have a beer sometime. Seriously, my treat.
thanks for this post, Craig.
It's just tiresome at this point. The same joke getting recycled again and again, but by less and less funny people.
That said, I still dig D*ck In a Box, though. Maybe it's because it felt a little more genuine digging down into that Color Me Badd era and pulling out a perfect replica of that era.
As for Taco Bell/Visa/Whoever: AHNT. Make me laugh or go home. I can't take it anymore.
Jenn, I was really generalizing about the rash of this kind of TV spot lately. If racism is a wall that keeps our minds and hearts lock in human denial and suffrage. It's this type of endless ignorance that supply the brick and mortar for this matrix of despair.
raafi! we gotta work together! I need a firewire download of your freakishly smart brain!
Ambs, you might wanna click that bambizzoozled guy's name and profile to see what dude is into on his blogs. He actually trolls the internet for incidents of people mentioning "blackface" to rabidly and joyfully post about on his blogs. And if that aint enough background material for ya, then check out dudes other blog; it highlights and delights in glorifying gun violence!
But I'm still gonna have a beer with dude if he's down.
I hate that people try to ascribe the popular artistic movement of Hip-Hop as BLACK culture. It was spawned from Black culture surely, but by the time any of you heard it...
Hip-Hop was wearing Blackface. Mobb Deep is wearing Blackface. Wu-Tang was wearing Blackface. My favorite group, Public Enemy, was wearing Blackface.
White kids from the suburbs made the artistic movement of Hip-Hop a cultural and COMMERCIAL force. Hip-Hop, excuse me, rap artists were able to accrue riches by touring in front of almost exclusively white audiences.
Now that white folks want to see themselves posited as Hip-Hop heroes (Asher Roth?) why are people so upset? White folx been done owned this rap shit from the first day I heard it. Y'all fools need to catch the eff up.
Dallas I don't think anyone doubts the "popular" hip-hop is very much an all American culture now days (all people included). I have to ask you; is "Classical music considered to be of European culture? It seems sometimes people love art forms so much that they want to make them their own. And I think that's OK. But we don't have to deny it's origins or the driving force behind it to do so. But how can you guess when any and everybody first "heard it" and that is was wearing blackface? I don't understand what that means. Could you please clarify that statement? Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, P.E. wearing Blackface, what does that mean to you? How are you defining Blackface? This is not for the sake of argument, but hopefully for enlightenment. (I think bambizzoozled would want to know too, he keeps records on this stuff)
White kids did not make hip hop a cultural force. Hip-hop was viable, exiting, intelligent, sexy, humorous and selling, way before white people (as a large group) caught the vapors. Not only was it a "movement" by the truest definition of the word - It is so powerful that all of it's pillars are thriving today and fuel damn near every art form it is mixed with. Your statement denies that there is a Black culture and also contends that Black culture and hip hop are powerless without white approval and acceptance. And that my good man is wrong.
White kids simply glommed on. In someways they furthered the art form and in someway the hurt it. But that can be said of many participants in any art form regardless of skin color, ethnicity, etc.
I see you put "commercial" in all caps feeling that was your strongest point. The music was selling before the global success. But white kids did blow up the spot as far as dollars were concerned. I really do feel that it's the other way around somewhat as hip-hop has become the "FORCE" within the commercialism and not the reverse.
That last statement is just baseless. It's greedy and short sighted. Who owns rap music? You suggest it's white people? We all own it. It was made to be shared to be fun and to be participated in by anyone who so desired. But you should go a little deeper than your 1999 point of view and see who created it. You'll find some Black & Latino people who were big hearted and unselfish enough to share it with you.
Is this a parody of what SNL has been doing for a few months now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pXfHLUlZf4 .But yeah its a minstrel show but its actually a diluted minstrel show
brimm vs bambizzoozled. the battle is on.
HJ, No battle, best buds!
Craig Brimm,
I am very happy to learn you do not defend what I call the neocoons, such
as T-Pain, Ying Yang Twins, and Lil Jon. Cut their ass from the herd and move upward and onward.
Insofar as offenses against humans being intolerable - sure. But this commercial doesn't qualify.
And, you say your typically threatening words are a joke? Please. You have a convenient sense of humor.
Roosevelts is a direct parody of "All About the Benjamins" - remember that? Or do you have convenient memory as well? This commercial is nothing but comedy, with a hip hop twist.
Taco Bell had been on a rap tip for a minute; they had those terrible commercials where the kids were rapping their orders into the drive-through ordering system.
In fact, I would go so far as to say the 79-89-99 menu ad campaign has been very hip hop flavored. So what does this tell us? Is Taco Bell targeting Black youth? Unlikely. Would this commercial really accomplish that?
Is _hip_hop_ even targeting real Black people? Also unlikely.
The majority of hip hop listeners - just like the majority of folks who won the Civil War, and the majority of the American population, and the majority of people who voted for Barack Obama - are White. Taco Bell is tapping directly into their minds. Hip hop has been marketing to these same youth very successfully.
Hip hop glorified certain lifestyle choices, and the listeners were effected. They had become part of the hip hop "culture" - the White part.
So you see, their is an overlap of cultures here; Black, White, and the "culture" of hip hop.
So, what you see in this commercial is all very White. A lot of White youth are just what you see there. So, if you are so embarrassed (or whatever) by it, quit claiming it's yours. Seems to me like the Black man invented everything if you listen to enough Black culture prosetylizers.
Or maybe Taco Bell's trying to say brothers ain't got no cabbage! Aw hell nah! It's on, bitch! [sic - since that was all spelled correctly for the most part]
Regarding the purse clutching, etc. - that's what the same type of people do when they see me. You think it is happening to you because you are Black. It seems Black people have a tendency to think that everything is happening to them because they are Black. It is time to get over it.
When I lived in Los Angeles, people crossed the street when they saw me coming. Even groups of gangsters would at least move aside without having to be told to do so. And I am talking about me, by myself, at night. People are simply afraid of some people.
People are afraid of all the horrific things they are fed all day e'er day: the abductions, the killings, the assaults, the drive-bys. The see what pure evil humans are all perfectly capable of every damn day. They are fed the fear, and (just to be cliche) you are what you eat.
Anyway, what was I rambling about? Get a sense of humor joker man. I know it would end your blog career, but quit thinking everything is Black-oriented. The edges of culture are like the fresh water river meeting the salty sea.
Sincerely,
Todd Gwynn
Post Script:
Yes, I am all about the study of blackface. And yes, I am into the study of those who were willing to give their lives to draw attention to their plight (but also took a few others with them).
Dallas,
I just don't know what to say to that. To get a better definition of what blackface is, just click on my name and look at my blog, or its associated web site.
Thank you,
Todd Gwynn
Jennifer,
Thank God that you exist.
Todd,
I really do agree with the bulk of what you said. I know, it surprises me too. I can see where you missed my points and I have probably misconstrued yours also. It's obvious that what offends one makes another laugh. Yep, hip-hop is popular culture now days. Good point; Taco Bell is targeting and probably hitting mainstream America with what started off as an African American subculture. I was speaking to the large influx of this same idea primarily as it relates to the creative and the lack of diversity in the advertising industry. It's like 1960 all over again there. I cannot and would not deny the majority and the incredible contributions they have made. Nor can I deny the enormous atrocities either. And like you I see fit to make note of some of the smaller incidences of "blackface" as well.
I see again you try to insult me personally. Meh... it aint working. So I don't know how to help you out there. Maybe try a few "Yo Mama" jokes. Those are lots of fun.
As far as the sense of humor thing is concerned... I make no claims of having one or delivering the funny, just blogging here.
You know there are other blogs that may fit your sense of humor better??
But you seem like a smart guy and I'd like to hear more of your comments right here.
Thanks again Todd.
Not sure where Todd is coming from. He says people in Los Angeles crossed the street when they saw him approaching. Why? Because they think he looks like a serial killer? Don’t get it.
Have a slightly different take on this spot. It’s not that it was likely done by Whites who think it’s funny; rather, it was likely done by older Whites (30s-40s) who think this shit is funny. It is so dated and contrived. It’s not a parody. It’s the work of people who are completely out of touch with contemporary culture. It’s a poor (White) man’s Smirnoff Tea Partay. Will bet cash money there were lots of fist bumps during the production of this mess, with the creators believing they were totally cool. That’s what makes it pathetic.
Not sure where Todd is coming from. He says people in Los Angeles crossed the street when they saw him approaching. Why? Because they think he looks like a serial killer? Don’t get it.
Have a slightly different take on this spot. It’s not that it was likely done by Whites who think it’s funny; rather, it was likely done by older Whites (30s-40s) who think this shit is funny. It is so dated and contrived. It’s not a parody. It’s the work of people who are completely out of touch with contemporary culture. It’s a poor (White) man’s Smirnoff Tea Partay. Will bet cash money there were lots of fist bumps during the production of this mess, with the creators believing they were totally cool. That’s what makes it pathetic.
Well, I had put up another comment. I don't what happened to it.
Basically, though, Craig, the sense of humor you require would hopefully kick in while you view ads. Not everything that tangentially draws on some minor facet of what Black people are as a whole is an offense to humanity.
The majority of people in America (as we learned earlier - White people) have given consideration to your plight. It took a nation of millions (White ones) for Blacks to make social gains. There is simply no way Blacks could have ever done it on their own. But, you know what? It's done.
It's noon in America, and it's time for the Black people to wake up.
Get up, stand up, Black man. People died so that you would be treated like a man. Numerous White people gave their lives for you.
However, if it is shown that Black people are simply going to complain, regardless of the American condition, then they will eventually be ignored. If you lash out as a group after being ignored, it will be the impetus of the worst thing to ever happen to Black people in America - even slavery.
Let us not forget the White slaves that were in America in the beginning. Let us not forget the Blacks who owned Black slaves. Let us not forget the slave traders who themselves were Black. All that shit existed.
Blaming the White man for everything ends now.
Also, I'm pissed off about my comment not showing up.
Todd, I don't know what happen to your other post. I haven't delete any as you can see. Resubmit if you'd like.
I am not pissed off AT YOU. I am just pissed off. The comment is gone forever. There is no re-posting it. It was lengthy and well-worded. That's why I am pissed.
It's just one of these things where it says "this will take a few minutes to appear," but it never did. Computers.
Todd,
I will lose no sleep over your lost comment. In fact, your comments to date have helped put me to sleep. Thank you, my friend.
honestly i have seen many rap videos that are exactly the same as that .... They are not trying to pull on the African Americans they are trying to pull at the younger generation(13-17).
The fact that you all think that it ignorant and offensive just shows what lengths you will go to to be offended. Get over yourselves.
You don't here Italians whining when they have commercials with your stereo typical fat greasy Italian speaking with a bad Brooklyn accent.
It's a joke take it as that.......
One more thing, juliemcandrews. The advertising agency responsible for this Taco Bell commercial has produced commercials offending Italian Americans and other groups. Their cultural cluelessness exceeds even yours. Should we ignore their history of ignorance? Honestly, people like you and Todd need to gain some knowledge before typing uninformed statements.
dude, who let the crazies in?
@Craig: anytime.
My bottom line is this:some white parodies of black cultural norms are entertaining, some aren't. Similarly, I dislike when most black comedians do the white voice, but Chris Rock gets a pass any day.
What complicates the issue here is that the advertising business has a notoriously poor record in hiring minorities. So when these same jokes are trotted out again and again, by less and less talented people -- and this spot is clearly an example -- it is almost certainly because there weren't enough people of color in the room to say "hell naw." Or probably, "that's not funny." (or entertaining, or cool, or original).
There's nothing to "lighten up" about, no selves to "get over." It's just a vapid, and derivative piece of advertising. What makes it so vom-inducing from my standpoint is that the people who made it probably thought it was so cool when they were doing it. Like @Anonymous said, they were probably fist-bumping their way through the shoot, all "this is gonna be So Awesome," living out their Hype Williams fantasy. And instead it's just another reason for people who actually care about hip-hop to never eat at Taco Bell. Oh and cue the breakdancing scene. We definitely need one of those, you know, for all the "playas" out there.
More intelligent discussion of advertising, please.
You know I hate to admit it, but this ad has actually worked on me. It was strictly economically influenced.
Bookmarked this. Thank you for sharing. Undoubtedly benefit my time.
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