And a few times they showed a commercial for Carlos Gonzalez (aka CarGo) and Taco Bell.
How racist!
How dare they ask a Latino player to advertise Spanish food!
Racist!
Yes - I'm being sarcastic.
Because as we just found out with poor Mary K. Blige, a black person cannot be given the job of advertising fried chicken, because that's just racist.
And the worst thing is, Mary K. Blige, instead of telling the black community to just chill out, says she "understands" why the community is upset.
Mary J. Blige Understands Why Her Fans Are Upset By Burger King Chicken Wraps Commercial
The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Mary J. Blige is being criticized for her depiction in a new commercial for Burger King that has been removed from the fast food restaurant's YouTube page just one day after its release.
Blige joins David Beckham, Jay Leno, Steven Tyler and Salma Hayek as one of the celebrities in Burger King's star-studded national advertising campaign to promote the restaurant's new menu.
In Blige's 30-second clip, a customer enters the eatery and asks for the ingredients in the crispy chicken snack wraps. Blige interjects, "What's in the new chicken wraps?" and launches into a hip-hop R&B song about the food item as the table she's standing on turns into the stage in a disco. She sings, "Crispy chicken, lettuce, three cheeses, ranch dressing, wrapped up inside a tasty flour tortilla."
Blige's fans expressed outrage online. Music journalist Jayson Rodriguez said he was confused about Blige's involvement in the spot. "Where's the Funny or Die! bumper at the end of the clip?" he wrote via Twitter.
Black Enterprise writer Janell Hazelwood said the commercial looked like a skit from "Saturday Night Live." Hazelwood noted that the endorsements from Leno and Beckham, which are still available on Burger King's YouTube channel, were not demeaning.
"Late-night talk show host Jay Leno and oh-so-fine soccer superstar David Beckham both have recent Burger King commercials, yet those do not include them making a mockery of their brands," she wrote.
Blige explains her concerns about the commercial in a statement released to TMZ. "I agreed to be a part of a fun and creative campaign that was supposed to feature a dream sequence. Unfortunately, that's not what was happening in that clip," she said.
Blige added that she knows why her fans are angry."I understand my fans being upset by what they saw. But, if you're a Mary fan, you have to know I would never allow an unfinished spot like the one you saw to go out."
According to spokesperson for Burger King, Blige's commercial was removed due to a legal matter. "A spot featuring Mary J. Blige aired yesterday prior to final music approvals and has been pulled," the spokesperson said in a statement released to Yahoo! Music. "BURGER KING looks forward to putting the advertisement on air very soon."
The statement added that the corporation was proud to launch the campaign with Blige, Leno, Tyler and Hayek. "The celebrities were chosen to represent the many faces of the American melting pot to introduce the newest menu items in a variety of fun, lighthearted scenes."
Blige is rumored to have been paid $2 million to appear in the commercial. A spokesperson for Mary J. Blige said her record company did not have a comment.
I am not personally bothered that Blige teamed with Burger King. But I do think she is portrayed as a caricature. The thought of a black woman standing on top of a table singing about fried chicken is stereotypical.
What is demeaning or stereoptypical about it?
Did white folk get all hot and bothered at that Doritos commercial a few months ago, where some nerdy white man leans down and actually sucks the finger of a man (who happens to be black) because he's got Dorito stuff on his fingers?
How about the Subway commercial where a bunch of white people - a biker, a car driver, and a jogger, fall head over heels because they see some great price on a Subway sandwich?
Or the commercial where two middle-aged white guys are in a car. One of them throws a chicken tender up into the air, it lands on the sunroof, the other guy eats it, and says he's eaten stuff from under the car before.
Talk about demeaning! Talk about dumbing down!
And so when a singer stands on a table and sings, that's supposed to be demeaning? I think not. Or at least, not half as bad as most of the commercials out there.
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