Much Ado About Nothing?

Much Ado About Nothing?

I must admit, this year’s crop of commercials during the Super Bowl weren’t spectacular. Sure, Audi’s Country Club Prison bit with Kenny G. was great, as were the Bridgestone commercials, but nothing was on par with last year’s Snickers ad with Betty White or even Volkswagen’s “Punch Dub” commercial. In an odd occurrence, the high-priced commercials were no match for the game...well, unless you count that Pepsi Max clip.

You know the one I’m talking about, the one that shows the guy with the woman that finds him snacking in the shower, kicks him in the leg for eyeballing a waitress and after the two find a mutual appreciation for Pepsi Max, throws an empty can at him for smiling at a jogger who sits at a bench next to them in a park. It was hilarious to me and millions of men that have found themselves in those types of situations a few times. It was also funny to most of the 111 million people that watched the Big Game Sunday night, well, except to some Black women that found the depiction to be stereotypical.

Once again the Internets and Twitter are buzzing with articles and tweets by some sisters that were highly offended by the implication that Black women are controlling and/or violent. Oh, I forgot to mention that the couple was Black and the jogger was a White woman. There was a time when a Black man making eyes at a White woman was enough for a lynching, but we’ve moved beyond that (it seems), and now Black women are the sole target of ridicule and condemnation. At least that’s what the reaction will lead you to believe.

Who the hell does Madison Ave. think they are to put out this image of Black women as angry or controlling? How dare Pepsi end their ad with this beautiful Black woman throwing a can at her man and mistakenly hitting a White woman? Where are the image police? Apparently asleep at the wheel, because the idea of a violent, angry Black woman is trotted out weekly on “Basketball Wives” and “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” with scream fests, cussing contests and catfights. But I guess 111 million don’t watch those shows, they’re marketed to and viewed by a demographic that exists at the tail end of strategy meetings.

Or is it possible we’ve become too sensitive and have picked the wrong fight. I wonder how Asian women would’ve reacted has the couple been Asian? Or Latinas? Would it have just been viewed as comedy if it was a White woman or would The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants come out in full force? I understand the feeling Black women have when they feel objectified or stereotyped, but how about taking on BET for their twisted version of “The Game” or the “blackout” at this year’s Academy Awards. On any given day, there are a few dozen reasons to want Hollywood or a bra to burn, but this isn’t one of them. But what do I know? I also laughed at the Doritos commercial that found a guy licking the fingers of a Brother after he finished off a bag. Wait...maybe I should be offended, what say you?