Muller Rice release a toe-curlingly bad 'diverse' advert

[editor]

Oh my Lord. What were they thinking.

 

[camouflage]

Oh my Lord. What were they thinking.

I saw that the other night, found the 'hair-styles' amusing, enjoyed being reminded of the song, wasn't really toe-curling imo, just chucklingly bad. tbh I thought the thread title was to do with the Americans and their media-adventure that they're having chasing Russian conspiracies with their Russian Finder General Mueller or whatever his name is. Would certainly fit more with the theme of P&P don't ya think?

 

[Nanker Phelge]

Ignorant racial stereotypes are not amusing.

 

[Wookey]

It's fucking brilliant.

They're bears, I do like bears.

I fancy a rice pudding!

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

What is so wrong there? Polar bears wearing makeup to pretend to be brown bears?

 

[camouflage]

What is so wrong there? Polar bears wearing makeup to pretend to be brown bears?

they are rapping, and some of them have hair-styles known to be used by black people.

 

[DotCommunist]

ruining a luniz classic ffs

 

[Silas Loom]

Is this a pastiche of a song, or band, that the target audience for this product would be expected to recognise? And if so, why am I not in the right demographic?

 

[Mation]

I saw that the other night, found the 'hair-styles' amusing, enjoyed being reminded of the song, wasn't really toe-curling imo, just chucklingly bad.

Oh god I think it's horrific. But it is entertaining me that we disagree about something

 

[camouflage]

Oh god I think it's horrific. But it is entertaining me that we disagree about something

Finally!

Do you think it's horrific in a racist way, or as in- a crap advert featuring that stupid bear with the silly hair?

 

[DotCommunist]

Is this a pastiche of a song, or band, that the target audience for this product would be expected to recognise? And if so, why am I not in the right demographic?

the luniz song was about contributing 5 dollars for the 10 dollar bag of weed, its a classic of its time. Presumably its after the stoned munchies market but with added health message because those who remember that song the first time round are old enough to care about healthy eating now

 

[Silas Loom]

the luniz song was about contributing 5 dollars for the 10 dollar bag of weed, its a classic of its time. Presumably its after the stoned munchies market but with added health message because those who remember that song the first time round are old enough to care about healthy eating now

Right. I still don't see where the Hofmeister bear fits into it all, or why it has so upset the editor, but thank you.

 

[Mation]

Finally!

Do you think it's horrific in a racist way, or as in- a crap advert featuring that stupid bear with the silly hair?

Both. It's the voices. (In the ad )

 

[camouflage]

Right. I still don't see where the Hofmeister bear fits into it all, or why it has so upset the editor, but thank you.

Hoffmeister Bear lost his job for being too Laddish and Leary. Mueller Bear is his ilegitimate son.

 

[editor]

Right. I still don't see where the Hofmeister bear fits into it all, or why it has so upset the editor, but thank you.

I'm definitely not 'upset'. But this stuff makes me cringe. So maybe I'm upcringed. Or cringset. Or something.

 

[gosub]

I'm definitely not 'upset'. But this stuff makes me cringe. So maybe I'm upcringed. Or cringset. Or something.

but how much rice pudding do you normally buy? it might not be aimed at you

 

[Silas Loom]

All commercial rice pudding is pretty grim, really. You'd have thought the Greek gods could subsist on something better.

 

[editor]

but how much rice pudding do you normally buy? it might not be aimed at you

I bathe in the stuff nightly. I'm totally their target market.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

I have never paid for a rice pudding before. Do I have to go to Merica to buy this stuff?

Super

 

[Silas Loom]

I have never paid for a rice pudding before.

Does that make rice pudding different from any other food?

 

[camouflage]

Both. It's the voices. (In the ad )

Will have to check again when I get home, perhaps I wasn't paying enough attention!

 

[Stanley Edwards]

Does that make rice pudding different from any other food?

I've never made rice pudding either. Hated it as a kid, but that ad' has sold me. Not sure I could forage all those grains easily.

 

[bubblesmcgrath]

I think all the muller rice ads with the bear are rubbish....but I still catch myself every now and then singing "rice rice baby"...

 

[spanglechick]

Both. It's the voices. (In the ad )

While I'm neither cringing nor in love with this ad (i think it's odd*), i will say in defense if it, is that animal characters voiced by human actors pretty much always have exaggerated, character archetype voices.

* odd because the usp appears to be the healthful addition of multigrains, but that the most receptive audience for this will probably be teenagers, many of whom i confidently imagine will find this pant-wettingly funny.

 

[friedaweed]

I hear the sequel is the bears doing Afroman's 'Because I got high rice"

 

[Mation]

While I'm neither cringing nor in love with this ad (i think it's odd*), i will say in defense if it, is that animal characters voiced by human actors pretty much always have exaggerated, character archetype voices.

* odd because the usp appears to be the healthful addition of multigrains, but that the most receptive audience for this will probably be teenagers, many of whom i confidently imagine will find this pant-wettingly funny.

I think they could have done that without giving the characters a 'race', but yes.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

I think they could have done that without giving the characters a 'race', but yes.

It is funny as fuck. How is giving the characters a race offensive?

 

[dessiato]

It's brilliant. Look how many people are talking about it. Whether it's bad or good artistically etc doesn't matter. People are talking about the ad and the product. That's the point of advertising. The one thing you don't want is an ad that people don't remember, whatever the reasons they recall it.

 

[DotCommunist]

but that the most receptive audience for this will probably be teenagers, many of whom i confidently imagine will find this pant-wettingly funny.

but the stoner tune is very old and cheese hip hop. Surely its all snapchat and skepta these days for the young toker

 

[camouflage]

I think they could have done that without giving the characters a 'race', but yes.

On watching it again (now that I'm not at the office) I think it's about as racist as Goldie-Looking Chain to be honest... that is to say that it's the hip-hop style (or the style of hip-hop) rather than "black people" that's the butt of the joke here. I've seen how easily some people don't make that distinction though, I know I've been uncomfortable where I know what's really in the mind of the er... 'joker'.

I can only speak for myself of course but sometimes it strikes me that the racism can sometimes be more in the accusation of racism in reaction to a thing rather than the thing being reacted to as racist. On more than one occasion it's almost as if the mere reference to 'black culture' by someone who isn't black is verboten... like we're not supposed to be referenced or looked at or considered as part of the general culture, black as untouchable if you see what I mean... probably not because I'm probably describing what I mean wrong. "Don't look at them, don't use their music, they are over there and not part of the general body of work called human life". Perhaps when the concept of cultural-appropriation effectively becomes a form of cultural segregation, or racism in negative space ("if you're born a white man then you have won in the lottery of life", which is somehow mysteriously different from Kiplins thoughts on being born English, but said as if guilty rather than proud- it's the same essential bullshit world view surely?

Anyway not to drift off into wherever I'll just say that if none of that makes any sense at all then I blame the after-work red.