Hardee's Super Bowl Advertising
One quick Google search of the phrase- “Hardee’s ad” and one is instantly bombarded with dozens of pictures and videos of near-nude models eating hamburgers and other Hardee’s sandwiches. For almost fifteen years, the Hardee’s franchise relied on the sexualization of women in their advertisements to sell their products. One such ad is their twenty fifteen Super Bowl ad, starring Charlotte McKinney. The ad is supposedly exhibiting Hardee’s new ‘All Natural Burger’, but I believe it is advertising something else entirely. The ad begins in a farmer’s market, with a waist up shot of McKinney, who appears to have her nudity obscured by a water hose at first, then other various objects throughout the commercial. The voice-over is equally disturbing,
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Why is this a problem? To begin with, the hyper sexualization of women in the media (see “The Disney Princess effect”) does not just alter the way women think of themselves, it influences young girls’ minds as well. (Hanes) The Dove Self Esteem Project found that ‘81 percent of 10 year old girls in the United States are afraid of being fat’ (UNICEF). In addition to affecting the way young girls view themselves, sexualization in advertisement affects how men view women and how boys view girls. One example of this can be found simply by surveying the comments on the YouTube video for Hardee’s Super Bowl commercial. A female commenter laments the sexualization of women in the media, especially during such a high-profile television event as the Super Bowl. This woman was met with many male commenters saying things such as, “Get over yourself you stupid bitch”, “F*** off you retarded feminist”, and my personal favorite, “Women only watch the Super Bowl because their dudes are watching anyways.” (Youtube)This is example is trivial compared to how the sexualization of women in media normalizes violence against women. Boys see that their bodies are linked to control and aggression, and then they see that women’s bodies are linked to submission and sexuality. (UNICEF) This only aids the unhealthy stereotype
Why is this a problem? To begin with, the hyper sexualization of women in the media (see “The Disney Princess effect”) does not just alter the way women think of themselves, it influences young girls’ minds as well. (Hanes) The Dove Self Esteem Project found that ‘81 percent of 10 year old girls in the United States are afraid of being fat’ (UNICEF). In addition to affecting the way young girls view themselves, sexualization in advertisement affects how men view women and how boys view girls. One example of this can be found simply by surveying the comments on the YouTube video for Hardee’s Super Bowl commercial. A female commenter laments the sexualization of women in the media, especially during such a high-profile television event as the Super Bowl. This woman was met with many male commenters saying things such as, “Get over yourself you stupid bitch”, “F*** off you retarded feminist”, and my personal favorite, “Women only watch the Super Bowl because their dudes are watching anyways.” (Youtube)This is example is trivial compared to how the sexualization of women in media normalizes violence against women. Boys see that their bodies are linked to control and aggression, and then they see that women’s bodies are linked to submission and sexuality. (UNICEF) This only aids the unhealthy stereotype