Snickers Super Bowl Commercials

Not going anywhere for a while? Neither is MasterFoods, USA (which acts as Mars Incorporated's snack food division) thanks to a controversial ad that played during Super Bowl XLI. The 2007 Snickers Superbowl commercial showed two male mechanics working on a car. One grabs a Snickers bar and holds it in his mouth, still working. The other mechanic gazes lustfully (not at the other man but at the bar) until he reaches out and bites the candy bar. Both men chew on the bar until an accidental kiss occurs ala “Lady And The Tramp.” The two men panic and retreat into a homophobic fit, claiming they have to find something manly to do to shake the awkwardness away. One rips open his shirt and tears off his chest hair, the other follows suit, and then they both scream in agony. Snickers then proudly declares “Snickers – Most Satisfying.”

Criticism From The Gay Community Over Snickers Mechanics Superbowl Commercial

The Snickers Super Bowl commercials drew criticism from the gay community for homophobia. Along with the General Motors commercial on a suicidal assembly line robot, the Snickers Super Bowl commercial was considered one of the more tasteless ads of the Super Bowl show. In response to criticism, MasterFoods USA canceled the ad the next day and also deleted three other versions from the Snickers.com website. MasterFoods stated for the record that the intent was not to harm anyone. That sounds reasonable...most likely the intent was to shamelessly sell candy?

What America Really Thought Of The Snickers Kiss Superbowl Commercial
Nevertheless, the 2007 Snickers Superbowl commercial still placed ninth in the USA Today survey of the best Superbowl commercials. Snickers has a large fan base, including a part of the community who just don't care about sexual orientation as long as the ad is funny. Strange but true, many football fans find two manly car mechanics kissing hilarious; the fact that they panic and rip their chest hair off in painful triumph is just the chocolate on top of the peanuts and nougat.

It seemed rather conspicuous that Snickers Super Bowl commercials should be set apart from many other comedy films or series that features homophobic jokes on a regular basis. The chest hair-ripping (and subsequent screaming) is straight out of a Judd Apatow film. The problem is that such an edgy campaign is obviously misplaced being broadcast during a family hour and on an unofficial national holiday, where presumably everybody, including their children and their gay relatives are watching.

In the past Snickers Super Bowl commercials have lacked as much energy as the latest “Kiss” Superbowl snickers commercial. The bottom line here, or at least, the bottom layer of nougat is that Snickers wanted to make a witty and well-received Snickers Super Bowl commercials without controversy. Apparently they failed, not only because the ad divided audiences but also because the company quickly pulled the “Kiss” Snickers Super Bowl commercials and apologized. If the company can't stand by their product, then how can the viewing audience? At least they still stand by their Snickers candy bar. Heard somewhere that it was “most satisfying.”