"I Am Man- Burger King"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGLHlvb8skQ
Why do the men all join together and start singing?
What is
the purpose of the few women seen in the commercial?
Why are all the men
raising the hamburgers from Burger King in the air?
What does the hamburger
symbolize?
What does the commercial suggest about gender?
In the beginning of the commercial, the guy gets up from his seat and says he refuses to eat "chick food", suggesting that the food he wants, ie Burger King whopper, will make him feel like more of a man and more powerful. This commercial is suggesting that by eating this burger, men will unite and they can overpower anything like pushing that van over the bridge. Since they had that burger, they have enough strength to push the car over. The burger symbolizes power and manhood. There are barely any women in this commercial, which is hinting that women don't go out to eat Burger King and that we would rather eat in a fancy restaurant and have fancy meals. Since those meals don't fulfill a man's hunger, he would rather have an unhealthy burger that will make him feel superior.
ReplyDeleteThe few women seen in this commercial help set up the stereotypes between men and women. If a woman is seen eating huge meals like this, she might be frowned upon while it is common for a man to eat such greasy, unhealthy foods. Instead of her joining in on the movement, she is used for enticement. For example, the woman that is luring the man that's pulling the truck by the chains is a metacognitive example of women in advertising. We're watching her lure him while she is also luring other men in the audience simultaneously.
ReplyDeleteBesides the gender issue, I feel this commercial is a symbol of the unity in America. All of the men stopped what they were doing and joined in the movement like what majority of Americans do when the national anthem is played. The "I Am Man" song is their national anthem in the commercial and the hamburger is their flag.
The burger symbolizes masculinity; stereotypically seen, a burger is not a food eaten by women, but REAL men. Gender roles are clearly seen through the commercial, and by eating the hamburger, you are considered a man. Any type of food other than greasy fast food is not manly. As seen in the commercial, the raising of the burger suggests supreme power and masculinity. Burger King is suggesting that the fancy meals served in restaurants are not man enough for the males. In order to satisfy the male ego, you must go to Burger King and get a big greasy burger. Only males are seen in the commercial reinforcing the divide of gender roles, with the exception of one female luring in a male with a big juicy burger
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything Liz has said. The burger is clearly a symbol of masculinity and the advertisement is telling the men that they must eat the masculine burger in order to be considered a man. I think the fact that there is only the one woman, and she is attracting a man with the burger, further shows the importance of the genes role in this commercial. The commercial very explicitly separates men and women and who should be eating and going after the Burger King burger. It is not only telling men that they must do this to be manly, but it is also telling women that they cannot have the burger; as if they are not deserving of it - it is a man's burger, a man's meal. This is an interesting move on Burger King's behalf because it would not appeal to the female viewers. However, it is more likely that females would typically not order such a meal therefore it may not seem like as much of a risk of losing customers or business by creating such a commercial.
DeleteAll the men join together and start singing because they are tired of "chick food". They are standing up for everyman that has ever had to eat somewhere they didn't want to eat and something they didn't want to eat. They are coming together and making the choice that they are no longer going to put up with buying expensive food that won't fill them up. These men are "real men" not little boys, they are standing up against their girlfriends always controlling them.The girls in the commercial symbolize having control over men. An example is when the girl is holding the burger on the shovel and the man pulling the truck is trying his hardest to get that burger. She is in control of him, if he gets that burger or not. The producers are trying to portray woman as always having to get their way and they don't think about anyone else but themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe men are raising the hamburgers in the air because that hamburger symbolizes manhood, like the American flag symbolizes freedom. The burger is power and real men have power, they are free to do what they choose. They want to make sure everyone including woman can see that they are in control now. The commercial suggest that between gender roles woman do not eat greasy foods that are cheap for the buck, they want high class food that cost a lot of money. Men on the other hand would rather pay less money and get a high calorie burger than eat at a fancy restaurant. Men are not concerned with their weight like the producers are portraying woman to be.
This particular commercial contains a huge underlying issue of gender. The whole commercial is slaughtered with men with very few women are present. Without even thinking about the product displayed in the commercial a viewer can automatically assume that the commercial is geared towards men. Once one actually listens to what the commercial is saying it is also gender specific. The advertisement suggests that the male gender is superior to women especially through the phrase "chick food" while portraying small portions of food. The commercial also suggests that men are superior due to the song which was intentionally a song sung by a women is now sang by a male and the words are changed to resemble the fact that men are the only gender that can eat the manly burger. The commercial displays women as weak and worried about their body image while men are strong, powerful, and can eat anything they would like.
ReplyDeleteA part of the commercial that might provide a good set of analysis is the man dragging a large construction truck to get a burger. The man is large, bald, and has an eye of determination, all the stereotypes of a manly man. He is doing something that might be considered the epitome of manliness, pulling something really heavy. He is not pulling the big truck for the attractive woman holding the burger, but he is tempted by the burger. In this quick display, the burger is displayed as the true temptation of manliness without an attachment to women. Throughout the commercial, there is a disregard of all that is feminine, and with this small scene, there becomes a disregard for women completely. The advertisers seem to be trying to convey the message that what men truly want is the burger.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason that the advertisers are targeting men in this commercial as opposed to women could come down to how each gender would react to a commercial targeting the opposite gender. When a women goes into Burger King and orders a burger, whether or not the burger is associated with masculinity probably wont play nearly as important a role as if a man was trying to decide whether or not to order a burger associated with femininity. This seems to be softened by using comedy so that women watching the ad can laugh and not feel demeaned because its all a joke and not to be taken seriously. Yet it still very strongly associates the burger with masculinity, increasing its appeal to men.
DeleteBurger King is specifically targeting the men in this commercial. There are very few women in the commercial suggesting the masculinity of the burger. As the commercial processes, many different stereotypical masculine objects are observed as well as the destruction of a soccer mom van. Not only does the end of the commercial state to "Eat like a man... Man" but it also portrays the idea of how no other food can satisfy the hunger of men. The burger is a symbol of unity and freedom. As all the men start to unite, there is a sense of self assurance and confirmation as if finally there is something other to eat than "chick food".
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of the commercial the man in the expensive restaurant leaves immediately after getting his food because he was sick of eating this food that didn't fill him up and wasn't manly enough. The target audience in this commercial is men. The burger that is being advertised is meant to represent masculinity. It is represented as a big, meaty burger that would stereotypically be for men. All of the men join in union and have the power to throw the van over the bridge after eating this burger. All the men really want in this commercial is a burger.
ReplyDeletePower always comes from unity, the more men are, and the stronger power is. More and more men join together and start singing to makes viewer trust it is real that the Texas Double Whopper makes men strong and united. There are only few women appeared in this ad, and compare to the men, women are kind of vulnerable group. This is what the commercial want to show viewers that the scream from men, especially for men who married. For too long woman all over control their husband lives, this was supposed to say "We are sick and tired! We are taking a stand! We aren't going to take it anymore!”
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ReplyDeleteThe hamburger symbolizes unity success, and manliness. The hamburger is something for all men to rally around. It is something that will satisfy their hunger unlike the “chick food” at the beginning of the clip. This is the reason they raise their burgers in the air. They are displaying their manliness for the rest of the world to see. Burger King would like to equate their burger with all of these things. They want their burger to be a symbol of freedom, unity and manliness. They are pitching the idea that a man who eats that burger will fit in with all the other men. This commercial raises some stereotypes about men like equating meat and big burgers with manliness and it also brings up healthier smaller portioned meals and calls it “chick food”.
ReplyDeleteThey have the song which makes the commercial catchy and rememberable. They also use the idea of masculinity and how men usually eat more. The scene in the beginning at the restaurant with the little entree was to show how women eat. The guy disagreed and thought he was a man and would not eat that. Burger king is targeting men and telling them to "eat like a man". They are taking the stereotype that men eat a lot and that this burger will fill them up.
ReplyDeleteThe men join together in this commercial as if they are rebelling against everything in society that is emasculating to them. They join together in a sort of coalition against the rising feminine roles that are becoming more prominent in society and, by the shots of the men who are injuring themselves to prove they truly are masculine, will stop at nothing to gain their manhood back. The Texas Double Whopper is used as the ultimate symbol of masculinity and is shown to have the power to bring men together to win their manly revolution. A man’s ego is probably the most sensitive, easily injured aspect of a man and Burger King uses this to play on the insecurities of the male race in order to sell their product. The commercial repeatedly underscores the importance of being a man by showing men from all walks of life (different races, social classes, ages, and body types) demonstrating their masculinity by eating the Texas Double Whopper.
ReplyDeleteI actually wrote my primary source analysis on this exact commercial so it was easy for me to analyze this the second time around. The following is part of my original analysis that I think would be relevant to mention.
In this commercial, Burger King targets men as their audience by playing on the insecurities of manhood. The United States is a pre-dominantly patriarchal society where men are expected to be in control of everything, from financial decisions to political opinions. But in recent years matriarchal households and businesses have been on the rise, taking more and more responsibilities away from men and emasculating them all the while. Burger King has taken notice to the decline of male importance in women’s lives and uses this weakness to persuade their audience into purchasing their product. Early on in the commercial, multiple shots of men are shown abandoning “chick food,” such as quiche, tofu, and other dainty plates. They are not only abandoning food that connotes femininity, but they are deserting their emasculation by the eating of this feminine food. Men are expected to have large appetites and to have a taste for hearty, flavorful foods; such as big beef burgers, greasy bacon, spicy jalapeños and most importantly, Texas Double Whoppers. In this commercial the Texas Double Whopper is emulated as the vital component in a man’s life that is necessary in achieving true masculinity. If they are forced to settle for unsatisfying and unfulfilling “chick food,” as stated in the commercial, it is like these men are also being forced to settle into the same type of lifestyle. These men represent the men in society that don’t want to abandon their masculinity.
The men are all rallying against "chick food" and feminity in general. The man exits the retauraunt with mostly women and nothing "masculine" to eat. Then slowly more and more men join his protest for manly food. They walk the streets holding up Burger King cheeseburgers. One man even speeds up in a mini van, a feminine object, and gets out to help the other men push it off a bridge. Burger King is markerting heavily to men for this particular burger to say that there are manly options out there that they don't have to just settle for feminine meals.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the commercial the advertiser focused entirely on the idea that being a man means eating large, fulfilling meals that taste amazing. The lack of women forces the viewer to pay attention to what is going on with the men, primarily since this is geared towards the male audience. With no women to look at the viewer notices that all the men are just ordinary guys of all shapes, sizes, races and personalities. Since all of these men have one shared common goal, shedding the shackles of chick food, they all burst in to song together to show that they are all unified and anyone can join in their agenda. The hamburger in the commercial is meant so symbolize freedom and power. Eating this specific hamburger gives you the freedom to gain as much weight as you want and stop eating "chick food", as well as the power to pull giant dump trucks loaded with the remnants of a discarded minivan. During the commercial the hamburger is also raised above chest level and raised towards the sky to give the illusion that this burger is above all other foods. Never in the commercial is the hamburger ever placed on the same level as any other food to make sure the viewer knows that it is on a complete different level of enjoyment. Eating this hamburger brings power back into men's hands, seize it and enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteThe commercial advertises a stereotypical male food, a hamburger, with your average man. All of the men in this commercial are fed up with eating chick food which isn't filling or satisfying. They decide to rally together and burst out in song declaring their masculinity and claiming their right to eat a hamburger. The men all begin eating and raising the hamburger into the air calling to other men to join them in manliness. The hamburger in this commercial symbolizes all things manly. Women play a very marginal role in this commercial suggesting that they are content eating chick food and hamburgers should be eaten by men. There is a woman at the end of the commercial enticing a man pulling a heavy dump truck with a burger. The woman is not the object of his desire all of his effort is focused on the hamburger. This commercial seems to be suggesting that men need to take control of what they eat the way a man should and have a hambuger.
ReplyDeleteThis commercial is one, of many, food commercials that are directed towards a specific gender. Obviously in this case, the commercial is aimed at males. In the commercial, the hamburger represents manly qualities such as power, strength, destructiveness, bravery, and toughness. The males do many different behaviors that outline each one of these traits. For example, a male are shown punching through a brick, showing their muscles, and pushing a car off of a bridge. Words were also used in the commercial such as "Eat like a man" "no more tofu" "I am a man" " will eat this meat" All of these words are going against "female" traits such as being thin or eating healthy. Few women are shown because this commercial is suggesting that the new "Texas" burger is for men And men should stop eating at healthy restaurants with their wives and eat at Burger King where all the other men eat.
ReplyDeleteThe commercial is targeted towards the male gender. The commercial represents manliness, and how food plays a big role in how manly a male feels. Throughout the commercial, the actors in the ad are doing "manly" things, such as pushing a car off a bridge and punching and breaking a brick. The men getting together to fight against "womenly" food and their right to eat a hamburger like a man revolution against all other foods. It portrays that a man needs meat, and what better place to get a cheap, quick hunk of meat than Burger King.
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