It seems like a large number of bloggers have been talking about Arby's logo and its resemblance to a penis after Arby's produced a commercial which displays a man lying in bed awaiting his girlfriend/wife/mistress/whatever who soon appears from the BATHROOM (??) decked out in full Arby's attire carrying a tray of the new Arby's Chicken Cordon Bleu saying "You know I only do this for your birthday?" The man, displaying quite the animated face, replies, "W o w.....Me likey," just as the Arby's logo erects just above his head with a "Boioing".
I've read several of the back-and-forth blogging about this subject, and it seems that many people reply something like this.. "Well that's your problem if you stare at a hat or a restaurant logo and see a penis..you must have too much time on your hands to sit around and think about it."
I'm not going to say that I know 100% that the mastermind behind this commercial originally intended for the Arby's logo to be perceived as a phallus (Greek for 'erected penis'), but as a graphic designer I find it very difficult to believe that at some point not very far into the making, perhaps even at the very beginning, the makers knew that a vast number of viewers would pick up on the sexual connotation. It seems as though this could have been the very point, and I am very inclined to think so myself. I've got mixed feelings on blatan sexual messages in advertising, especially if we're talking about an Arby's Chicken Cordon Bleu giving a grown man a hard on, but I can say that the fact that it sparks controversy and conversation means that the advertisers are, perhaps, getting exactly what they're aiming for: Attention. No doubt this commercials has achieved this, but I truly wish they would leave this sort of thing to a clothing company like Levi (who has no doubt shot out plenty of sexually oriented commercials lately) or an alcohol company (FAR too many to name)...
I know that sex sells but do they really have to use it to sell a SANDWICH? Is it effective, and in what way?
Speaking of sandwiches, I also find Subway's recent commercials with the extremely annoying "5 dollar footlong" song to be somewhat sexual:
1. The flight attendant displays how big you've got to be to join the mile high club on today's flight. It's just part of the Emergency Procedure speech.
2. The cop stopping the attractive, smiling female on her innocent skooter, holding his hands out to show her just how long a foot is. So if you want to get out of that ticket...you know what to do
3. The Asian woman with her mouth wide open and her hands measuring out the 12 inches, in utter disbelief that it's "THAT HUGE!"...Oh wait a minute, she's just referring to Godzilla...HA
Here's the Levi commercial I referred to earlier...
I will admit that I never saw the Arby's logo as resembling a penis until I saw that commercial. There it was, all that time, erect and staring me in the face as I drove down every other road. I will say that I won't be able to look at it without analyzing it's 'penisness' from now on after noticing this uncanny likeness.
1 comment:
I like your post and your observation. Advertisements are not made to build a better society, they are made to make a better consumers. But unfortunately, they not only make a better consumer, but also they make the culture somehow. The problem is that not all of the advertisers has the knowledge or great ideology to do that.
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