Super Bowl Suds and Sex

By: American Decency Staff

First 20-year-old Kate Upton posed provocatively on the cover of the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, including numerous topless shots within the degrading magazine.  She then chose the highly erotic Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. ad for her next pornographic display of her body, followed by an explicit ad for clothing brand Zoo York which was so graphic that even MTV refused to air it.

Now Upton is featured in an erotic ad for Mercedes-Benz to air during the Super Bowl, February 3 – an event watched by millions of families.

Take Action!  Click here to send a message to Mercedes-Benz regarding their degrading upcoming Super Bowl ad.

As Yahoo! reports:

A new Mercedes-Benz ad starring the voluptuous Kate Upton is generating some surprisingly negative buzz in the blogosphere, with critics calling it cheap and tasteless—even wondering if it's too sexy.

"Hot girl, great car, and somehow I think this is the worst ad Mercedes has ever made," and "Cheap and stupid. Worst ad Mercedes made. Whoever thought of this needs to be fired!" are among a slew of choice comments posted on the Mercedes-Benz Facebook page.

The ad, set to air on February 3 during the Super Bowl, starts off with a slow pan upward, from feet to face, of a scantily clad Upton and her physical assets. Bluesy music blares. The screen goes blank except for a title: "Kate Upton Washes the New Mercedes CLA—in Slow Motion," and then it's back to the action, which consists of Upton suggestively blowing suds out of her hand, and then teasing and supervising a few young, wide-eyed young men in football jerseys who actually take care of washing the shiny new car.

"It's certainly very risky," Dean Crutchfield, brand expert and Forbes advertising blogger told Yahoo! Shine about Mercedes-Benz's move. "They're clearly working on a new strategy, by picking a lane that's not standard for a luxury brand." Beginning with the choice of Upton—a "character" who is "not so high and mighty"—and then going in a direction that is so overtly sexy, Crutchfield noted, is surprising, as the strategy is usually reserved for ad categories like entertainment or food and beverage, or even cheaper cars.

"To have an ad that would be perceived as crass? This would potentially have a negative impact," he said—especially since some statistics have shown that it's women who make at least 66% of car-purchase decisions. "The other side of it, though, is it stands out," he added. "And you want to do that."

While sexism in advertising is an old story, one reason for such a heightened reaction in this case may be the blatantly, almost old-school sexy style of the ad, according to Wheelock College sociology and women's studies professor Gail Dines.

"Panning the body like that is something that belonged in media a while ago," Dines, the co-author of “Gender, Race and Class in Media: A Critical Reader,”told Yahoo! Shine. "It's so clearly turning her into an object. It's a more traditional, old-fashioned sexism, one where the male gaze is clearly in charge."  …

Sadly, 20-year-old Kate Upton doesn’t seem to realize the damage she is doing to herself, as well as to all young girls and women, by her pornographic displays.  As she sells her body to be leered at by men and boys, she sends a message to girls and women that they must degrade themselves to gain approval – that their worth is dependent upon perfectly proportioned body parts.  And, she is damaging those men and boys using her as an object of lust as they are taught that it’s okay to use, degrade, and disrespect women.  These types of so-called “soft-porn” images are proven to be initial stepping stones, leading men and boys into destructive pornography addictions.

Complicit is Mercedes-Benz who has produced this offensive commercial.  Contact Mercedes-Benz and express your concern and disgust with this degrading and damaging ad which will be viewed by millions of children and youth tuning in to watch a family sporting event.

Take Action!  Click here to send a message to Mercedes-Benz regarding their degrading upcoming Super Bowl ad.

 ==========================================================

To support our efforts please click here or mail your gift to

American Decency Association (ADA), PO Box 202, Fremont, MI 49412.  

American Decency Association is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.

 

---