WHERE SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISING MEETS LGBT EQUALITY

Cadbury Schweppes, Captive Audience

Members:

The young brand spokesman, who has appeared in 7UP's ongoing campaign, addresses the camera, "They say if you're going to sell something, get yourself a captive audience." Then the cell door closes in front of him -- he's in a prison.

He walks down the aisle, putting cans of the soft drink into eager hands sticking out of the cell doors. As he drops a can, he starts to bend over but then laughs and says, "Ooo, I'm not picking that up" -- a reference to male rape. (No matter that he's safely on the other side of the bars.)

He walks past a man in his cell, slipping the soda can into a sock and says to him, "Hiding from your roomie? That's not nice."

Then he's in the lunchroom with many of the prisoners, who begin a brawl. Then sitting down in a detention room, we see a man's knuckles tatooed with the letters "Evil Ways," then the camera pans to the left and the spokesman's knuckles show, in yellow lettering, "Lem'n Lime" (The word "lemon" is one letter too long.) The spokesman, with mock seriousness, says, "I'm just trying to fit in."

The commercial closes with him sitting on the edge of a bed in a cell next to a heavily tattooed prisoner with his arm around him. Cheerfully, he says, "When you bring the 7UP, everyone is your friend!" But he quickly adds to his mate, "That's enough being friends." Then to the departing camera man he says, "Hey, where are you going?"

The tagline: "Make 7UP yours" -- originally a sophomoricly joking reference to the insult "up yours," and in this context seemingly also a reference to being "owned" in prison by another man.

This ad was quickly targeted by the Stop Prisoner Rape (SPR) organization, and nearly 100 other human rights, HIV/AIDS, and sexual violence groups. The commercial was withdrawn almost as quickly by the company.

"This commercial was perpetuating the kind of callousness that allows sexual abuse to continue in so many prisons virtually unchecked," said executive director of SPR Lara Stemple.

SPR said in a press release that Philippa Dworkin, VP of corporate communications for Dr Pepper/Seven Up, told Stemple that the ad would be taken off the air in response to the protest.


"We're very glad to hear that 7UP has decided to stop sending out the message that it's okay to laugh about rape when it involves people in prison. No corporation would make jokes about rape outside of the prison context," Stemple stated.

"We really have listened to them. Their points are very valid and we are with them on human rights," Dworkin told Cybercast News Service, CNSNEWS.com.

User Comments
Benjamin Buenrostro
I find this ad offensive. It enforces several false stereotypes from all prisoners being engaged in anal rape to using showing homosexuality as a punishment. It was a really bad joke on 7up's part.

Daniel Horowitz
You know, I don't see this ad as offensive to gays, I think it would be offensive to prisoners. The portrayal that all prisoners are violent and angry people is all wrong. That's a joke for all of you that take this too seriously. THIS AD IS A JOKE, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOMOSEXUALS. It points out he doesn't want to be left in a prison. Okay, even if it implied he was going to get raped, (which it doesn't) no one wants to get raped, male female, homosexual, heterosexual. It's a traumatic experience. If you look for it you can find offensive material everywhere because it's impossible to foresee the lengths people will take this material to.

Rachael
I think the idea of rape in prison has been accepted in our society to be funny. The vision of "Big Bubba" taking advantage of the little white boy in the shower sends many people sprawling over with laughter. This is an issue in itself, but has nothing to do with gays.

Darus
For a company that emphasizes the importance of taste... wow, did 7up fall below short on their taste with this ad.

S. Whiley
My son was recently raped in prison. Even so, this is overkill. If everyone complains every time something comes up they don't like, the industry will remain conservative and scared to try anything new. Besides, each time the community bitches about every tiny thing, it makes us the stereotypical 'little bitches' people assume we are.

Eric
Drink the Un-cola maybe. Geez. It's funny, and there is nothing in it that is derogatory, inflamatory, or degrading. We can not get on our soap boxes against our allies. It's like the Advocate giving Madonna a sissy of the year award for saying she wasn't gay. Don't cut our noses to spite our faces.

Todd Hill
Oh ha-ha-ha, here we go again. Big laffs all round. The dog-tired ideas of using prison rape and some kind of forced homosexual behaviour in prison to sell consumer products are just so terribly funny (NOT!) that we have to dredge them up YET AGAIN. Hello. This is homophobic and offensive. What if this were about men raping females? Overall though - no surprises here. This is just yet another bad/fumb/silly commercial made by an tired agency that has long ago run out of any kind of imagination and creative steam, and passed off onto a lazy, pass-the-buck multinational manufacturer possessing not even the first vague clue about the realities of gay life, prison life, or just even real life beyond the windows of their corporate headquarters offices. With any luck this "Philippa Dworkin" person was turfed forthwith from her high paying, high profile job for pure incompetence and the ad agency she used dissolved soon afterward in the oily puddle of their own mediocrity.

Max
People who find this ad offensive are [i]not[/i] the ones with a problem. It's the people who thought this ad was funny who have a [i]big[/i] problem. You're either a part of the problem or the cause. So all of you who said this commercial was okay are a part of the problem. I'd like to point out that this ad was not about a white "boy" getting raped by "Big Bubba", the ad was about a black man getting raped by a big white man. I'd like there to be a commercial that makes light of a woman getting raped in prison so you would [i]know how it feels[/i]!

Steven
In response to those "offended" by the 7UP spot, while I agree that it may be in bad taste to a [i]few[/i], there are a whole lotta other issues out there to be concerned about.

Mel
I think people [i]completely[/i] overreacted to this ad. It's just a joke... don't take it so seriously. I don't think rape is funny in any way, but as far as prison goes, a lot of people (on and off TV) joke about it quite often. Most people don't take offense because [i]they know it is just a joke[/i]. I think it was a very humorous advertisement. And I think the slogan, "Make 7-UP yours," is a hilarious play on the phrase "up yours." There are many more serious offenses that people could be protesting... But this 7-UP ad? Not worth it. Besides, you can always change the channel if you don't like what's on.

Bre
I wonder if 7-Up would consider it funny if they used a female marketing executive and suggested she might get gang-raped by the prisoners.

Christopher McCord
It's just a commercial. If you want to protect human rights, then why don't these organizations actually target prison's where rape is occurring instead of trying to look concerned while targeting free speech.

Joe
One of the worst ads I've seen in my entire life. Shame on those who thought and created this ad. I've never bought a 7UP since and probably never will as I have seen similar themes in other 7UP ads!

Gary Caplan
In addion to the comments you've provided, the ad is anti-gay. That's because most of the prisoners engaged in "gay sex" are actually heterosexual. ... We gays don't need another false stereotype.

Patrick J. Hendricks
This ad has got to be one of the most disturbing ads I have seen. Not only does it depict a negative stereotype of male prisoners on the issue of same-sex rape (most inmates being heterosexual), it also helps foster hatred and violence. 7-UP, THIS IS SHEER STUPIDITY ON YOUR PART!!

Neggs
I myself am gay and also an ex-con. I thought the ad was absoulutely fabulous! It's time that gay people stop getting their panties in a wad over things that are meant to be funny!