PepsiCo, Enrique Iglesias
Pop music megastar Enrique Iglesias sings a romantic song from the stage for an audience of young women, all jumping for joy.
In voiceover, Iglesias says, as he looks out at the adoring fans, "When I sing a song, I need to feel it. I always try to find someone... with that special unique something that makes me fall in love."
At that moment, his eyes fall on the one man in the front row. The gentleman isn't jumping to the music like the women around him, simply staring ahead like a deer in headlights. Then Iglesias reaches out his hand to the man, who looks to the left and right without emotion -- disbelieving that the hand could be for him.
It turns out he was right, Iglesias was reaching for the bag of chips the man was holding (obviously smuggled in, since no arena would allow outside food to compete with its own overpriced snacks).
The ad, debuted on the MTV Music Awards, carries a neutrality to it, since the stunned fan was not appalled at the star's apparent romantic interest, though it would have been groundbreaking if he was indeed interested but still left behind for his Doritos.
Doritos says the joke isn't gay -- "It's not how we interpreted it," according to spokeswoman Lynn Markley. So what's funny? "The humor is he's grabbing a bag of Doritos." Markley didn't allow that the reason the ad is funny is that Enrique appears to select the only man in his audience when he's talking about love. Even Slate.com sees something gay about it.
"It's important to reach a younger audience and we wanted to make the ad hip and cool," she says. But not gay -- at least admittedly so.
Filter Ads
Gays and lesbians don't deserve special recognition. We're past that point of need. Now it would be best if we were portrayed as a normal and comfortable part of society. Ads like this one, who don't directly address the issue of homosexuality, yet directly draw humor from it in a non-offensive way are the most effective, particularly when it comes to advertising technique. The gay issue disarms and, immediately after, WHAMMO! we see a familiar name and package. Right after a "memorable" incident (Enrique Iglesias eyeing another man), we have Doritos-- a name we will more likely remember!