In this ad Burger King over steps many boundaries by objectifying their female model. By subjecting the woman to a publicly inappropriate pose the ad pushes the boundaries regarding how sexual ads should be able to be. This advertisement demeans women in that they are portrayed as nothing more than an object to please the male race, not an equal. Bunny Crumpacker, author of The Sex Life of Food declares "Shape's the thing" which makes a food either masculine or feminine. The positioning of the masculine shaped sandwich directly in front of the women’s mouth leaves little need for the mind to wander because it is very clear what Burger King is promoting. Crumpacker argues that red meat is obviously masculine, which means the sandwich's target audience is men. Clearly, by including the women -- mouth wide open in front of the sandwich -- they are trying to get at more than just eating the masculine food. By specifically targeting a male audience, this ad further widens the gap between the inequality of men and women. While most men look at this ad and laugh, women would typically react in the opposite way with feelings of shock and disbelief that something this forward is being commercialized. Their promotion of such act enforces the widely stereotypical thoughts of women as sex objects. The commonly known sexually related phrase "size matters" also comes into play in this commercial because Burger King announces that its sandwich is a "Super Seven Incher" even though food ads normally present size in pounds, not inches. Furthermore, the tag line “It’ll blow your mind away” solidifies the sexual innuendo that has been presented because it is commonly accepted that a certain few things are truly mind blowing -- but apparently this sandwich has been added to that list. In this instance, the portrayal of women as a sex object causes the audience to believe that it is okay to objectify women if it is done in a humorous way. Upon viewing this ad, my first response was a slight snicker, however once I looked at it further it becomes apparent that ads such as this one are not okay. Although females may initially see this ad as slightly comical it is highly offensive because it tries to make the objectification okay by mocking it. In many cases humor allows for a ease of tension for delicate subjects. This Burger King ad on the other hand attempts to make the sexualization of women okay by turning sexism into a joke, but this "joke" fails to be seen as funny by many because sexism is still widely displayed today in both serious forms and attempts at a humorous approach.
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