# CCFC to Nick and Burger King: SpongeBob and Sexualization Don’t Mix



## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

This is a press release intended for release, so it's OK to post here:
For Immediate Release

Quote:

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood (CCFC) has launched a letter-writing campaign demanding that Nickelodeon and Burger King immediately pull a new, highly sexualized, television ad for SpongeBob SquarePants Kids Meals. The ad, viewable above, features The King singing a remix of Sir Mix-A-Lot's 1990's hit song, "Baby Got Back" with the new lyrics, "I like square butts and I cannot lie." The ad shows images of The King singing in front of women shaking their behinds for the camera intercut with images of SpongeBob dancing along

"It's bad enough when companies use a beloved media character like SpongeBob to promote junk food to children, but it's utterly reprehensible when that character simultaneously promotes objectified, sexualized images of women," said CCFC director Dr. Susan Linn, a psychologist at the Judge Baker Children's Center.

At one point during the ad, The King even measures the behind of one of the woman who has stuffed a phonebook under her dress. After the King informs children about the free SpongeBob toy they get with the purchase of a Burger King Kids Meal, the ad ends with Sir Mix-A-Lot-lounging on a couch with two female admirers-saying, "Booty is booty." The ad ran during the NCAA men's basketball championship and other programming last night.

"No parent watching a major sporting event with their children should have to worry about being assaulted by sexualized imagery," said Joe Kelly of TheDadMan.com, a CCFC Steering Committee Member. "Featuring SpongeBob in an ad like this is a new low. Parents who hope to instill values in their children like respect for women would do well to steer clear of Burger King and Bikini Bottom."

Added Dr. Linn: "Cartoon characters play a powerful role in the lives of young audiences. That Burger King and Nickelodeon would sell Kids Meals by associating a beloved, male character like SpongeBob with lechery shows how little either company cares about the wellbeing of the children they target."

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is a national coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups and concerned parents who counter the harmful effects of marketing to children through action, advocacy, education, research, and collaboration. CCFC is headquartered at the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston. www.commercialfreechildhood.org/.
You can see the commercial and get more information here:
http://www.commercialfreechildhood.o...urgerking.html

This is the link to take action:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o...aign_KEY=27008


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## Turquesa (May 30, 2007)

Signed it! How absolutely repugnant!!







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## baileyann3 (May 12, 2008)

Done... Gross


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## mommyto3girls (May 3, 2005)

I received the e-mail on Tuesday. in my 6th grade Honor's Language Arts class we spent yesterday discussing it from various views. We looked up the original lyrics to "Baby Got Back" and I read them to my students. We looked at the way that the songs vulgar lyrics talk about explict sex acts, the objectification of women, and racial insults. We discussed the sexualization of women and the idea of using sex to sell toys and food to children.

The students were quite angry when we found a statement from Burger King assuring "Marketing Daily" that they would only show this commercial during programing geard towards adults because they have seen it on as early as 4:00 and even said that it aired during the Charlie Brown Easter Special!

Today my students all wrote letters to Burger King expressing their disappointment and urging them not to use sex to sell to children. They were very well written letters, and I encouraged them to be honest. Some of them said that while they thought it was very funny, they also found it innappropriate for kids their age, and were shocked to think of even younger kids seeig it. They came up with alternative ideas to make the ad better and suggested them to BK. I am very proud to send these 18 letters off to Burger King Corporate Headquarters.


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## Village Mama (Jul 22, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommyto3girls* 
I received the e-mail on Tuesday. in my 6th grade Honor's Language Arts class we spent yesterday discussing it from various views. We looked up the original lyrics to "Baby Got Back" and I read them to my students. We looked at the way that the songs vulgar lyrics talk about explict sex acts, the objectification of women, and racial insults. We discussed the sexualization of women and the idea of using sex to sell toys and food to children.

The students were quite angry when we found a statement from Burger King assuring "Marketing Daily" that they would only show this commercial during programing geard towards adults because they have seen it on as early as 4:00 and even said that it aired during the Charlie Brown Easter Special!

Today my students all wrote letters to Burger King expressing their disappointment and urging them not to use sex to sell to children. They were very well written letters, and I encouraged them to be honest. Some of them said that while they thought it was very funny, they also found it innappropriate for kids their age, and were shocked to think of even younger kids seeig it. They came up with alternative ideas to make the ad better and suggested them to BK. I am very proud to send these 18 letters off to Burger King Corporate Headquarters.

This is so amazing! More teacher like you are so needed these days! Hooray!
My boys saw the ad when I recieved the email notification. We all had a laugh about it. We had come across the original months back and had laughed and then had a more serious discussion about it. We watch a lot of documetaries on being media savvy, as well as adbusters, so my oldest especially is well aware of media tactics. I found that song to be extremely silly and funny when it first came out( i was in elementary school)... kids who like potty humor and being shocked will still find it humerous. I thought that the ad was creative.The main issue ,in my opinion, is still the fact that these fast food companies are marketing directly to children using familiar characters. Kids see so much sex these days and are pretty savvy... that is a whole other issue that would need an entire overhaul of society in order to be tackled.
Good opportunity to talk to your kids about it . I use these things as an opportunity to help my kids understand the issues and learn to think critically . These issues are so widespread that involving our kiddos seems to be the best way to tackle the problem. I love to see teachers doing this!


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## mommyto3girls (May 3, 2005)

Thank You! You actually made me cry. We have our stupid State Assessment Tests coming up in 2 weeks. Spring break starts tomorrow, which means we have 5 school days until the tests. It has been crazy with all of the junk we are expected to do in the weeks before the test to cram inormation into the kids. Its not the way i want to teach, nor the way for the kids to really learn, but it does bump the test scores so we have to do it. I really went out on a limb taking two days off of "test prep" but my personal mission statement that I send home is that in addition to the required state standards I will help my students become socially conscious members of society. I just could not let this opportunity go by without addressing it with my kids. I am so glad that i did. I teach in a large Urban district (25,000 students) and the majority of our students come from low-socio-economic families. I can not begin to tell you how proud i was of the mature way that this topic was discussed by my students.

And persuasive writing IS a State Standard, so I can more than justify it if needed. I just hope that when they leave me at the end of the year they will continue to question and challenge many of the topics we have discussed.


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## freestylemama (Apr 8, 2009)

Sent. That's repulsive.


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## mrsbernstein (Jun 17, 2006)

Sent! Thank you!

mrs B


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## kalisis (Jan 10, 2005)

signed. thank you for bringing this to our attention.


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## Equuskia (Dec 16, 2006)

_I_ thought the commercial was funny, but it is very inappropriate for young children.


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## karne (Jul 6, 2005)

FWIW, I spent an insane amount of time on hold waiting for the BK consumer affairs line because I wanted to personally SAY how offensive and degrading I found that add. I know it probably won't mean much, but at least i said it.


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## AFWife (Aug 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommyto3girls* 
The students were quite angry when we found a statement from *Burger King assuring "Marketing Daily" that they would only show this commercial during programing geard towards adults* because they have seen it on as early as 4:00 and even said that it aired during the Charlie Brown Easter Special!

Yeah, I saw the commercial while watching tv with my parents this morning around, oh, noon... (It's Saturday. What else are most kids doing on Saturday?)

I've also seen it on a variety of channels...not just the ones that you would think are for "adults"

Ugh, it's repulsive.... and not even in a creative way! (I'm not saying it's okay to be repulsive if you're creative...)


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## Nettie (May 26, 2005)

I've been meaning to call them all week- thanks for the reminder. I saw the ad on this past Tuesday *morning*, during the Max & Ruby show! So much for them supposedly aiming it at adults.


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## glorified_rice (Jun 5, 2005)

Sent the email and thank you for posting this. We never watch commercials so we would have never known. Someone at BK made a really bad decision.


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## serenekitten (Nov 20, 2008)

Just saw the ad on TV. I'm disturbed.







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## Labbemama (May 23, 2008)

The whole wake up with the King campaign creeps my oldest child out too.

I wish I had seen the square-butt ad before we ate there on Sunday. (yeah nice Easter dinner).

When we saw the commercial I just told the kids to check themselves for squareness.


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## Contrariety (Jul 16, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Equuskia* 
_I_ thought the commercial was funny, but it is very inappropriate for young children.

Yup.


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## Theoretica (Feb 2, 2008)

I saw it on youtube and thought it was hilarious.

For adults. Not kids. Period.

And I let them know that


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## sleepingbeauty (Sep 1, 2007)

OH had told me about it and I thought it was ridiculous. Last night, he woke me up when it was on and I couldn't believe what I was looking at! IT was absolutely disgusting! Its brainwashing is what it is!

Signed. *barf*


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## JessicaS (Nov 18, 2001)

We saw it during a baseball game on Easter Sunday.

I was HORRIFIED

...that burger king mascot scares me a little. Am I the only person that finds it really creepy??

Burger King Corporation
5505 Blue Lagoon Drive
Miami, Florida 33126

Corporate Headquarters - 305-378-3000
Marketing/Advertising Information Requests - 305-378-7200
Consumer Relations - 305-378-3535
HAVE IT YOUR WAY® Cards Consumer Help Desk - 1-800-522-1278


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## AFWife (Aug 30, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *abimommy* 
...that burger king mascot scares me a little. Am I the only person that find it really creepy??

Uhm, all the commercials where he was sneaking around people's houses and whatnot? CREEPY!!!


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## not now (Mar 12, 2007)

That guy and the Quaker Oats guy creep me out. More so the BK guy because he actually moves.

When I saw the commercial I laughed my butt off but it's totally inappropriate for kids.


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## terrordactyl (Jul 19, 2006)

i saw that it was horrible


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## PediMamaDoc (Apr 20, 2009)

Burger King has a history of sexually suggestive advertising that is completely inappropriate for children, and morally and ethically irresponsible. And Nickelodeon, that bills itself as ""the only network that puts kids first.", is the same network that nominated Chris Brown-the guy with two felony charges for battering his girlfriend Rihanna-for their Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. . .

Dr. Linn, a psychologist at the Judge Baker Children's Center (a Harvard Medical School affiliate), states: _"Cartoon characters play a powerful role in the lives of young audiences. That Burger King and Nickelodeon would sell Kids Meals by associating a beloved, male character like SpongeBob with lechery shows how little either company cares about the wellbeing of the children they target."_ http://www.commercialexploitation.or...urgerking.html

*TAKE ACTION! Here are some things we can do to protect our children:*

1. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has launched a letter writing campaign. Click here for a quick letter you can send online: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o...aign_KEY=27008
This is a great organization, by the way. You can learn more about them here: http://www.commercialexploitation.org/

2. Email, fax and call Burger King corporate headquarters. Tell them that their sexually suggestive advertising is inappropriate for children, morally and ethically irresponsible, and violates their Corporate Social Responsibility Mission Statement: Fundamental respect for all people, and our planet, guides our corporate conscience. Tell them you will not visit their restaurants until they withdraw the ad and change their advertisements.

a) Call Burger King Corporation 
Consumer Relations (305) 378-3535 Staffed M-F, 9am-5pm EST 

b) Email / fax / write to:

John W. Chidsey
Chief Executive Officer, Burger King Corporation
5505 Blue Lagoon Drive
Miami, FL 33126
Phone: 305-378-3000
Fax: 305-378-7262
His email: [email protected]

Russ Klein,
President of Global Marketing Strategy and Innovation
5505 Blue Lagoon Drive
Miami, FL 33126
Phone: 305-378-3000
Fax: 305-378-7262
(Can anyone find his email? Possible email: [email protected])

Email Amy Wagner,
Burger King Investor Relations
[email protected]
Her phone: 305-378-7696

Susan Robison,
Burger King Corporation Media Relations
305-378-7277
[email protected]

3. Call / Email / FAX Nickelodeon, which bills itself as "the only network that puts kids first." Tell them that to profit by teaching children to objectify women is wrong, and that you will purchase no more SpongeBob merchandise until the offensive ad stops running.

b) Email / fax / call / write to:

Nickelodeon
1515 Broadway 
New York, NY 10036 
Phone: (212) 258-6000 and 212-258-7500
FAX: (212) 258-7575
Ms. Cyma Zarghami
President, Nickelodeon
Possible email: [email protected]

Dan Martinsen
Executive Vice President Corporate Communications
Nickelodeon
Possible email: [email protected]

Marva Smalls
Executive Vice President, Public Affairs
Executive Vice President, Global Inclusion Strategy
Nickelodeon
Known email: [email protected]

4. Boycott Burger King and Nickelodeon.

5. Forward this action alert to your friends


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## darien (Nov 15, 2005)

Done. Awful.


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## KatWrangler (Mar 21, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *abimommy* 
We saw it during a baseball game on Easter Sunday.

I was HORRIFIED

...that burger king mascot scares me a little. Am I the only person that finds it really creepy??

Burger King Corporation
5505 Blue Lagoon Drive
Miami, Florida 33126

Corporate Headquarters - 305-378-3000
Marketing/Advertising Information Requests - 305-378-7200
Consumer Relations - 305-378-3535
HAVE IT YOUR WAY® Cards Consumer Help Desk - 1-800-522-1278









Me too! Freaky.


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## Rikki Jean (Jul 15, 2005)

oh, yuck. signed and sent.

my mom told me about this yesterday, but since we don't watch tv at home (movies only), i hadn't seen it. ds1 does watch tv at dh's grandparents, so i really hope that he hasn't seen it there.


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## JessicaS (Nov 18, 2001)

I just saw it again.








:

Not even 4 yet.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

"I don't know what could be more iconoclastic in puncturing the myth of how self- image of a body for a woman would look than to make her butt square with a telephone book in it."
~Burger King President of Global Marketing Russell Klein in a televised debate with CCFC's Steering Committee Member Joe Kelly.


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## JessicaS (Nov 18, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *annettemarie* 
"I don't know what could be more iconoclastic in puncturing the myth of how self- image of a body for a woman would look than to make her butt square with a telephone book in it."
~Burger King President of Global Marketing Russell Klein in a televised debate with CCFC's Steering Committee Member Joe Kelly.

Oh he is repeating that about it only being shown on "Sex and the City" bologna.

*I* saw the ad on a hockey game, a baseball game and I noticed it playing when I was flipping by NASCAR.

Whatever dude!


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## OvenSeeksBun (Sep 11, 2008)

How can they even argue that adults are their target audience for this commercial???
They are trying to sell KIDS MEALS!


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## St. Margaret (May 19, 2006)

Ugh, I'm sick and actually watching TV and ads and saw it today. I was watching a cooking show! I can't believe that quote. What a UAV.


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## onlyzombiecat (Aug 15, 2004)

Any update on this?


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