Super Bowl Ads I: Parity is Queer

Two spots involving contested objects of desire:

Bud Light — "Rock Paper Scissors"

In an open field of play (established by a wide shot), two contestants approach the object of desire. Body positioning and shot order establish the man in the hoodie as the protagonist. Unable to immediately resolve their contest through physical strength, the antagonist in the oxford shirt proposes, and Mr. Hoodie agrees to, a contest of wits. The contestants play their game; however, Mr. Oxford wins through violence. As Oxford claims the object of desire and leaves the playing field, a vanquished Hoodie questions the contest's fairness. Oxford's response confirms that not only has Hoodie lost a physical contest, he has in fact also lost a battle of wits. A product shot with a voice-over strap line confirms the legitimacy of Oxford's victory through trickery and violence. The final shot of the supine Hoodie confirms his status as loser of the contest.


Snickers — "Kiss"

Two individuals cooperate on a technical task in a confined space. Body positioning establishes the long-haired man as the protagonist. Mr. Long-hair produces an object of desire, and begins to take pleasure from it. The short-haired man sees and covets the object of desire, then procedes to likewise take pleasure from it. A contest ensues for which man can take more pleasure from the object. This contest ends in a tie, and in intimate physical contact. The contestants abruptly pull apart from each other. Both men are "winners," in the sense that they have each taken equal pleasure from the object of desire; however, this cannot stand. In order to establish their status as "losers" of a physical contest, the men commit violence against their own flesh. A product shot and tagline overlay confirms the rightness of this final act.

I don't think it's the kiss itself which activates the "gay panic" in the Snickers spot; I think it's the mutual and equal pleasure the men take from the candy bar. If the short-haired man had quickly munched down 3/4 of the length of the bar, and then the two men had inadvertently kissed, the outcome would have been different—there would have been a clear winner to the exchange. As the Snickers folks clearly realize, ties are not satisfying.

As a thought experiment, imagine a version of the Bud Lite ad in which the two men confront not a bottle, but a pint of beer, and then avidly suck down the contents through straws. If both men drink at the same rate, you end up with a potentially queer image.

Interestingly, what both of these spots suggest is that to lose a contest over an object of desire, a contestant must be physically injured... which I suppose is appropriate for ads placed during a football game.