A normal reaction upon seeing a sexy teacher in a TV spot is to say, “Boy, I never had a teacher like that.”
And that was my reaction, but to a point, when I saw the “Flat Buns” spot for Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. I never had a teacher like that, but I sure did envy the other guys in my Catholic grade school in Chicago who were blessed to have a lay teacher in sixth-grade whose wardrobe was dramatically different from the severe habits of the Felician Sisters who taught every other grade.
She did once take over my class for a morning, and whether she taught us math or science or penmanship, I cannot recall. I was too mesmerized by the sight of her playfully dangling one of her high-heel shoes from the tips of her toes as she sat behind the teacher’s desk.
Young boys are entranced by sexy teachers, and they remain so even when they have finished school forever. That’s why Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. used a sexy teacher in the commercial to dance atop her desk while a roomful of guys perform a rap song titled “I Like Flat Buns.”
The song seems appropriately titled, since the commercial promotes the Patty Melt Burger made with flat buns.
The teacher is a blonde in a tight skirt, and she sure can shimmy to that song. She’s the latest fantasy female in a long line of such women to appear in ads for Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., whose core market is randy young men. The chains are giving customers what they want.
And that’s wrong, according to the Tennessee Education Association.
The spot is “unbelievably demeaning,” said Earl Wiman, president of the association. Wiman said the association works hard to reinforce good behavior and that “we strongly resent those who flaunt their disregard for both teachers and the children we teach.”
He called the ad a “sexually exploitive assault” on teachers, students and schools.
The agency that handles Hardee’s advertising in the Chattanooga market decided not to air the ad because it considered the content too racy for such a conservative part of the country.
That’s the entire point when it comes to judging an ad as being “sexually exploitive” as opposed to “sexy.” What’s passé in one market is mortal sin in another. Playboy magazine once spoofed how it would have to alter its editions to meet prevailing community standards of decency. The Playmate of the Month was shown in the normal fashion for large cities. In the edition for the Deep South, she was covered in a suit of armor.
Mendelsohn/Zien of Los Angeles created the “Flat Buns” spot, and local franchisees have the option of deciding whether to air it.
That’s the sensible way to handle campaigns that might upset viewers in local markets. I’m in favor of that, but I oppose any person’s or group’s contention that ads with a sexy theme ought to be banned everywhere for everyone, even if viewers in other markets don’t find them offensive.
Sexy ads don’t offend me, although I find most of them trite and irrelevant in trying to reach the intended audience. Those are the ads that try to sex-up a brand that doesn’t need it.
The Tennessee Education Association has called on teachers and parents to send protest letters to CKE Restaurants Inc., the parent of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., or to voice their concerns to their local Hardee’s restaurant.
If parents and teachers visit the restaurant to do that, they’ll probably run into a crowd of randy young men who thought the commercial was just fine.