Another go woke go broke - McCains

I've complained to the ASA. The product is listed on the Mc Cain website in the "Kids" section. How they think this sort of sexist stereotyping is appropriate especially for a product marketed for children is beyond me.

Vile. Those jokes about knockers should not be tolerated. This isn't the 1970s. I have complained to the ASA too (there's a link on the Twitter feed if you want to use it). LOVING that ratio though

That is a serious ratio on that advert. I know they say no publicity is bad publicity but if you can’t get traction in the likes on Twitter by throwing a drag queen into the mix, it almost feels like the people who buy lightly fried potato products might not be the same people who watch Ru Paul.

For me it’s 3. If it was just Baga doing a recipe, preferably with some nutritional content but it’s McCains chips, without the crap about knockers etc I’d probably roll my eyes. Why would I buy, and endorse, a product advertised in a retrograde, sexist manner and especially a product aimed at children. It’s not funny it’s puerile crap. I’m so fed up of this I’m going to complain each and every time.

Indeed. "Knock knock the 70's. Please take your sexist men back".

"Great big knockers"

"Could park a bus"

A male. With a back story as provided upthread. Wearing woman as a costume and mocking us. Sexualising children's food.

#nothankyou

“Great big knockers. You could park a bus in between them.”

Anyone else feel like we just arrived back in the 70s?

It was a question prompted by celebrity status rather than drag. I think that Baga Chipz is a celebrity and I can see some connection with their name so understand the partnership to an extent. However the content isn’t appropriate at all.

I suppose I am asking: is OP’s issue with the ad 1. drag itself, 2. drag in the context of the audience, or 3. the content (or all three)? Personally I have an issue with 2 and 3 but not 1.

Wow that's terrible. I can't fathom who would've thought it was a good idea in the first place, let alone to get it to the point where it went public.

The majority of those in this country who do the food shop are women so why they would choose to piss off and alienate that demographic is beyond me. Womanface is so offensive, that's aside from the tired misogynistic stereotypes spouted from this person's mouth.

Baga Chipz, eh? Where have I heard of that act before? Ah yes, the one who performed at a male-only bar for Manchester Pride. Women who wanted to see the performance were turned away.

TikTok Transcript

-Questions we got asked about Manchester Pride

-Did you get to see Baga Chipz [a drag act]

-No

-Why not

-We’re women

-But I thought Pride was supposed to be inclusive?

-Maybe next year… stop excluding people

Thread Here

Well said!

Drag is basically woman-face.

They’re smiley faces, not chips (or even chipz), anyway.

misses point

I can't remember the last time I saw either on tv, must be a good ten years which is where they belong, in the past. Right along with blackface and people mimicking black people, insulting them and reducing them to stereotypes. People thought that was funny at the time too, fortunately now we know better. Hopefully you'll catch up soon.

Grim. Heartened by alllll the comments pointing out what misogynistic shite it is though!

I have no idea why mccains think a bloke in a dress being offensive about women is going to make me buy their product?

Agree. This is tired old sexist crap, the idea that talking about 'knockers' is edgy or in any way hilarious is so weak.

It’s so bloody sexist! Who thinks that kind of language is funny? Using terms like knockers and saying you could park a bus between them? Not appropriate for a food advert, especially when using food items aimed at children.

Men pretending to be awful caricatures of women?? Women reduced to body parts including 'knockers' 'so big you could park a bus between them'?? I'm missing how any of that could possibly be woke.

I don't really see anything "woke" about it, in either the original or the appropriated version of the term. It's straight-up, old-fashioned misogyny, amusing to the same people who like those postcards from the '70s of men with huge beer bellies at the seaside with two "birds" in thong bikinis hanging off their arms.

I'm surprised it got through internal marketing approvals; it's not (mainly) 99 year old men or 12 year old boys buying frozen chips.

5,000 views and 3 likes. This tepid, dreary and offensive shite sticks to a brand like a bad smell.

I wouldn’t dream of letting my young child watch Drag Race. And McCains is nasty anyway, isn’t it?

Would you object to Lily Savage or Dame Edna?

Baga Chipz is a minor celebrity and their name works with the product. I agree that comments about knockers don’t seem appropriate but I suspect even if the content was totally vanilla you would still object to Baga.

A male creates a figure of a 'woman' out of food, consisting of processed potato face and, what is that, meat for the body parts? Talks about 'knockers' and parking a bus between said meat knockers.

This type of 'humour' used to be sneered at, but because this male is wearing a wig and make up as he makes fun of women's bodies, we are now supposed to see objectification and sexist insults as progressive comedy.

Amazing. I suppose Roy Chubby Brown was unavailable.

The only reason I can possible think that they allowed this through is because they know it will get lots of views and comments and then they can withdraw it quietly, thinking “job done, any publicity is good publicity”.