Chobani is the latest company to make waves with a queer-themed advertisement, following after controversies like the rainbow-Oreo ad or the pictures of happy same-sex couples in the JC Penney catalog.
The ad in question shows two hot women in bed, one of them eating yogurt and one sleeping. I admit, I didn’t know what to make of it at first glimpse… I thought maybe it was a woman and her daughter, or friends at a sleepover. After all, it’s not uncommon for yogurt commercials to imply that cup of dairy will be a woman’s moment of sensual bliss during her harried workaday life. But nope, this sensuality in particular belongs to a lesbian couple that clearly enjoys Chobani Simply 100.
Yay! We can always use more representation in advertising. Right?
Well… maybe. It plays to “sexy lesbian” stereotypes for sure, but basically all commercials play to tropes. The answer is to address the stereotypes themselves, not to lambaste one particular commercial that is at least a step in the right direction.
More significantly, does the commercial work? Do you wanna try some Chobani yogurt, either because it seems sexy now or because they’ve expressed support? It is nice to feel welcomed by a company or product. I like buying Oreos. I like going to Starbucks. On the flip side, I do NOT like going to a certain chicken restaurant that I don’t even want to name. That’s all marketing, appealing to your target audience, and it totally works.
There are deeper concerns about whether or not a company follows through on its support, whether it has benefits for same-sex spouses and anti-discrimination policies or just wants to get attention with a controversial advertisement. Who has time to check that out for every single company in the world? Of course people will make judgments based on a company’s ads, for better or worse.
I like yogurt, I like queer rights… I tried the yogurt, and honestly it tasted terrible. It’s supposed to be Greek yogurt, but it’s runny. The whole reason I like Greek yogurt is that it’s NOT runny. I’ll stick with the Oats from now on and avoid the 100. But still… An ad like this makes me more likely to try something. What about you? Is it attractive, or is it just pandering?
I’ve never tried the yogurt, but I admit the whole yogurt in bed while naked thing sorta had…. undertones to it. Yogurt never had a sexual connotation until she took her time licking the spoon, is all I gotta say.
The fact that it was two women in bed (one with a ring that was visible at the end) I think is pandering, frankly, but that’s expected from companies. As far as the “Sexy lesbians” bit, I’m giving them a pass. I’ve never seen a yogurt commercial that didn’t feature people who look like they spend the majority of their time on a yoga mat (and probably for good reason, as it’s their prime demographic for advertising.)
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Ha! My main association with yogurt is “not as sexy as they say it is.” It’s either “sexy” or “helps keep you regular.” Kind of mixed messages there. Plus I just don’t really need my yogurt to be sexually attractive.
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Yogurt: Whey to make me feel like some sort of gelatinous lump, Hannah, geez. 😥
😛
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😀
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I don’t like Chobani’s yogurt (I do like Greek, just not theirs), so this isn’t likely to do it for me. Also the whole thing seems cheesy, like who’s that guy out the window and why is she stealing the sheet. Yogurt commercials always annoy me.
That said, it’s good that we’re starting to see same-sex couples and interracial couples (read: Cheerios) in ads more often, regardless of intentions, since it’ll start to normalize that representation.
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I didn’t even see a guy out the window, I need to watch it again. But yep!
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Which is funny because he was SO obvious to me! Amazing how everyone sees different things.
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On one hand, I like how the queer and married(?) ladies on a beach vacation is treated as totally normal, and I didn’t think it was any more sexualized than any other yogurt commercial (more on that in a moment). I want to believe that the companies rainbowing their ads are committed to queer rights. However, I wonder how many of them actually have company-wide ENDA, health care for partners, support for transitioning employees, and pay women workers a living wage.
My reaction, as filtered through my own experiences:
“Honey, why are you eating diet yogurt in bed when I made you that nice full-fat kind from scratch?”
“I wasn’t going to bring a baggie of 3 oz yogurts on the plane with us.”
“Fine. Hey, stop poking my foot–DO NOT STEAL THIS SHEET, PUNK, I WILL COME AFTER YOU.”
“I’m pretending I’m Sherlock in ‘A Scandal in Belgravia’!”
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Exactly. And yeah, after I realized they were a couple, my next reaction was “So… you got OUT of bed… got a cup of yogurt… and brought it BACK to bed to eat it?!”
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WHO EVEN DOES THAT
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the part that bothers me about the ad is the sexiness of it. why does yogurt have to be sexy? why cant you just show two women enjoying yogurt? does sex really belong in every ad?
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Yeah, I get that. I don’t mind this one so much because lots of yogurt ads try to make it sexy… But honestly. Yogurt just is not hot. 🙂
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I used to buy oodles of Chobani, and then they did something.. changed the recipe or something… and it got all runny and gross. Never bought it again!
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Unfortunately it’s still runny, lol. I do really like those with the oats in them though. It’s like a cross between oatmeal and yogurt, it’s really good.
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