A really bad White Castle Commercial

For the past week or so, the NYC TV stations have been running a new White Castle commercial, and every time that I see it, my reaction is, "What was White Castle corporate thinking of when they decided to air these commercials?".

For those who may not have seen it, it begins in a hospital, with an elderly man apparently in the last throes of death while his bimbo wife and an Asian doctor look on. At the doorway, The Grim Reaper observes the old man's impending demise. Suddenly, The Grim Reaper leaves the scene and the old man recovers, much to the amazement (and dismay?) of his wife.

Now the scene changes to a White Castle, where we see a young African-American patron ordering "a sack of 10". As soon as the customer announces his order, The Grim Reaper, who is standing behind him, places his skeletal hand on the young man's shoulder and intones, "Excellent choice!".

Every time that I see this commercial, I try to figure out if there is anything to conclude, other than that eating 10 White Castle sliders will make The Grim Reaper happy. No matter how I try to interpret the commercial, it just seems that the implied message is that one is courting death by eating a large number of those sliders.

While I am sure that the advertising agency that came up with this commercial had another idea of what this commercial would communicate, I just can't come up with any message other than the one that I expressed above, and surely I am not the only person to interpret the commercial in this fashion.

Is this any way to sell a food product?

Addendum:
The White Castle commercials from a few years ago, featuring Don Adams, were really cheap-looking and cheesy, but at least they didn't communicate that the food being sold by the company would result in death!

I totally agree. the only obvious way to interpret this commercial is that eating Castles will kill you. If they intended it to be interpreted as the Reaper's simply a big fan of White Castle burgers, then mission failed.

Good grief, what was that ad team thinking???

Everyone knows that Indian is the "in" nationality for TV doctors these days!



Brad

quote:

Originally posted by Gank16

I totally agree. the only obvious way to interpret this commercial is that eating Castles will kill you. If they intended it to be interpreted as the Reaper's simply a big fan of White Castle burgers, then mission failed.

Jeez--What next? Will they attempt to tell us that Osama bin Laden is a big fan of those sliders? That would be about as "positive" a statement as telling us that The Grim Reaper is a big fan of that food. (Hmmm...Now if we could just figure out how to ship a few thousand of them to bin Laden, then perhaps our problems with terrorism might end, once he has the big coronary event that the company is implying as the result of eating them.)

The callous/jaded/cynical side of me wonders why some self-anointed/self-important civil rights advocate hasn't yet interpreted the commercial as a racist attack on African-Americans' health...

Brad

I haven't seen the White Castle commercial but can guess they are playing on the inside joke everyone makes about White Castles not being good for you but still partake the guilty pleasure. After all, loyal customers were calling White Castle hamburgers sliders and all kinds of other derogatory terms before White Castle itself adopted the word slyders.

The commercial is intended to show that EVERYBODY loves White Castle - even the Grim Reaper. The old man in the hospital gets to live on because the Reaper couldn't resist going back to White Castle for his burger craving. The Reaper placing his skeletal hand on the young man's shoulder and saying, "excellent choice" is again depicting a normal, human side of Mr. Death himself.
I see nothing wrong with the commercial at all. I did not even for a moment consider that it appears as some of you take it to appear.
But, I must admit that if you folks see it the way you do, then the ad is not as good as they think.
Oh, well.....I liked it!

quote:

Originally posted by jimsock9

The commercial is intended to show that EVERYBODY loves White Castle - even the Grim Reaper. The old man in the hospital gets to live on because the Reaper couldn't resist going back to White Castle for his burger craving. The Reaper placing his skeletal hand on the young man's shoulder and saying, "excellent choice" is again depicting a normal, human side of Mr. Death himself.
I see nothing wrong with the commercial at all. I did not even for a moment consider that it appears as some of you take it to appear.
But, I must admit that if you folks see it the way you do, then the ad is not as good as they think.
Oh, well.....I liked it!

Yes, I will grant you that your interpretation could well be what was intended, but, as you said--if it is not consistently perceived that way, then it is not a good commercial. And, guess what--This is NOT a good commercial.

In the end, I still love 'em! It doesn't take a TV commercial (good or bad) to get me into a Whitey's anytime I can get near one.

QFan
Bonita Springs, FL

I’m guessing White Castle’s prime directive to the Ad Agency was to be certain they spelled their name right.

Its good to hear that I'm not the only one that disapproves of white castles new advertising campaign. I don't know how they expect to get a positive reaction from the negative imagery :/. Popped a quote or two from the commercial into the google engine and I ended up here :).

Nice community,
john2496

Welcome to Roadfood john2496. I hope you stick around and join in some of our other discussions.

http://www.digitalpeer.com/id/hardees
Says it all-No taste

quote:

Originally posted by brittneal

http://www.digitalpeer.com/id/hardees
Says it all-No taste

This brings an old saying to mind. Regarding business and advertising, it has been said that, "Nobody ever lost money by underestimating the taste of the American public".

quote:

Originally posted by jimsock9

The commercial is intended to show that EVERYBODY loves White Castle - even the Grim Reaper. The old man in the hospital gets to live on because the Reaper couldn't resist going back to White Castle for his burger craving. The Reaper placing his skeletal hand on the young man's shoulder and saying, "excellent choice" is again depicting a normal, human side of Mr. Death himself.
I see nothing wrong with the commercial at all. I did not even for a moment consider that it appears as some of you take it to appear.
But, I must admit that if you folks see it the way you do, then the ad is not as good as they think.
Oh, well.....I liked it!

This is the way I took it. The only certain things are death and taxes, and at least one can be distracted by "The Crave". I thought it was funny.

quote:

Originally posted by Tedbear

For the past week or so, the NYC TV stations have been running a new White Castle commercial, and every time that I see it, my reaction is, "What was White Castle corporate thinking of when they decided to air these commercials?".

For those who may not have seen it, it begins in a hospital, with an elderly man apparently in the last throes of death while his bimbo wife and an Asian doctor look on. At the doorway, The Grim Reaper observes the old man's impending demise. Suddenly, The Grim Reaper leaves the scene and the old man recovers, much to the amazement (and dismay?) of his wife.

Now the scene changes to a White Castle, where we see a young African-American patron ordering "a sack of 10". As soon as the customer announces his order, The Grim Reaper, who is standing behind him, places his skeletal hand on the young man's shoulder and intones, "Excellent choice!".

Every time that I see this commercial, I try to figure out if there is anything to conclude, other than that eating 10 White Castle sliders will make The Grim Reaper happy. No matter how I try to interpret the commercial, it just seems that the implied message is that one is courting death by eating a large number of those sliders.

While I am sure that the advertising agency that came up with this commercial had another idea of what this commercial would communicate, I just can't come up with any message other than the one that I expressed above, and surely I am not the only person to interpret the commercial in this fashion.

Is this any way to sell a food product?

Addendum:
The White Castle commercials from a few years ago, featuring Don Adams, were really cheap-looking and cheesy, but at least they didn't communicate that the food being sold by the company would result in death!

That is not the lines spoken in the commercial around here.

The Black guy says: Ahh the Pulled Pork Sandwich, Ive been dying to try one of those...

the Grim Reaper behind him says

"Really?"

Hello All,
Tedbear, I haven't seen the commercial, but I enjoy
the idea of Death going off duty for the taste of a
White Castle Burger. It's cute...actually comforting.
Wish we had a White Castle here. I might rest easier.
Take Care,
Fieldthistle

quote:

Originally posted by MrKing.net

quote:

Originally posted by Tedbear

For the past week or so, the NYC TV stations have been running a new White Castle commercial, and every time that I see it, my reaction is, "What was White Castle corporate thinking of when they decided to air these commercials?".

For those who may not have seen it, it begins in a hospital, with an elderly man apparently in the last throes of death while his bimbo wife and an Asian doctor look on. At the doorway, The Grim Reaper observes the old man's impending demise. Suddenly, The Grim Reaper leaves the scene and the old man recovers, much to the amazement (and dismay?) of his wife.

Now the scene changes to a White Castle, where we see a young African-American patron ordering "a sack of 10". As soon as the customer announces his order, The Grim Reaper, who is standing behind him, places his skeletal hand on the young man's shoulder and intones, "Excellent choice!".

Every time that I see this commercial, I try to figure out if there is anything to conclude, other than that eating 10 White Castle sliders will make The Grim Reaper happy. No matter how I try to interpret the commercial, it just seems that the implied message is that one is courting death by eating a large number of those sliders.

While I am sure that the advertising agency that came up with this commercial had another idea of what this commercial would communicate, I just can't come up with any message other than the one that I expressed above, and surely I am not the only person to interpret the commercial in this fashion.

Is this any way to sell a food product?

Addendum:
The White Castle commercials from a few years ago, featuring Don Adams, were really cheap-looking and cheesy, but at least they didn't communicate that the food being sold by the company would result in death!

That is not the lines spoken in the commercial around here.

The Black guy says: Ahh the Pulled Pork Sandwich, Ive been dying to try one of those...

the Grim Reaper behind him says

"Really?"

Hmmmm...An interesting regional difference in the commercials. I couldn't tell you for sure if the White Castles in the NY/NJ metro area sell Pulled Pork Sandwiches, since I have not been inside a White Castle in a couple of decades, and am not planning on going anytime soon. However, I don't think that they have that menu item in this area.

Anyway, even with the difference in the text of the commercials, it is still difficult for me to come away from these White Castle commercials without a perception that eating their food will please the Grim Reaper. Maybe the corporation thinks that this is a good way to encourage customers, but I don't agree.

I wonder if Corporate would approve of a store manager that donned a hooded black robe and walked around the restaurant, all the while asking customers if they were enjoying their meals...

Brad

quote:

Originally posted by Brad_Olson

I wonder if Corporate would approve of a store manager that donned a hooded black robe and walked around the restaurant, all the while asking customers if they were enjoying their meals...

Brad

Having spent many not so sober late night moments at Chateau Blanc, I think I may have already seen that!

I agree with Jimsock on this one...my impression the first time I saw it was the same...The old man lived because the grim reaper just had to have those white Castles....Old man lives. Happy Ending..doesn't make the product look bad!

Kind of reminds me of a tv commercial for Jell-O I saw a long time ago - a new line of tangy flavors had an 'Arsenic and Old Lace' theme where a postman thought two sweet little old ladies poisoned him with the stuff! I saw that ad exactly once - they probably pulled it.

How 'bout the head of White Castle giving 100,000 bucks to put his hand on Tina Fey's breast on the Comedy Central fund raiser for Autism? Looked real to me!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by namret

How 'bout the head of White Castle giving 100,000 bucks to put his hand on Tina Fey's breast on the Comedy Central fund raiser for Autism? Looked real to me!!!!

But, would their mascot, The Grim Reaper, have approved?

Good commercial, especially since it's got people talking about it.

quote:

Originally posted by saps

Good commercial, especially since it's got people talking about it.

People may well be talking about the commercial, but that does not necessarily mean that they will buy the product. In a similar vein, there are some politicians who seem to generate a lot of discussion, but the people talking about those politicians are almost always the same people who will vote against him/her.

Yes, I know that Oscar Wilde said something to the effect of, "There is no such thing as bad publicity", but just as he learned to his dismay that the public's discussion of his behaviors eventually led to his prosecution, the discussion of this commercial does not necessarily mean that White Castle has invested wisely in this advertising campaign. I choose to think that it was a poor investment.

The first time I saw this White Castle commercial I remember thinking, "I don't get it." The next time I saw it, something clicked, "Burger (High Cholesterol) = Grim Reaper (Death)."

In the weeks that followed all I thought was, "OMG they haven't pulled this ad yet? What are they thinking?"

Maybe they are trying to appeal to a particular demographic, "Um, cool, White Castles, gotta have some!" I don't have any idea what demographic this might be, but I feel it isn't the same one that associates fast food with high cholesterol and an untimely cardiovascular event (...um, like Death?).