Crispy Chicken, Fresh Lettuce, 3 Cheeses… Can We Take MJB Seriously Anymore? « Articles

April 28, 2012 Posted by De Linz in Articles

Crispy Chicken, Fresh Lettuce, 3 Cheeses... Can We Take MJB Seriously Anymore?

MJB Crispy Chicken Wraps - Click to Play

I

can't get that jingle out of my head.

Mary J. Blige destroyed a perfectly good song. For those of you who do not have Mary J. Blige's My Life II album, the infamous Burger King jingle actual is a sample of the track "Don't Mind." The sad part is the track would have been a very good single but instead it can never be one because of the "Crispy Chicken" gaffe. Her audience will forever associate that song with chicken!

So what would cause an artist of Mary's stature to do a commercial like this? Like what you ask? A commercial that feeds the stereotype of black people, singing and chicken! Money! What else? Reportedly, she was paid 2 million dollars for it. It's a boat load of cash for the average person, but is it that much to her? Is it worth potentially tarnishing her credibility with her core fans who were with her since What's the 411? That's something I guess we'd have to ask Mary.

I'll be honest. I was LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY the first time I saw the commercial! After watching it several times (I couldn't help it, it was SO funny) I started thinking about what message this commercial REALLY sent. The marketer in me thought "Who is their target market?" The conspiracist said is this supposed to be a "love story between Blacks and chicken?" Honestly, I don't see many non-Blacks getting much out of this commercial other than a laugh and reinforced stereotypes. However, I see some blacks driving by a Burger King and subconsciously thinking of the jingle and saying to themselves " MJB sang about it, so I'll try it!" I'm curious to know which TV Spots this commercial would have run on. I guess we'll never know since they pulled it.

I have been a Mary J. Blige fan since 1992 when "Reminisce" and "Real Love" were on heavy rotation and young ladies at my college were coping her dress and hairstyles. I haven't been as high on MJB since her "Mary" album but I did like them all except for "No More Drama" which I though was absolutely dreadful except for the tracks "Family Affair", "Steal Away."

The big question is after this chicken gaffe, will her fans take her seriously anymore? What do you think?

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