In 2015 during SuperBowl XLIX, Carl's Jr. presented a commercial promoting its all-natural burger featuring Charlotte McKinney. The commercial opens up with an aerial view of what seems to be a typical farmer's market with vendor stands and people walking around doing their normal activities, with nothing looking out of the ordinary. The very next thing the viewers see is a zoomed-in angle of McKinney, a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and a "perfect" body seductively walking through the market. As she continues to walk through the market, the camera cuts several different ways. On numerous occasions, the camera conducts close-ups to bring the woman's bare upper part of the body in perfect view. The camera also pans out if there is a sexually suggestive pose or enticing walking style. It also appears that the woman is walking around naked while objects such as someone spraying water, ice, and fruit obstruct the view of only her private parts while leaving other areas visible. It is not apparent what they are advertising throughout the commercial, and the "all-natural" she is referring to is herself. It is not revealed until the very end when she appears with a bikini top that hardly conceals her boobs and short shorts holding the all-natural burger.
In one of the scenes, the woman turns her back on the camera. The viewers then see two huge strategically placed fruits in place of the woman's butt, which ultimately objectifies the woman. As seen in Figure 1: the unwanted touch (Carl’s Jr 0:13) a man's hand touches the "fruit" as the woman simultaneously looks back in shock. This act is an example of innuendo representing a sexual act done against a vulnerable woman. Kilbourne explains, "All women are vulnerable in a culture in which there is such wide-spread objectification of women's bodies . . . so much violence against women, and such blaming of the victim" (504). This picture ultimately represents sexual assault, the unsolicited touching of a woman without her consent which is a form of sexual violence. Is it that important to sell a burger that a company would promote such ideas?
In the video Killing Us Softly, 4 Kilbourne asserts, "Advertising's influence is quick it's cumulative and for the most part it's subconscious"(4:03). Even if a person is not paying any attention to the ad or thinks it wouldn't sway them, it is they just don't know it. To believe that a company is willing to empower violence against women just to sell a product and make a profit is pretty powerful and dangerous.
In another scene of the ad, there is an apparent use of pornographic imagery. In one instance, like seen in Figure 2 (Carl’s Jr 0:20) the sensual stare, the viewers can see the woman staring lustfully at the camera with her breasts almost visible. This image is what someone would hope to see in a pornographic movie, not a commercial for a burger; as Kilbourne asserts, "The poses and postures of advertising are often borrowed from pornography..."(489). She maintains direct eye contact as if she is looking directly at the person viewing the commercial as if she intends to form a sexual connection. The image is likely to stick in the mind of any male viewer, which seems to be one of the ad's objectives. The correlation between the pornographic image and the burger they are promoting remains unclear.
Another aspect of the ad is it is epitomizing a woman's beauty and what everyone should consider beautiful. They chose a woman with long blonde hair, thin, with big perky breasts to be the subject of everyone's attention. Whenever this beautiful sensual woman walks by, she seizes all of the men's attention. The men stop dead in their tracks and stare as figure 3, the lustful gawking (Carl’s Jr 0:27) shows. They are captivated by her sensuality and her beauty. All of the men want her, and the women want to be her. Kilbourne touches on this in the video Killing Us Softly 4 when she talks about women trying so hard to look like the women portrayed in the ads; however, no matter how hard they try, it's unattainable because it doesn't exist. Women go out of their way to get plastic surgery; some have died of eating disorders trying to achieve what people view as perfection (5:10-9:00).
Women watching this commercial want to be her; look like her. The ad, unfortunately, doesn't come with a disclaimer explaining "perfection" may have been obtained through the use of photoshop or digital alteration. Who will tell these young, impressionable girls and women the truth, or will they too die trying?
Advertising is considered powerful given how they communicate or convey specific subliminal messages to target audiences. Many people think or view themselves as immune to the power of the ads. They don't understand how much impact the sexual innuendos, the sex appeal, attractiveness, objectification, and pornographic images they see affect their subconscious mind and this Carl's Jr. ad uses all of them. How someone views and interprets the video will vary from one person to another and even affect men and women differently; nevertheless, they will be affected somehow. In just 44 seconds, Carl's Jr. will have impacted every viewer's life just to sell their "all-natural" burger.
Kilbourne, Jean. “Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt: Advertising and Violence.” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing, edited by Bonnie Lisle et al., Tenth, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016, pp. 488–515.
Carl’s Jr. “Charlotte McKinney - Carls Jr Ad Commercial - Super Bowl XLIX 2015 - The All Natural Burger.” YouTube, uploaded by Charlotte McKinney, 23 Jan. 2015, youtube/WlUvQkW4B1k.
SELENE Magazine. “Killing Us Softly 4 (2010).” YouTube, uploaded by Selena Magazine, 1 Oct. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRgj83TX-AA.