Did Snickers’ Super Bowl Commercial Have Anti-Semitic Message?
Adolf Hitler is giving a familiar salute in the chilling black-and-white photo. But the caption above his head carries an unexpected message: “I Hate Jews. But I Love Snickers.”
The image is posted on Snickers Hates Jews, a Facebook page that sprang up after the junk-food brand aired a new Super Bowl commercial in which “notable Jewish comedian Richard Lewis transforms into some non-Jewish worker,” according to news site PoliticallyIllustrated.com.
In the spot, a tough-looking laborer asks Lewis “to cut some lumber and eat a Snickers,” PoliticallyIllustrated reports. “I’m just not feeling the wood cutting thing today,” an adenoidal Lewis replies. “What is the rush here? Is there a worldwide shortage of gazebos?”
The non-Jewish worker responds by offering a snack. “Here Tony, eat a Snickers. You get a little whiny when you’re hungry.” Lewis “eats the Snickers bar and transforms into an ordinary logger,” complete with flannel shirt and extravagant facial hair. The ad concludes by pummeling another Jew — Roseanne Barr, inexplicably screeching “Hey, my back hurts” — with a giant log (after which she whines, “Now my front hurts”).
According to Inside YouTube Search, the commercial became the fourth most searched for advertisement the morning after the big game.
While it’s hard to gauge the page’s sincerity, its message is spreading. Chicago Jewish publication the Lakewood View quoted unnamed “observers” as saying “the message is loud and clear… Jews are whining non team players. They have an agenda.” Another “observer” noted, “Imagine if they had shown an Asian unable to park his car, suddenly eat a Snickers and then suddenly become a great driver? What if they made the commercial with a Mexican acting lazy, they would have been shot”
An irate Lakewood View reader got the last word, though: “Is this serious?” read the online comment. “Get a life!”
Seattle-based “activist” Jason Rantz, who reportedly launched the page, did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment.
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