U.S. restaurants blast Kevin Federline TV ad



NEW YORK (Reuters) - A leading restaurant association has called for the cancellation of a TV commercial featuring Britney Spears' estranged husband, Kevin Federline, as a failed rap star working in a fast-food eatery.

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In a 30-second ad for Nationwide Insurance, Federline is shown dreaming he is a rap star but then snaps out of it to face reality -- he's working at a burger restaurant.

The commercial is due to be aired during the National Football League's Super Bowl championship on Sunday, February 4, advertising's biggest televised sporting event of the year. Last year's Super Bowl drew more than 90 million viewers.

But the National Restaurant Association's Chief Executive Steven Anderson has written to Nationwide saying the ad leaves the impression that working in a restaurant is demeaning and unpleasant and asking the commercial to be dumped.

"An ad such as this would be a strong and a direct insult to the 12.8 million Americans who work in the restaurant industry," wrote Anderson, head of the association that represents 935,000 U.S. restaurants. "Developing creative concepts that accomplish the marketing strategies for a product should not require denigrating another industry."

But Nationwide spokesman Eric Hardgrove defended the ad, called "Life Comes At You Fast," saying it was designed to be entertaining with Federline poking fun at himself while reinforcing the company's role of meeting the financial needs of consumers.

Spears, 25, filed for divorce from aspiring rapper Federline, 28, last November. Federline's debut album has since failed to make a dent in the pop charts, and a number of dates on his U.S. tour were canceled due to lack of interest.

"In this commercial we are using a humorous characterization of Kevin Federline's life to encourage others to prepare for sudden changes in their lives," Hardgrove said in a statement.

"The intent of the ad isn't to offend or insult the many fine individuals who work in the restaurant industry. The focus of the ad is the element of surprise, not the setting of a fast food restaurant."

Reuters/Nielsen




Why are people so fucking uptight¡??? WORKING AT FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS IS PATHETIC, deal with it. The ad shouldn't be cancelled.

Joss Whedon (the Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator) said the only time he was ever asked by the network to stop something was when he had Buffy working fast food as an example of how her life was going nowhere.

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but why is that offensive?? isn't that true?? it is. Well I can see people seeing buffy and boycotting the show because they are feeling offended, I guess that's the downfall for the advertisers and tv shows.

it's more about the fact that a lot of advertisers are from the fast-food industry.

Well, that's actually my wording, although I'm pretty sure it's accurate. What I remember he said was simply that the fast-food job was the only thing they ever asked him to change. I don't think for a moment it bothered any viewer, it would have been an advertising concern.

Actually, they introduced the job in an episode that had Buffy convinced they were grinding up people! It was pretty funny to see fast-food ads during that.

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mm that makes sense.