An advertisement featuring two “drag queens” eating Sabra Hummus is scheduled to appear during Super Bowl LIV. The game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers is expected to have up to 100 million viewers.
A 15-second preview of the ad, titled “Helmet Hair,” was posted on the company’s YouTube channel on January 23. The video was also posted on Sabra’s Facebook page, titled “Hair We Go!”
The ad features two men, dressed as women – that is, over-the-top, hyper-sexualized caricatures of women. The two perform with the stage names “Kim Chi” and “Miz Cracker.” Both were contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race, a television series which is now in its 12th season.
In the video, “Miz Cracker” attempts to put on a football helmet, but is foiled by her oversized blonde wig. The advertisement is part of a series, with a second featuring two women from the television show Real Housewives of New Jersey and a third featuring a rapper with the stage name “T-Pain.”
Sabra Dipping Company is jointly owned by Pepsi and Strauss, an Israeli food manufacturer. In 2015, the company had 60 percent of hummus sales in the U.S., and Pepsi expected the company’s sales to reach $1 billion in 2017. In addition to hummus, the company produces guacamole, bean dips and other snack products.
Fox, which carries Sunday’s game, announced that companies like Sabra spent up to $5.6 million for a 30-second commercial.
The ad is airing just a few weeks after a drag performer warned parents about exposing children to drag performers. “Kitty Demure” posted a short video on Twitter scolding parents who allow their children to see adult entertainers. The performer told parents: “I have absolutely no idea why you would want that to influence your child. Would you want a stripper or a porn-star to influence your child? It makes no sense at all.”
Demure continued: “A drag queen performs in a night club for adults. There is a lot of filth that goes on, a lot of sexual stuff that goes on, and backstage, there’s a lot of nudity, sex and drugs. Ok? So, I don’t think that this is an avenue you would want your child to explore.” The post has received over 356,000 views and is remarkably common sense from a man who performs as a woman.
Apparently, executives from Sabra haven’t seen Demure’s comments, as they seek to expose millions of families and children to such performers.
NBC News quoted one LGBT marketing strategist who said that drag “is an artform and an ‘outsiders’ language… Reaching the Super Bowl means taking our language into every home in the nation and millions around the world.”
Focus on the Family has developed some helpful resources for parents concerned about their children encountering such confusing, sexualized messages – whether through an advertisement, at school, in a public library, or on a magazine rack in a grocery store:
Talking to Your Children About Transgender Issues
When Transgender Issues Enter Your World
All Focus on the Family resources on transgender issues – for parents, families, churches and strugglers – can be found here: Transgender Resources
Photo from Youtube
