# That Best Buy commercial featuring that spastic black man **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 23, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935 "2003-02-23T06:44:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/41 "2003-02-28T00:24:54Z")
I’m offended by their implication that i turn into a little child when i enter an electronics store. anyone who knows me knows i am always a little child, and i need not their prodding to run around like an idiot! ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/42 "2003-02-28T01:07:44Z")
But is a beer better than a spastic black man in a Best Buy commercial? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/43 "2003-02-28T01:22:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biggirl \* > I also think the girl poppin’ and lockin’ in that Mitsubishi ad is cute. I have enjoyed her act a lot more since I noticed that she’s not wearing a bra. :o ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/44 "2003-02-28T01:24:18Z")
Oh, no. I’ve just set boob relations back decades, haven’t I? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/45 "2003-02-28T02:07:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CanvasShoes \* > \*\*Amen!!! And personally, I think he’s kind of cute. I love geekboys. I think it’s really adorable the way they get all excited about games and techno stuff, and the little boy in them comes out. \*\* Can I get a “CanvasShoes, how **you** doin’?” from the congregation? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/46 "2003-02-28T02:38:33Z")
I don’t hate the Best Buy “Yeah Spiderman!” ad. I don’t think it’s racist. No, I look at it, and I shake my head, thinking that this guy is _lucky_ to have been chosen for a high-rotation national advertising campaign; that’s a pretty good paycheck. I feel bad for all the other actors who weren’t chosen. That must have been one humiliating fucking audition. “No! Jump around more! More excited! He’s your hero! You’re swinging on a web! Do the monkey dance! Now squeal like a pig! Okay, next.” > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \* > **I have enjoyed her act a lot more since I noticed that she’s not wearing a bra.** I live for the three quarters of a second in which this fact is obvious. I’m gonna give myself eyestrain. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/47 "2003-02-28T22:26:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \* > \*\*Oh, no. > > I’ve just set boob relations back decades, haven’t I? \*\* Oh, I don’ know. I might actually watch the commercial now, instead of diving for the remote… ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/48 "2003-02-28T22:33:54Z")
That Mistsubishi woman _is_ a boob. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/49 "2003-02-28T22:58:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MaxTheVool \* > \*\*Can I get a “CanvasShoes, how **you** doin’?” from the congregation? \*\* psssssssssst “geekboys” are MUCH much better lovers too!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/50 "2003-02-28T23:09:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blowero \* > \*\*That Mistsubishi woman _is_ a boob. \*\* The Dave Chapelle version is awesome, and in the outtakes, you see a boob! ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/51 "2003-02-28T23:24:11Z")
Not to be the lone dissenting voice in the wilderness here, but I _think_, that I can kind of understand where the OP is coming from. I recall that when I first saw the commercial, my first reaction was that the actor was behaving in a stereotypically “Black” way, and that I was a little surprised. My take on cultural perception is that there is a stereotype that black men are more, for lack of a better way to put it, loud or at least verbally exuberant. In this way, I can see how the commercial could be feeding on that. Let me ask you guys this: assume for a moment that the actor in this commercial were magically replaced with a white guy in Dockers and a polo shirt, but that the voice, movements and speech cadence were all the same. Would this seem seamless to you, or would something seem a little off? ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2003, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/52 "2003-02-28T23:51:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > FTR, I believe that hot guys of all races dancing in their underwear are underrepresented in TV ads. We must have MORE half-naked hot guys in commercials. Three words: Ralph Lauren commercial. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/53 "2003-03-01T00:45:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Binarydrone \* > \*\* > Let me ask you guys this: assume for a moment that the actor in this commercial were magically replaced with a white guy in Dockers and a polo shirt, but that the voice, movements and speech cadence were all the same. Would this seem seamless to you, or would something seem a little off? \*\* They have a different BB commercial with an Asian kid playing a Football video game who ends up dancing in the store. I don’t recall if there is a white guy acting goofy commercial. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/54 "2003-03-01T05:39:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Binarydrone \* > \*\*Let me ask you guys this: assume for a moment that the actor in this commercial were magically replaced with a white guy in Dockers and a polo shirt, but that the voice, movements and speech cadence were all the same. Would this seem seamless to you, or would something seem a little off? \*\* Not in the least. I can think of a dozen bygone soap, food, etc commercials in which white men have acted just as foolish. For that matter think “Revenge of the Nerds”. I know, I know, a movie, not a commercial, but still. I didn’t for a minute think anything remotely resembling “typical goofy black guy” when I saw the commercial. My overwhelming first thought was “aaaaaaaww, how adorable”. I honestly DO have a soft spot for the geeky types of the world. In fact, as another poster said earlier in this thread, this guy, and the guy in the underwear ads, seem to be the complete opposite of the “stereotypical black guy,” at least as is imagined by American society. In other words, the baggy-clothed rapper tough guy, or the equally tough-guy pimp type, or the “my baby-daddies” that one sees on the Springer show etc. And that (sorry in advance, hehe) is a GOOD thing!!! ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/55 "2003-03-01T08:16:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Binarydrone \* > Let me ask you guys this: assume for a moment that the actor in this commercial were magically replaced with a white guy in Dockers and a polo shirt, but that the voice, movements and speech cadence were all the same. Would this seem seamless to you, or would something seem a little off? I kind of see what you’re saying, but I just don’t get that impression when I see the ad. He does kind of drop ending consonants, i.e. “Spidah Man - savin’ the day”, but it doesn’t feel to me like a deliberate racist charicature at all - it just seems like the way the guy talks. I would imagine that if he had _over_ enunciated (like Eddie Murphy does when he imitates white people), that would have offended people as well. I’m pretty sure they have done similar ads with people of different races; I think they’re just trying to be egalitarian. If that ad is racist, how would you have done it so as _not_ to be racist? I can’t think of another way: Only use white people? - racist Use a black person who sounds “white”? - still racist Use a black person who is more subdued in his behavior? - misses the whole point of the commercial. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/56 "2003-03-01T08:21:07Z")
Sure guys, point well taken. I haven’t really seen a huge variety of these commercials, so I am not really fit to judge. For the most part, although the OP was a tab over the top, I just wanted to point out that his point of view was not without plausibility. ---
**Author:** ![NothingMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b77776/32.png) [@NothingMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NothingMan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/57 "2003-03-01T17:05:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\*The only people who i think are deserving of “tool” status are the big name, multi-millionaire actors who still feel the need to burden us with their presence in awful advertising campaigns. \*\* [SNL] “I’m Carson Daly and I’m a massive tool.”[/SNL] ---
**Author:** ![\_Bella\_s\_Moon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/8edcca/32.png) [@\_Bella\_s\_Moon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Bella_s_Moon)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/58 "2003-03-01T19:34:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tars Tarkas \* > \*\*The Dave Chapelle version is awesome, and in the outtakes, you see a boob! \*\* 😃 I thought that I was the only one in the world who watched that episode. LOL Yes, booby girl freakin’ out in the front seat of the car always brought back that "hurlin’ " feelin’ that I swore I lost after the whole Joe Boxer commercial. :dubious: [~_~Bella~_~](http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/239184) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-best-buy-commercial-featuring-that-spastic-black-man/156935/59 "2003-03-01T20:12:04Z")
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