K-Fed Super Bowl Ad Offends National Restaurant Association
By Chris Richburg
Date: 1/24/2007 4:40 pm
Kevin Federline can add another name to his list of detractors.
The 28-year-old rapper and former husband of pop singer Britney Spears has come under fire by the National Restaurant Association for his role in a new Nationwide Mutual Insurance ad, which seemingly paints a negative image of the restaurant industry and its workers.
The ad, which Nationwide plans to unveil a week before its official debut Feb. 4 during this year’s Super Bowl, features Federline rapping in a slick music video only to appear later daydreaming while working as a french-fry maker at a rundown fast-food restaurant.
News of the clip has drawn the ire of National Restaurant Association president and CEO Steven C. Anderson, who expressed “serious concerns” about the ad in a letter to Nationwide’s CEO, Jerry Jurgensen.
“We hope that these reports are inaccurate and that Nationwide will not be airing such an ad that would give the impression that working in a restaurant is demeaning and unpleasant,” Anderson wrote in his letter, dated Monday (Jan. 22). “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.”
The Federline ad is the latest in a string of Nationwide "Life Comes at You Fast" promotions, which have debuted during the Super Bowl.
The company showed romance novel coverboy Fabio morphing into an old man in its 2006 Super Bowl, while spotlighting rapper MC Hammer in a 2005 regional ad that showed his belongings being repossessed after his real-life bankruptcy made headlines.
Despite the humorous tone of the ads, Anderson believes the Federline spot could damage the image of the country’s 935,000 restaurants.
“Developing creative concepts that accomplish the marketing strategies for a product should not require denigrating another industry” wrote Anderson, who hoped Nationwide would portray restaurants and its employees more accurately in the future.
“Should an ad of this nature run during the Super Bowl, we will make sure that our membership -- many of whom are customers of Nationwide -- know the negative implications this ad portrays of the restaurant industry,” Anderson said.
While the Association is seeing red, Federline is enjoying the chance to make light of his much talked-about persona.
"It's perfect for Nationwide, and it really works for me. I try not to take myself too seriously," he told USA Today.
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