Last year, Baskin Robbins began running a series of amusing, unconventional TV commercials. My favorite: At a kids' soccer game, a coach shouts an encouraging bribe to his team -- that Baskin Robbins sundaes await them if they win. (Works for me.)
The coach's exhortation gets the attention of one of the spectators, a typical soccer mom with an obvious craving for an ice-cream sundae. After a moment's hesitation, she dashes onto the pitch and kicks the ball halfway to Canton, Massachusetts.
Then, flush with adrenaline, she bends down toward a kid on the opposing team, gets right up in his grille and lets out with a war-cry scream:"In your FACE!"
The very first time I saw that spot, I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. I found it fun and edgy, a rare gem on the sanitized wasteland that is American television -- which guaranteed, of course, that it wouldn't last long.
The revised version of the commercial, which debuted last week, begins with the coach's bribe and continues through the mom's energetic kick -- but instead of trash-screaming at the kid, she trots to the sideline and meekly high-fives a couple of other soccer parents.
From what I've gathered, Baskin Robbins deleted the scream scene after hearing from people who whined that it was "creepy," even "abusive."
Color me disappointed, if not surprised.
It's not unusual for an advertiser to respond to complaints by re-working (or pulling) a spot. Caving to political correctness is just part of doing business in today's hyper-sensitive marketplace.
It often seems that ninnies rule that marketplace. I fear that someday they'll rule the world.
