Has society forgotten to laugh?
by Bernie Scheffler, editor-in-chief

    Last month, Burger King decided to pull the plug on a new TV ad that poked fun at two-year college students.

    The ad, designed to promote a new 'value' menu, showed two students speaking with a talking menu board. The menu concludes that because the two are junior college students, they donÕt have much money and probably never will.

    As you can imagine, the comment sparked quite a response from the politically correct police. Junior college and community college officials from all over the country registered complaints with Burger King. The officials complained that the spot sends a message that two-year college students are not receiving a quality education.

    The ad, which Burger King says they tested in focus groups, was merely intended to be funny. Even the students themselves, who were filmed candidly and then asked if they'd like to appear in the commercial, had no objections to the content.

    Since when do we expect our humorists to be politically correct? Humorous comments should be taken as such. Obviously, an ad featuring a walking, talking menu board is not intended to offer any serious social commentary.

    I think its ridiculous to say that Burger King was actually causing damage to the reputation of two-year schools.

    It's a common perception that students are low on cash. Students at four-year colleges and universities are generally living on limited funds, too. My empty wallet and small checking account balance certainly reflect the stereotype of the poor college student.

    It is sad that Burger King decided to pull the ad because college officials complained. The students thought it was funny, and they are the demographic group the ad is most probably aimed at anyway.

    We should not be so quick to complain about humor in advertising. Slander should not be tolerated, but that's not really the case here.

    If you don't like the ad, don't go to Burger King, but let them advertise as they please within reason.