He Likes Square Butts–But Is It Wrong?

The latest Burger King Kid's Meal ad may have taken inappropriate marketing to a whole new level by using a song expressing a love of large butts to sell food to kids.

There are very few things on TV that could possibly shock people anymore. There are reality shows dedicated to plastic surgery, rehab and marrying strangers. Not to mention Tyra Banks, Jerry Springer and Flava Flav.

And yet, a new BK ad features a retooled version of Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Go Back" that plays while the Burger King shakes his stuff with a group of square-butted women.

"I like square butts and I cannot lie," The King declares, while also professing his affinity for SpongeBob Squarepants.

Funny? Sure. Absurd? Definitely. Inappropriate? That's for you to decide.

The "I Like Square Butts" video is a great laugh for anyone who was around in the early 90's -- it holds true to Sir Mix-A-Lot's original one-hit wonder homage to the posterior in both look and humor.
 
But, that laughter can quickly turn to disgust because the ad is for a 99-cent kid's meal that includes a SpongeBob toy.

Woman shaking their derrières (even if they are humorously stuffed with phone books) isn't really the best thing to push on kids, now is it?

It doesn't help that towards the end of the ad Mix-a-Lot himself proclaims that, "booty is booty."

The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is decrying the ad as "highly-sexualized."

"It's bad enough when companies use a beloved media character like SpongeBob to promote junk food to children, but it's utterly reprehensible when that character simultaneously promotes objectified, sexualized images of women... Please tell Nickelodeon and Burger King to immediately pull this ad off the air," said the CCFC on their Web site, where they have launched a letter-writing campaign urging the King to pull the ad.

But the King isn't taking this laying down.

"As with all Burger King adult advertising campaigns, the SpongeBob commercial featuring Sir Mix-A-Lot’s famous song airs only during shows targeting adult audiences, and with the King and a popular '90s rapper as the headliners, is meant to appeal to the adults who take their families to Burger King restaurants for good food and entertainment," said The King.

"This commercial is intended to show that even adults can have fun, laugh and be silly with entertainment genres -- such as rap and pop culture icons -- that have become part of everyday life."

Jenna Jameson is a pop culture icon; can we expect to see her in a new Burger King ad soon? Maybe "Bun-Hungry Sluts XIV?"

Oh, that's right, Carl's Jr. has already cornered the market on burger porn.

Did Burger King overstep the line of responsible advertising to enter the realm of poor taste and inappropriate content? Watch the ad and decide for yourself:

And check out the full music video:

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