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.
