Old Navy just wanted to add a little fun to their commercial with the mannequins and their sale on $15 dresses
The commercial takes place in a boutique store, where several mannequins are seen decorated with an assortment of clothing. "The Super Modelquins," as they are called, are primarily composed of four white females, and two black ones--a fully grown, alongside a much younger one. Just as a conversation ensues between the mannequins, on fashion-related subjects, a customer appears to yank the clothes off the body of the older black female mannequin, Michelle--rendering her naked. "Sweet!" a white male customer exclaims, as the hands of Michelle's husband are drawn over the white man's eyes, to protect her nakedness. The details are so graphic, that even a nearby dog puffs out a "ruff-ruff," in excitement. "Hey, man, keep your... eyes off my wife," the husband jokingly warns the white-male onlooker. "I can't; your fingers don't close," he retorts.
The climatic conclusion comes from Michelle, who seems to rebuff her husband's sensitivity, with the following: "Oh what, like you've never seen plastic before." This insulting parody, as I see it, is inappropriate, at best, and racist, at worst. The decision to use "Michelle," in light of the First Lady's booming popularity, might have single-handedly set up a trap, out of which Old Navy is unable to disentangle itself.
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