You might remember sitting on your couch in 2012 when you heard the opening chords of a soulful melody, something like a multi-platinum Mary J. Blige track. You perk up, probably expecting a new anthem for the heartbroken, only to see the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul standing on a cafeteria table singing about the textural integrity of a Burger King snack wrap.
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That’s just one of cringy commercials that had many Black folks not only laughing out loud, but giving serious side-eyes. So, in honor of Super Bowl LX— where the Seattle Seahawks will face off against Stefon Diggs’ fur boots the New England Patriots on Sunday— we’ve compiled a list of commercials that unfortunately, had us experiencing second-hand embarrassment.
McDonald’s “McNugget Lovin’” R&B Dude
McDonald’s probably assumed as long as they added R&B riffs and attractive Black people in commercials, Black folks would flock to their nearest location and order chicken nuggets in 2003.
Maybe they were right, however, it didn’t stop many from roasting the fast food giant after a man found his girlfriend creepin’ in the kitchen at night, not with another man, but with a 10-piece nugget. He then breaks into a full 90s-style slow jam, pleading, “Girl, you got a 10-piece please don’t be sting-aaaayyyyy.”
Mary J. Blige and Those Snack Wraps
The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul stood on a table in a Burger King to belt out the ingredients of a crispy chicken wrap like she was performing at the Apollo.
After singing about that “crispy chicken, fresh lettuce, three cheeses, ranch dressing,” the 2012 ad was pulled almost immediately after fans accused it of playing into chicken stereotypes. Blige later admitted the commercial was a “mistake.”
“Arguably the Most Racist Commercial in History”
Before he was a three-time Grammy winner, Tyler, the Creator directed a series of Mountain Dew ads featuring Felicia the Goat in 2013. One ad featured the goat, voiced by Tyler, in a police lineup alongside several Black men with a battered white woman trying to identify the goat as her attacker.
Critics called the commercial “arguably the most racist commercial in history.” PepsiCo pulled the ad, but Tyler told Billboard the backlash was “ludicrous.”
“Can’t Touch This…Honey BBQ Chicken”
Long after “U Can’t Touch This” (1990) stopped topping the music charts, MC Hammer became the face of KFC’s honey BBQ chicken in 1992.
The cringe factor came after watching a music legend perform his iconic dance moves while promoting a cardboard bucket of chicken— a play into the stereotype of Black folks and chicken— yet again.
Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi Ad
Resolving a heated police standoff by handing an officer a can of Pepsi amid a protest had the internet roasting the tone deaf ad, and Kendall Jenner, for weeks on end in 2017!
It’s widely considered the biggest “read the room” failure in advertising history for trivializing social justice movements. Jenner later apologized and said she felt “stupid” and “devastated” by the backlash.
Shaquille O’Neal And…Any Product With Electricity
Folks have noticed Shaquille O’Neal will seemingly promote anything after his retirement from the NBA in 2011.
From Icy Hot, to printers, to car insurance and cars themselves (like Buicks he could barely fit in), the “Inside the NBA” co-host is a familiar face in commercials, leading many to believe whatever he’s endorsing falls flat by default.
Oprah “Loves Bread!”
Oprah Winfrey released a 30-second spot to announce she had lost 26 pounds with WeightWatchers despite loving bread and eating it “every single day” in 2016.
She didn’t just say she liked bread, some folks teased her because to them she spoke as if carbs were a long-lost lover. Her repetition of “I love bread” even spawned endless memes and social media remixes on the now-defunct social media app Vine: “YOU get a baguette! YOU get a biscuit!”
Romeo Miller is “So ICDC!”
When Romeo Miller became the face of ICDC College in 2011, he rapped about the school in what many said looked like a low-budget music video.
Viewers found it hilariously hypocritical that he rapped how to “get on the right track” with an associate’s degree from a strip-mall college while he was attending the University of Southern California on a basketball scholarship. (However, the jingle was kinda catchy!)
Snoop Dogg…and Damn Near Every Brand
Like Shaquille O’Neal, Snoop Dogg’s face is now so synonymous with a brand’s commercial some say it’s difficult to take his endorsement serious.
Nearly every ad he does with Martha Stewart: Bic lighters, Tostitos, 19 Crimes wine, etc., relies on the exact same joke: Snoop likes weed. It was funny in 2016; by 2026, it feels like a rehearsed comedy sketch that just won’t end.
Rihanna and Beer??
Rihanna, famously know for carrying a wine glass out of fine dining restaurants, swapped the wine for a longneck Budweiser in 2013.
In what feels like a fever dream, Rihanna tried to convince the world that she spent her downtime drinking the same beer as a guy watching a Monday night football game in a recliner.
Usher and Honey Nut Cheerios
Honey Nut Cheerios’ 2014 ad’s premise was that “bees communicate through dance.” So, Usher and Buzz the Bee had a literal conversation through fancy footwork.
Seeing one of the greatest dancers of all time take a cartoon bee’s choreography seriously was the definition of a “why am I watching this?” moment.
Kanye West’s Super Bowl LIX Ad
If you watched Super Bowl LIX, when the Philadelphia Eagles whooped the Kansas City Chiefs, you might have seen Kanye West pop up on the TV screen sitting in dental chair. In the 30-second spot, he promoted his Yeezy fashion brand, we previously told you.
He instructed viewers to visit his website, where you would find a single article of clothing for sale: a $20 white tee with a black swastika on the front. SMH.
Birdman and Lugz
Long before Bryan “Birdman” Williams demanded “respek” on his name, he was the face of Lugz in 2004. While other rappers were signing deals with Nike and Reebok, the Cash Money mogul doubled down on the working man’s boot brand for over a decade.
Lugz, widely viewed as the budget alternative to Timberlands, had the man who claimed to have million-dollar cars pitching a shoe you could find at a mall kiosk for $50.
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