Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Stop the Whoppers

By Sam Buntz, Staff Columnist

Although I'm certain I have found many other commercials more viscerally irritating, I cannot recall a series of ads so obnoxious and insulting to the conscience as Burger King's recent "Whopper Virgins" ad campaign. These commercials are faux documentaries depicting villagers from isolated hamlets in places like rural Thailand and Romania. They are invited to chow down on Whoppers and Big Macs (neither of which they have ever tasted) and judge which one is best. Since this is a Burger King commercial, the vast majority of participants choose Whoppers (actually a less healthy selection than the Big Mac: with cheese, the Whopper has 770 calories, while the Big Mac has 560.) More »

Fourth and Long

By Christian Kiely, Staff columnist and former Opinion editor

When the Detroit Lions went 0-16 this year, they made history. Yet when the Dartmouth Big Green football team went winless for the first time since 1883, no one blinked. Why? Because no one cares anymore. There exist many explanations for why being a football fan at Dartmouth has taken a back seat to other Saturday traditions -- like doing homework -- but one reason stands out above the rest: Dartmouth football stinks. More »