Padma Lakshmi shills for Hardees Thickburger

[Shalmanese]

Video here.

Wow, I thought she had more class than that. I can't imagine her actually eating these things in real life and the ad doesn't make too much sense regardless.

[Reignking]

Here we go again It's the Tom Collichio/Diet Coke debate, round #2!

[plattetude]

Video here.

Wow, I thought she had more class than that. I can't imagine her actually eating these things in real life and the ad doesn't make too much sense regardless.

←

I can totally imagine her eating these in real life, with or without the gratuitous, near-pornographic commercial to hammer home the point (not that I'm complaining -- great synergy of her foodie persona and sexuality to sell the product, IMHO). After all, she's made it clear on a lot of the Top Chef challenges that she gets the munchies as bad as anyone.

Christopher

[saturnbar]

All I can say is wow. I guess sex sells, and they didn't miss a trick. At first I was thinking, geez, talk about cleavage, and that was just the beginning. This one is right there with the Paris Hilton Carl's Jr. ad. Not sure its the best move for her, but I guess if Revlon isn't calling.

[Florida]

Well, I guess we all have bills to pay....

[Flotch]

Didn't think she would do something like this. But as mentioned above, sex sells and she oozes it!

[slkinsey]

Are you kidding?! We're not talking about Alice Waters here. Padma Lakshmi is a model-turned-actress-turned-cookbook writer-turned television personality. What does she have to "sell out"? I mean, I'm not saying she's a horrible person or whatever. But she makes her living as a media figure. Period. Meanwhile, reminding everyone that she's super-hot is not a bad strategic move. I can't say that I believe she eats a lot of gigantic bacon cheeseburgers and keeps that figure, but that's another subject.

I guess Paris Hilton is selling out too.

Edited March 31, 2009 by slkinsey (log)

[Florida]

"Selling out" refers to the compromising of one's integrity, morality and principles in exchange for money, 'success' (however defined) or other personal gain

I think it can be argued that Padma, by shilling a fast-food burger, is compromising the "gourmand" persona she has nutured on Top Chef.

On the other hand Paris Hilton has no integrity, morality, or principles for which to compromise.

[plattetude]

I think it can be argued that Padma, by shilling a fast-food burger, is compromising the "gourmand" persona she has nutured on Top Chef.

←

Even if she might *gasp* actually think it's a good burger?

[Bricktop]

Are you kidding?!  We're not talking about Alice Waters here.  Padma Lakshmi is a model-turned-actress-turned-cookbook writer-turned television personality.  What does she have to "sell out"?  I mean, I'm not saying she's a horrible person or whatever.  But she makes her living as a media figure.  Period.  Meanwhile, reminding everyone that she's super-hot is not a bad strategic move.  I can't say that I believe she eats a lot of gigantic bacon cheeseburgers and keeps that figure, but that's another subject.

I guess Paris Hilton is selling out too.

←

Well said. She's got little to no food cred with me. Grab that moolah while the getting's good, Padma!

ETA: And WOWZER, that was a near R-rated ad!

Edited March 31, 2009 by Bricktop (log)

[Florida]

I think it can be argued that Padma, by shilling a fast-food burger, is compromising the "gourmand" persona she has nutured on Top Chef.

←

Even if she might *gasp* actually think it's a good burger?

←

Well, she is more than entitled to think it is a good burger. However, if one of the Top Chef contestants put one of these burgers in front of her on Top Chef, would Padma react as orgasmically? I doubt it. And there is the compromise. You can't say "it's great" and "it sucks" both at the same time and expect people to accept both opinions as accurate just because they are opinions. Doing such leaves you (rightfully) open to criticism.

[Alcuin]

It makes sense to me. If we assume that she does like the burger (which we don't have to), then the premise of the ad works: I've traveled the world, tasted lots of things, and even still there's something about a burger with bacon on it that keeps on calling me.

People are sometimes surprised, though they shouldn't be, that I like a hot dog or piece of pizza as much as I like fine dining. I have different criteria for thinking about hot dogs and truffle explosions. Both to my mind they can both be called "great." The criteria changes, so that might mean something different in some respects (though not others), but I don't see a problem with it.

I'd do this commercial in a heartbeat. How is it selling out when people have been waxing poetic about bacon for years (even if that's an old chestnut by now)? She says she's tasted everything and still loves bacon. I'd say the same thing.

[mtigges]

My comment on this is ... "thank you." (It's directed at Padma.)

Seriously though, if she looked at us through the camera and sternly told us she _loves_ this burger, then I'd have a gripe. But this? She's having some fun, shilling a guilty pleasure.

Everybody loves a fatty greasy sandwich. Smile and enjoy her ability to do that kind of ad.

And, for petes sake lighten up.

[KatieLoeb]

Talk about food porn...

[Florida]

My point remains:

If she was served this on Top Chef, would she react the same?

It has nothing to do with being able to like a fatty greasy sandwich, a hot dog, a pizza pizza and Achatz or Keller. Liking plebian food and high cuisine are not mutually exclusive.

I has to do with cognitive dissonace. You say one thing. You say another. If the two don't match, people scratch their head.

I'd do this commercial in a heartbeat. How is it selling out when people have been waxing poetic about bacon for years (even if that's an old chestnut by now)? She says she's tasted everything and still loves bacon. I'd say the same thing.

You might. I wouldn't.

I would say not all bacon is created equally. I think there are many who would agree:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...115638&hl=bacon

[Alcuin]

My point remains:

If she was served this on Top Chef, would she react the same?

It has nothing to do with being able to like a fatty greasy sandwich, a hot dog, a pizza pizza and Achatz or Keller.  Liking plebian food and high cuisine are not mutually exclusive.

I has to do with cognitive dissonace. You say one thing.  You say another. If the two don't match, people scratch their head.

←

You say that liking a hotdog and fine dining aren't mutually exclusive, but following the guidelines you're staking out here they are. If I say "coffee and donuts" from Keller are good and I say the coffee and donuts from my local diner are good, are you saying that I don't have integrity? I wouldn't expect a person to scratch his/her head when I said that, because it's pretty obvious that I don't mean they're "good" in the same way.

If I wrote an essay about how ironic, fun, and creative the coffee and donuts I got at the diner were, people would likely scratch their heads. If I wrote an essay about how I went to FL because I was hungry and decided to pull off the road to get some grub, people would scratch their heads. We have different expectations about different experiences and therefore we have different criteria for judging whether they're "good" or not.

[Batard]

Even if she might *gasp* actually think it's a good burger?

←

Turns out that Padama really does love her some burgers. In one of her cookbooks she talks about her love for bacon cheeseburgers and how her mother could smell them on her when she was young. And in a People Magazine interview she says, "I grew up a vegetarian. Then, because I grew up in the states, I started slowly eating meat. First it was bologna sandwiches, or pepperoni on pizza. As a teenager, [my friends and I] would always go have burgers. I would scarf them down!"

Edited March 31, 2009 by Batard (log)

[plattetude]

Even if she might *gasp* actually think it's a good burger?

←

Turns out that Padama really does love her some burgers. In one of her cookbooks she talks about her love for bacon cheeseburgers and how her mother could smell them on her when she was young. And in a People Magazine interview she says, "I grew up a vegetarian. Then, because I grew up in the states, I started slowly eating meat. First it was bologna sandwiches, or pepperoni on pizza. As a teenager, [my friends and I] would always go have burgers. I would scarf them down!"

←

Which I'll point out again is totally consistent with her talk and behavior on Top Chef. So I really don't see any cognitive dissonance.

C

[Batard]

Also, Padma is -- or at least was brought up -- Hindu. Eating the forbidden meat must have been an ultimate act of youthful rebellion.

[muichoi]

She seems to have lifted her act wholesale from Nigella Lawson. I find it fairly disgusting.

[Zeemanb]

I can't say if she's sold out, but my favorite tattoo artist called me the other day to make sure how to spell "DOLLAR DOLLAR BILL'S Y'ALL!".

[slkinsey]

My point remains:

If she was served this on Top Chef, would she react the same?

Who gives a crap? Come on! It's a reality TV show!!! Does anyone really think that Padma freakin' Lakshmi is some kind of arbiter as to what is and isn't good in food? Is it possible... now bear with me here... is it just maybe possible that she got cast in that show because she's media-friendly and could serve as eye-candy?

[chezcherie]

oh, please, paris. i mean padma.

whatevs....

since when does she have food cred, anyway? since she was the hostess of top chef? let's not forget the previous hostess, katie lee joel. not the greatest of chops required. (yeah, i know...they both wrote cookbooks. still not impressed.)

[Florida]

My point remains:

If she was served this on Top Chef, would she react the same?

It has nothing to do with being able to like a fatty greasy sandwich, a hot dog, a pizza pizza and Achatz or Keller.  Liking plebian food and high cuisine are not mutually exclusive.

I has to do with cognitive dissonace. You say one thing.  You say another. If the two don't match, people scratch their head.

←

You say that liking a hotdog and fine dining aren't mutually exclusive, but following the guidelines you're staking out here they are. If I say "coffee and donuts" from Keller are good and I say the coffee and donuts from my local diner are good, are you saying that I don't have integrity? I wouldn't expect a person to scratch his/her head when I said that, because it's pretty obvious that I don't mean they're "good" in the same way.

←

The problem is that Hardee's isn't good. I don't know shit about your local diner.

It must just be me. It appears I missed the numerous threads on eGullet that talk about how great fast food is.

[slkinsey]

The problem is that Hardee's isn't good.

My fast food burger-eating experience is extremely slim over the past decade or more. You won't find me in one of those places unless it's in an airport or I'm in the middle of a long drive.

That said, I recently ate in a Hardee's while driving from Kansas City to Manhattan (Kansas) and was quite favorably impressed within the context of fast food burgers. It certainly blew away any Burger King, McDonald's or Wendy's burger I've had in living memory.