People News
Federline's fast food nation
Jan 25, 2007, 12:30 GMT
Kevin Federline in a scene from a 30-second ad for Nationwide Insurance due to be aired during Super Bowl XLI. In the advert, Federline is shown dreaming he is a rap star but then snaps out of it to face reality -- he\'s working at a burger restaurant. REUTERS/Handout
Kevin Federline has infuriated fast food workers by mocking their job in his Super Bowl commercial for Nationwide Insurance.
The president of the National Restaurant Association (NRA) has branded the ad - which shows Kevin daydreaming about being a rap star while cooking French fries in a fast food joint - "demeaning and unpleasant".
In a letter to Nationwide Insurance, NRA President Steven Anderson said: "This commercial is a strong and direct insult to the 12.8 million Americans who work in the restaurant industry. It would give the impression that working in a restaurant is demeaning and unpleasant.
"If it is aired during the Super Bowl the NRA will make sure that our membership - many of whom are customers of Nationwide - know the negative implications this ad portrays of the restaurant industry."
Nationwide's vice president of advertising and brand management Steven Schreibman insists the intention of the commercial isn't to mock fast food workers.
He said: "We're not making fun of anybody, except maybe Kevin Federline."
The Nationwide commercial - featuring the slogan "Life comes at you fast" - will premiere on the company's website on Monday January 29, before airing during the Super Bowl on February 4.
Kevin's estranged wife Britney Spears, 25, filed for divorce from the 28-year-old in November after two years of marriage.
Both are seeking sole custody of their two sons, four-month-old Jayden James and 16-month-old Sean Preston.
Kevin's debut rap album, 'Playing With Fire', sold just 6,500 copies in its first week of release last November, and it has been reported that a pre-nuptial agreement he and Britney signed will leave him with nothing after the divorce.
(C) BANG Media International
