Utah State Fair ads pulled... too "sensual" or just racist?

Jared Hess, of Napoleon Dynamite fame ponders if racism is the reason these ads he directed were pulled. In the ads a jheri-curled soul singer is seen serenading a pig and a funnel cake, in a rather over the top fashion. The Utah State Fair Board members have said the ads just "weren't right." Some said they were offensive.

The Utah State Fair Board decided to pull the TV ads when some board members felt they had "sexual undertones" and were "over the top." But Hess says he believes it was only because the actor is black.

The actor in the ad, Markus T. Boddie says he doesn't believe the decision was racially motivated, but he can't say for sure.

"The spirit that we were trying to go for was the old ‘70s singers. They were ultrasmooth, ultracool and they could say anything and make it sound good."

Says Markus T. Boddie who does a really good supah-cheesay soul singer. Bonus points for Boddie pulling out his inner Barry White in the last words in this interview to purr Take a chill pill, baybeh.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

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Meanwhile, the radio-ads with the exact same songs are still running.

* Edit See comments, I only just learned how to spell "Jheri-curl" right. Not "Jerry-curl" then. I bet this knowledge will leave my head in the next five minutes and I'll make this mistake again in the future.src="adland.tv/tah-state-fair-uncommonly-good-pigs-2010-30-usa&viral.onpause=true&viral.oncomplete=true&viral.functions=embed,link" />
Utah State Fair - Uncommonly Good Pigs - (2010) :30 (Usa)

Meanwhile, the radio-ads with the exact same songs are still running.

* Edit See comments, I only just learned how to spell "Jheri-curl" right. Not "Jerry-curl" then. I bet this knowledge will leave my head in the next five minutes and I'll make this mistake again in the future.