There’s been a bit of a controversy over a new Israeli television commercial for a local chain called Lighting Warehouse (sort of a Home Depot for light fixtures), starring local Miki Buganim, a celebrity make-up artist and hair stylist. Buganim did transsexual pop star Dana International‘s hair and makeup when she won the 1998 Eurovision song contest for Diva; he was also one of the bitchier judges on the local rip-off of America’s Top Model, The Models, which won a huge rating last year when the Arab-Muslim contestant, Niral Karantinji (English info here), made the final cut and then won (although not much has been heard from her since then).

There’s no skin in the commercial for Lighting Warehouse, below, but there’s a lot of innuendo. It’s all slang, which is a total pain to translate, but I gave it my best shot…

Buganim marches into the store while chatting on his mobile with his friend Suzy. “Suzy, you kill me!” he says. “Of course I’m only at Lighting Warehouse for the lamps!” A handsome salesmen informs Miki, “There’s 70 percent off the whole stock.” Miki winks and says, “I’d take it for 69, too.” Then he looks at another sexy salesman adjusting a light fixture on the ceiling and, speaking into his mobile, says, “Suz, what a body…of light!” Pointing at the guy adjusting a goose neck lamp he says, “Only 49 shekels – and it bends over, too!” Miki then stands back to admire the admirably flat exposed torso of a Lighting Warehouse employee as he hangs a (really ugly) red glass chandelier from the ceiling and says, “Charming! I can see it in my bedroom…suspended!” He orders the salesmen, who are lined up holding his boxed purchases, to take “Everything to my place!” As they finish loading up his SUV he says to the camera, speaking in the female plural, “So? Are you coming, or are you just going to stand around gossiping*?” The voice over narration announces that there’s a year-end sale and everything’s 70 percent off. Miki sums up by saying, “I came.” (snaps his fingers) “I got turned on.”

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=QHyXMCTPpUA]

According to 34 year-old Sefi Shaked (pronounced shah-KED), who created the campaign for Lighting Warehouse, sales have tripled in the two weeks since the advertisement was first broadcast. Lighting Warehouse is so proud of the clip that it has uploaded it to the company website. But the media has not been kind to Shaked or to Buganim. Critics claim that the advert is demeaning to gays, because it perpetuates negative stereotypes, and that it’s a new low in cheesy innuendo. In this response on a Channel 10 talk show with advertising professionals (Hebrew clip), Shaked points out that 30 percent of Israeli television advertisements contain sexual innuendo, including nudity. He accuses his critics of hypocrisy. “The only reason people are criticizing this commercial more than they criticize other commercials that have much stronger sexual content is because Miki is gay, and he comes on to men instead of women.”

Below is a recently aired commercial for Israeli clothing chain Fox, starring local teen heart throb/actor/basketball player Michael Lewis (19) and Esti Ginzburg (17), tagged “the world’s young and promising recent discovery” by French Elle.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=kkH7uG9I9Gw]

So. Which one do you think is more suggestive? Do you find either one offensive? Or both? Or neither? Why or why not? And do you think Shefi Shaked is justified in accusing his critics of homophobia?

* The infinitive of the verb Miki uses for “gossip” is “lehitlarler” (להתלרלר). I’d never heard it, and neither had any of my native Hebrew speaker friends. Finally, I found the explanation on this Hebrew blog. Apparently the word comes from the Iraqi-Arabic term for “gossip” or “chatter.” Mizrachi gay slang, I guess….

UPDATE: So a friend just called to inform me that “lehitlarler” actually has two meanings: it is also derived from the word “rir” (ריר), which means saliva. In other words, the sentence could also mean, “So? Are you coming or are you just going to stand around drooling?” Aaahhhhhh….. NOW I get it.