I am much fussy about how men are portrayed in TV commercials in Canada. In most commercials involving a couple, the man will always be portrayed as a dim-witted buffoon, who will end up making some kind of mistake which his smart wife will rectify. This is somehow supposed to elicit laughter and sell your product. Never have I seen a role reversal. Wonder how many feminist will brandish their weapons should a role reversal is to happen
Few examples -
New Rona commercial - Husband builds some kind of garden right in middle of their living room and does not realise until his wife corrects him
- V8 commercials - All people getting smacked on their head are male. I sent a mail to Campbell asking them if they justified hitting men on their head. They replied me with their usual mumbo-jumbo
- Rogers HD terminal - Husband is all prepared with a drill to install the terminal, while wife explains that you just have to plug it in
- Rogers new smartphones - The guy make some suggestive "in and out" movements with phone, while girls expresses how she can make the use of phone.
- Another commercial where a girl asks some genie to improve his dad's game.
- Recent commercial on 680 news about some lottery - Husband asks wife to give him her pay so that he can play lottery
- An old chocolate commercial where a lady beats a guy and mounts on him to get a chocolate from him. Wonder if they also showed a man beating up a woman to get chocolate from her.
- An old RBC commercial about student loans. Both the commercials had parents worrying about paying university fees for their daughter.
Are guys so stupid? If man can be an object of ridicule, why not a woman?
As an man with normal level of intelligence, I get continually offended by such negative stereotypes of man in commercials. If men were so stupid, how would you account for all the progress that mankind has made since the dawn of evolution
Location: British Columbia
Posted on: 06-04-09 23:21:51
Quote:
Originally posted by meghal
- An old RBC commercial about student loans. Both the commercials had parents worrying about paying university fees for their daughter.
Are guys so stupid? If man can be an object of ridicule, why not a woman?
If men were so stupid, how would you account for all the progress that mankind has made since the dawn of evolution
How does the student loans commercial put men down?
Women have done great things throughout history so the progress you are referring to isnt just men ! women have also been MORE oppressed throughout history. Unfortunately dumb guy jokes dont make up for the atrocities against women in history.
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~ Morning rain
Why only ads, morning_rain? Look at the way the media is going ga ga over Michelle Obama's bangs and dresses....just a few month's back there was the possibility of a woman president...now we are back on ground we are accustomed to...the stereotyping is so strong..
Meghal, have you seen the Swiffer ads...or ads showing women as just shoppers, weight watchers or moms? That is infuriating too...
Your point is well taken if it is about use of humour in ads(which is really pathetic here), not so much about men....
Quote:
Michelle Obama's bangs
Location: British Columbia
Posted on: 07-04-09 09:56:59
Quote:
Originally posted by ranirani
Why only ads, morning_rain? Look at the way the media is going ga ga over Michelle Obama's bangs and dresses....just a few month's back there was the possibility of a woman president...now we are back on ground we are accustomed to...the stereotyping is so strong..
sorry - I didnt get you - ads?
look at octomum - its not just media, its also women themselves that sometimes perpetuate stereotypes.
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~ Morning rain
Could'nt agree more with Meghal. Firstly i find most of the ads boring and lame and it seems like almost a done thing here to give the male ego a real pounding. To site another example, the CHFi commercial with Erin and Mike.
I was teaching a course on leadership recently. We discussed the gender issues surrounding leadership roles at length.
It was a surprise to me(or maybe not that much) that across cultures and genders, people found masculine 'traits' more leadership linked than 'feminine' traits. For example, Margaret Thatcher had to be the "Iron Lady"....
So you are right on that MR.
Coming to the media, my point is that it is part of perpetuating stereotypes...but we do that to ourselves too...
