Men are stupid in commercials

[kenny]

I hate TV, but my partner loves it so sometimes I'm exposed to it.

I notice a common format for commercials is they present some problem and the solution is their product.
More often than not the man can't figure something out and the woman has the solution.
It will end with the woman in focus up front looking heroic, with the man in the background, out of focus, playing with the children.

I'm sure if the genders were reversed, and women were consistently made to look stupid, helpless and domestic, there would be hell to pay.

 

[Arkteia]

You know, it is not only the situation, it is who they choose to play these guys. Actors playing men in these commercials "overplay" the dumb part. The only commercial where a woman looks outre is the one from Progressive. The girl playing the part looks seriously manic, but still not dumb! So I tend to agree with you.

 

[jewelz617]

Yes, and in every commercial you see for a cleaning product, the woman is the one scrubbing away while the guy is out in the yard playing football.

Goes both ways.

I don''t know why there would be "hell to pay" anyway, there are better things to worry about than television.

 

[trillionaire]

this is the typical theme in sit-coms too. Think: According to Jim, What about Raymond, even the Cosby Show back in the day... I agree that it''s problematic, but then again, having lived with my brother and FI, I DO wonder what men are thinking a lot of the time. My dad is very smart and pretty logical though.

 

[ksinger]

Date: 3/10/2010 12:26:13 PM
Author:kenny
I hate TV, but my partner loves it so sometimes I''m exposed to it.

I notice a common format for commercials is they present some problem and the solution is their product.
More often than not the man can''t figure something out and the woman has the solution.
It will end with the woman in focus up front looking heroic, with the man in the background, out of focus, playing with the children.

I''m sure if the genders were reversed, and women were consistently made to look stupid, helpless and domestic, there would be hell to pay.

This is pretty hilarious if you ask me. Women have been made to look stupid, helpless and domestic for MILLENIA. It''s only in the last 100 and only here and in Europe, that we haven''t been trivialized in ALL areas of life, and I mean TRULY trivialized - like being seen as too childlike or morally inferior to own property, have a credit card, buy a home, or control our own fertility. Kinda helps to put stuff in perspective a bit, don''tcha think?

The ad people don''t care what sells, they just care that they have sales. And I suspect they don''t care who gets poked with the short stick today. I also suspect a bunch of them are men, so you might want to take issue with your own buddies.

And considering how many times I''ve actually HAD a man do that helpless thing when it comes to anything "cleaning", and considering how most working women are still doing the lion''s share of the housework, it''s not surprising that that approach does sell. They aren''t marketing to men after all. Most of us women wish they could and would.

So no sympathy here. If men are portrayed as bewildered, bumbling, but well-meaning fools, well it''s better than invoking some genuine, and deserved female rage, right? So..kwitcherbitchin''.

 

[princesss]

Date: 3/10/2010 12:29:46 PM
Author: PinkAsscher678
Yes, and in every commercial you see for a cleaning product, the woman is the one scrubbing away while the guy is out in the yard playing football.

Goes both ways.

I don't know why there would be 'hell to pay' anyway, there are better things to worry about than television.

Agreed. In every commercial I can think of where the man is meant to look dumb, it's for something that's considered "women's work" - cleaning, taking care of the kids, gardening, etc. So the bumbling man can't figure out how to get a stain out, and his wife who isn't at all tired from working and taking care of the rambunctious children and the dog that's constantly underfoot patiently takes the shirt from him and cleans it herself. Reinforcing stereotypes much? I'd much rather it be a tired woman coming home, facing a load of laundry she doesn't have energy for/know how to do, only to see her hubs holding a bottle of whatevertheheckitis stain detergent saying, "Don't worry about it, honey - this works magic so we don't have to!" putting the laundry in the washer, and then running to pull the lasange out of the oven.

Actually, even if the commercials weren't like that, I wouldn't mind life being that way!

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Date: 3/10/2010 12:53:31 PM
Author: ksinger

Date: 3/10/2010 12:26:13 PM
Author:kenny
I hate TV, but my partner loves it so sometimes I''m exposed to it.

I notice a common format for commercials is they present some problem and the solution is their product.
More often than not the man can''t figure something out and the woman has the solution.
It will end with the woman in focus up front looking heroic, with the man in the background, out of focus, playing with the children.

I''m sure if the genders were reversed, and women were consistently made to look stupid, helpless and domestic, there would be hell to pay.

This is pretty hilarious if you ask me. Women have been made to look stupid, helpless and domestic for MILLENIA. It''s only in the last 100 and only here and in Europe, that we haven''t been trivialized in ALL areas of life, and I mean TRULY trivialized - like being seen as too childlike or morally inferior to own property, have a credit card, buy a home, or control our own fertility. Kinda helps to put stuff in perspective a bit, don''tcha think?

The ad people don''t care what sells, they just care that they have sales. And I suspect they don''t care who gets poked with the short stick today. I also suspect a bunch of them are men, so you might want to take issue with your own buddies.

And considering how many times I''ve actually HAD a man do that helpless thing when it comes to anything ''cleaning'', and considering how most working women are still doing the lion''s share of the housework, it''s not surprising that that approach does sell. They aren''t marketing to men after all. Most of us women wish they could and would.

So no sympathy here. If men are portrayed as bewildered, bumbling, but well-meaning fools, well it''s better than invoking some genuine, and deserved female rage, right? So..kwitcherbitchin''.

Karen, as usual, you read my mind!

BTW, I can think of two commercials right off the top of my head where the woman is made to look annoying/clueless/shrewish, and the man is made to look superior. DH watches a lot of fishing shows (A LOOOOT of fishing shows!) and both of these commercials are for fishing-related products. So, it does go both ways.

 

[MonkeyPie]

No sympathy for you from the forum filled the mostly women, Kenny, lol.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Date: 3/10/2010 12:26:13 PM
Author:kenny
I hate TV, but my partner loves it so sometimes I''m exposed to it.


I notice a common format for commercials is they present some problem and the solution is their product.

More often than not the man can''t figure something out and the woman has the solution.

It will end with the woman in focus up front looking heroic, with the man in the background, out of focus, playing with the children.


I''m sure if the genders were reversed, and women were consistently made to look stupid, helpless and domestic, there would be hell to pay.

Advertising 101. I bet the product is one which is typically purchased by women, and the subliminal message is, "If you buy this product, you will be heroic, in charge, and in the foreground of your own life."

It goes both ways. How many times have we seen ads which perpetuate the fantasy, "Buy this cheap beer, and hot young women will infuse every aspect of your day to day life!"

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

What Ksinger said.

 

[HVVS]

Date: 3/10/2010 12:26:13 PM
Author:kenny
I hate TV, but my partner loves it so sometimes I'm exposed to it.


I notice a common format for commercials is they present some problem and the solution is their product.

More often than not the man can't figure something out and the woman has the solution.

It will end with the woman in focus up front looking heroic, with the man in the background, out of focus, playing with the children.

I'm sure if the genders were reversed, and women were consistently made to look stupid, helpless and domestic, there would be hell to pay.

Yeah, all that homemaker work is d**mned difficult to figure out. Much, much, worse than science and engineering. Me, I don't mind being called stupid. Stupid me, I just never could learn housecleaning and laundry stuff. Can't cut grass worth a darn, either. So whenever my ex-husband brought up the issue, I'd just told him to hire someone or do it yourself because it would take me too much time to ever get up to speed on that complicated technical stuff. It's not that I am lazy, but if something outside the home is paying $25/hr or more plus benefits, I just think doing that is easier than sorting through all that complicated housework stuff that they show on TV. But cooking is easier. I can do that.

 

[Shoopy]

I haven''t read through the responses but I''m annoyed by this as well for the opposite reason.

I feel like marketers think women are the ones that are stupid and they show this task that is usually done by men but hey look, a girl can do it too. It must be because of this product. It''s almost as if they take ordinary tasks, make a woman do it, *gasp* can you believe she can, buy our product.

This reminds me of a commercial that Secret put out years ago. They were showing clips of things men typically do but had the woman do it instead. The first was that at a date, the woman stretched her arms while yawning to put her arms around the man. Fine, that''s a typical male thing to do on dates. Whatever.

But one of the scenes was a man that had a flat tire and had to call someone for help. He says "I''m really sorry, I just can''t do it" and they show this woman with long black hair that puts her hair in a bun, wearing a tight black dress, and killer heels who says "don''t worry about it, I''ll change it for you"

It was insulting but I can''t really explain why (at least not intelligently). It was like they were saying a woman would NEVER change a tire but hey, she''s empowered, she''s strong, she changes tires wearing heels, and she''s wearing Secret. Awesome.

 

[Arkteia]

Date: 3/10/2010 12:31:44 PM
Author: trillionaire
this is the typical theme in sit-coms too. Think: According to Jim, What about Raymond, even the Cosby Show back in the day... I agree that it's problematic, but then again, having lived with my brother and FI, I DO wonder what men are thinking a lot of the time. My dad is very smart and pretty logical though.

What men are thinking a lot of the time? Just read the "pick up thread"! (Sorry, guys, just had to say it!).

I am not a feminist, but being the only woman in my family (2 boys, 1 husband, 1 father, one FIL) I had ample material for observation.

 

[kenny]

Date: 3/10/2010 1:27:22 PM
Author: fiery
I haven't read through the responses but I'm annoyed by this as well for the opposite reason.


I feel like marketers think women are the ones that are stupid and they show this task that is usually done by men but hey look, a girl can do it too. It must be because of this product. It's almost as if they take ordinary tasks, make a woman do it, *gasp* can you believe she can, buy our product.


This reminds me of a commercial that Secret put out years ago. They were showing clips of things men typically do but had the woman do it instead. The first was that at a date, the woman stretched her arms while yawning to put her arms around the man. Fine, that's a typical male thing to do on dates. Whatever.


But one of the scenes was a man that had a flat tire and had to call someone for help. He says 'I'm really sorry, I just can't do it' and they show this woman with long black hair that puts her hair in a bun, wearing a tight black dress, and killer heels who says 'don't worry about it, I'll change it for you'


It was insulting but I can't really explain why (at least not intelligently). It was like they were saying a woman would NEVER change a tire but hey, she's empowered, she's strong, she changes tires wearing heels, and she's wearing Secret. Awesome.

BINGO!
You got it.

Madison Ave. has found a cheap and easy way to manipulate women to enrich their clients.

The true insult here is not against men.
It is against women.
They are saying women are stupid enough to fall for misandry.
Make friends with women by putting down men, then your friend will buy your product.

This is where the outcry should be.

 

[Arkteia]

Date: 3/10/2010 1:37:43 PM
Author: kenny

Date: 3/10/2010 1:27:22 PM
Author: fiery
I haven''t read through the responses but I''m annoyed by this as well for the opposite reason.


I feel like marketers think women are the ones that are stupid and they show this task that is usually done by men but hey look, a girl can do it too. It must be because of this product. It''s almost as if they take ordinary tasks, make a woman do it, *gasp* can you believe she can, buy our product.


This reminds me of a commercial that Secret put out years ago. They were showing clips of things men typically do but had the woman do it instead. The first was that at a date, the woman stretched her arms while yawning to put her arms around the man. Fine, that''s a typical male thing to do on dates. Whatever.


But one of the scenes was a man that had a flat tire and had to call someone for help. He says ''I''m really sorry, I just can''t do it'' and they show this woman with long black hair that puts her hair in a bun, wearing a tight black dress, and killer heels who says ''don''t worry about it, I''ll change it for you''


It was insulting but I can''t really explain why (at least not intelligently). It was like they were saying a woman would NEVER change a tire but hey, she''s empowered, she''s strong, she changes tires wearing heels, and she''s wearing Secret. Awesome.

BINGO!
You got it.

Madison Ave. has found a cheap and easy way to manipulate women to enrich their clients.

The true insult here is not against men.
It is against women.
They are saying women are stupid enough to fall for misandry.

Interesting, I have met a word "misogynist" so many times but this is only the second time that I see "misandry". Just a random thought, no opinion offered.

 

[kenny]

Date: 3/10/2010 1:40:35 PM
Author: crasru

Date: 3/10/2010 1:37:43 PM

Author: kenny

Date: 3/10/2010 1:27:22 PM

Author: fiery

I haven''t read through the responses but I''m annoyed by this as well for the opposite reason.



I feel like marketers think women are the ones that are stupid and they show this task that is usually done by men but hey look, a girl can do it too. It must be because of this product. It''s almost as if they take ordinary tasks, make a woman do it, *gasp* can you believe she can, buy our product.



This reminds me of a commercial that Secret put out years ago. They were showing clips of things men typically do but had the woman do it instead. The first was that at a date, the woman stretched her arms while yawning to put her arms around the man. Fine, that''s a typical male thing to do on dates. Whatever.



But one of the scenes was a man that had a flat tire and had to call someone for help. He says ''I''m really sorry, I just can''t do it'' and they show this woman with long black hair that puts her hair in a bun, wearing a tight black dress, and killer heels who says ''don''t worry about it, I''ll change it for you''



It was insulting but I can''t really explain why (at least not intelligently). It was like they were saying a woman would NEVER change a tire but hey, she''s empowered, she''s strong, she changes tires wearing heels, and she''s wearing Secret. Awesome.

BINGO!

You got it.


Madison Ave. has found a cheap and easy way to manipulate women to enrich their clients.


The true insult here is not against men.

It is against women.

They are saying women are stupid enough to fall for misandry.

Interesting, I have met a word ''misogynist'' so many times but this is only the second time that I see ''misandry''. Just a random thought, no opinion offered.

Yes, this is very telling.
I learned this word today too.

I think we may be headed towards a world of equality.
We are just experiencing what I call the rubber band effect.
It swings one way then the other.
But is looses energy with each oscillation.

 

[ksinger]

Date: 3/10/2010 1:27:22 PM
Author: fiery
I haven''t read through the responses but I''m annoyed by this as well for the opposite reason.

I feel like marketers think women are the ones that are stupid and they show this task that is usually done by men but hey look, a girl can do it too. It must be because of this product. It''s almost as if they take ordinary tasks, make a woman do it, *gasp* can you believe she can, buy our product.

This reminds me of a commercial that Secret put out years ago. They were showing clips of things men typically do but had the woman do it instead. The first was that at a date, the woman stretched her arms while yawning to put her arms around the man. Fine, that''s a typical male thing to do on dates. Whatever.

But one of the scenes was a man that had a flat tire and had to call someone for help. He says ''I''m really sorry, I just can''t do it'' and they show this woman with long black hair that puts her hair in a bun, wearing a tight black dress, and killer heels who says ''don''t worry about it, I''ll change it for you''

It was insulting but I can''t really explain why (at least not intelligently). It was like they were saying a woman would NEVER change a tire but hey, she''s empowered, she''s strong, she changes tires wearing heels, and she''s wearing Secret. Awesome.

It''s just a modern version of June Cleaver doing housework in pearls and heels.

Or something like that. Let''s analyze it shall we?? Oh yes, LET''S!!

Yeah, I can see the royal piss-off in that one too. Hey, I can''t clean a toilet (so YOU do it) and now I can''t even do the traditional male tire-changing (YOU do it) and she DOES. Talk about a doormat. At that point I''d be saying, "Dude, do it your damn self. I''m wearing these horribly uncomfortable dominatrix/FMP''s and if you can''t change your own tire, your fantasies are taking a hike."

 

[Shoopy]

Date: 3/10/2010 1:42:51 PM
Author: ksinger
It''s just a modern version of June Cleaver doing housework in pearls and heels.

Or something like that. Let''s analyze it shall we?? Oh yes, LET''S!!

Yeah, I can see the royal piss-off in that one too. Hey, I can''t clean a toilet (so YOU do it) and now I can''t even do the traditional male tire-changing (YOU do it) and she DOES. Talk about a doormat. At that point I''d be saying, ''Dude, do it your damn self. I''m wearing these horribly uncomfortable dominatrix/FMP''s and if you can''t change your own tire, your fantasies are taking a hike.''

The first thing I thought was with a killer body like that lady had, I''m sure she has to have a gym bag thrown in her trunk with some sneakers she can change into. I mean really

I do wear Secret. Sadly it does not make me thinner or do anything to help me balance in heels. Hhmph

 

[anchor31]

Date: 3/10/2010 1:42:51 PM
Author: ksinger
It''s just a modern version of June Cleaver doing housework in pearls and heels.

Or something like that. Let''s analyze it shall we?? Oh yes, LET''S!!

Yeah, I can see the royal piss-off in that one too. Hey, I can''t clean a toilet (so YOU do it) and now I can''t even do the traditional male tire-changing (YOU do it) and she DOES. Talk about a doormat. At that point I''d be saying, ''Dude, do it your damn self. I''m wearing these horribly uncomfortable dominatrix/FMP''s and if you can''t change your own tire, your fantasies are taking a hike.''

Agreed! Commercials that particularly annoy me are those where the kid makes the mess and the mom cleans it up SMILING because she has X product. Please... When my kid is old enough, he''ll definitely clean up his own messes and learn that there are consequences to his actions.

 

[lyra]

My husband agrees with you completely Kenny! I never watch commercials and never remember what they were advertising, but my DH will grumble loudly. Especially if the dumb guy in the commercial is supposedly around his age. LOL! It is a stupid premise. As are all those loser type husbands with model perfect wives, but I digress. I don't watch regular TV, just HBO and movie channels with no commercials.

ETA: My DH and I have this running joke. If you do a lot of DIY or assembly type projects, almost all instructions show a woman assembling the product. So I *always* say, gee it's so easy even a woman can do it! Lame, I know.