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Super Bowl Ads: What Do You Think?
The buzz around the NOW office is that the most sexist ads appearing during this year's Super Bowl were the Teleflora ad, which promoted the idea that men should expect sex from women if they buy them flowers, and the Fiat ad, which depicted a hot car as a sexually provocative woman.
While there's plenty more to gripe about (yes, you again Go Daddy), rather than putting together a lengthy analysis of all the Super Bowl ads, we're going to throw open the question to you:
What ads did you like or dislike based on their portrayal of women or other groups that are often degraded for laughs and exploited to sell products?
I also liked the coke commercials with the polar bears. Funny & Harmless.
The twilight car ad, M&M nude commercial were great.
Ferris Bueller was funny too.
I loved the clint eastwood one. It was inspiring & cool!-Go America! Go Clint!
But My favorite was the Bud light here-we-go one. It was funny without being offensive or harmful & i loved it's message of helping animal shelters at the end.
For the bad ads I'll take the greyhound racing & cheetah ads which used real animals & made light of the horrors those animals face.
(I'm a huge animal lover!)
Which is why i hated the CareerBuilder ad which used real baby chimps in it. Chimps that get taken away from their mother at birth to do these stupid & unnecessary ads.
For sexist ads I'll take the Oikos greek yogurt ad that annoyed me with it's domestic violence. I really didn't have a problem with the ad itself, just that there is no way you could ever do the ad with the genders reversed & get away with it.
The same can be said about the FIAT 500 Abarth ad.-While not exactly domestic violence it's still an ad that could NEVER be done with the roles reversed. Sexism at it's core.
Thanks Lisa!
That's a more dangerous message than what's being employed in the Beckham ad. But I think one could easily argue that the Beckham ad IS exploitative in much the same way women are exploited in countless ads for underwear, cars, beer, etc. The Beckham ad is not a victory for feminists. We don't want payback or some pointless attempt at equity in exploitation -- that is not the solution.
That said, the impact of an ad that sexually exploits a woman exists within an entire culture that does the same. Therefore, it has a different impact than the rare ad that sexually exploits a man. The cumulative effect can be devastating for women. As they say in the ad biz, "frequency sells!" And boy, women sure are frequently exploited!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y59VUQxX3Dk&feature=relmfu
And why?
April 24, 2012
DR Pepper SnappleCo. Executive Vice President of Marketing
James R. Trebilcock,
Here is another complaint about your slogan for Dr Pepper TEN, “It’s not for women.” Sexism and gender stereotypes are as unfair to men as women. We do “not buy” this is purely comical and not sexist. This is a stupid slogan and I was surprised to see your companies scripted responses dated January 6 & 14th to your original Dr. Pepper TEN ad;
…When I first saw the tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign and the tagline, my
reaction was, “I’ll be the judge of that.” In other words, no one is going to tell me what I can eat or drink. My Translation- Calm down and think what I think you ugly lonely woman.
… there was a gap in our male audience that was looking for a low-calorie alternative to regular Dr Pepper that lacked the diet imagery. Therefore, we produced Dr Pepper TEN as a great option! My Translation- This commercial was not geared towards you, so don’t worry your pretty little head.
There are currently 4 commercial on your site:
“One of a kind Avengers”
Features 7 men-a threat, a powerhouse, a warrior, a leader, a genius, shopkeeper and an exec. Contrast that to the 2 women- one is a victim of crime the other a pretty order taker.
“Dr. Pepper TEN explosive new commercial”
Male- 11, main character touring the man’s shed recommending that we “keep the gardening and the ladies drinks.” Female-0
“Always one of a kind”
Main character, male, who is “one of a kind” and the first female character we see is a “cougar”. Another portrayal of women is the “control freak” and the “pepper” is his prize at the end. Positive female portrayal- 1 –the rebel?
“I exist”
This commercial features the “Dr. Pepper Guy.” What does the Dr. Pepper lady look like? I have not seen her yet. Is she much younger than the “Dr. Pepper Guy” with breast enhancements no doubt?
Using “Not for Women” perpetuates gender stereotypes. Does your board member who is the former president of Girls Inc, think this is a good message for girls? Do you think girls will get the joke? If we do not assume that Dr. Pepper is sexist because of this “tongue-in-cheek” ad than we instead will take notice that Dr. Pepper Snapple chooses to misrepresent and under represent women in other recent commercials as well. All of the above named commercials are created around men. Dr. Pepper Snapple is not a gender biased sexist company? “I’ll be the judge of that!” Hmm.. Only 1 of 10 of the leadership executives featured on your site is a woman. How do you want to tell me to interpret that?
Sincerely, Julie Gordon Lewisburg, WV
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