In the latest ad from grease-merchant, Long John Silver's, a woman who owns no hairbrush calls her lunch guest by the wrong name. He politely corrects her... and this is where it gets weird. Watch:
In the 30 second commercial (provided above) the woman responds to her mistake with a brief moment of thoughtfulness. In this scenario, she's simply forgetful that she actually hired her dinner guest into the company. She almost seems delighted that her memory is refreshed.
But this is not the ad that most often runs on TV. In the more often seen 15* second commercial, the woman makes the same mistake. When corrected, she responds with abject dismissal, "Whatever" and she waves off her guest with a fried shrimp. The subliminal message is "men are social furniture - convenient, but anonymous".
It's odd, isn't it, that LJS edited down the rather innocent commercial to make it more dismissive of men? I guess the message is, if you don't care about the identity of the man you travel and dine with, Long John Silver's is just your kind of place.
* Not sure why LJS does not post the 15sec version. Maybe they realize how offensive it it.
Usually, I focus the posts of this blog on specific
advertisements that, in my view, diminish men unwarrantedly. (I don’t mind teasing or even mocking things
about men that are often true, such as “compartmentalization” or rambunctiousness. I object to stereotyping men as problems
which women must work around or other inherently negative connotations.)
I have cited a couple (1, 2) specific examples of how Progressive
Insurance diminishes men. Throughout their
extensive series of commercials, men are stupid, dull, weak-kneed, effeminate, unreliable,
etc. Progressive seems committed to mocking men
from every possible angle (even the ones who “live with their mother”). Women, on the other hand, are portrayed as
sensitive, pragmatic, kind, as well as wounded and needy. (Are women not offended by how Progressive stereotypes them?)
There is one - and only one - exception to Progressive’s portrayal
of men, The Messenger. The eerily messianic Messenger has one role
in life, doling out money to people.
Roll the tape…
(in New Orleans, no less! - great place to use as a backdrop to federal giveaways)
It is no subtle irony that Progressive Insurance would
portray women as victims and men as victimizers (except for The
Messenger). These commercials reveal how
Progressive sees the world – through a Socialist Progressive
lens. The Social Progressive movement is
the Liberal branch of the Democratic Party (the bunch that wants to collectivize
workers under statist autocracy). Long-time
Progressive Insurance CEO Peter Lewis
is the son of the company’s founder.
Lewis has donated millions to progressive causes – many of which are also
backed by megalomaniac socialist, George Soros. Here’s a third-party confirmation
of the progressive activities of Lewis.
On the whole, the collective (pun intended) message from
Progressive Insurance is that women are victims who are to be taken care of…
and oh, by the way, here’s a ruggedly handsome yet nameless figure in a
buckskin coat who’ll do that “takin’ care” for you. Who in the socialist-progressive world is both
nameless and generous – GOVERNMENT?
And
only nameless until it comes election time, then Social Progress has a
name. The Named One even made a video about how he’ll take care of women –
THE LIFE OF JULIA. Be sure to note the theme of the
video: “Take a look at how President
Obama's policies help one woman over her lifetime—and how Mitt Romney would
change her story.” This subtitle
carries the clear implication, the only good man is one that gives you stuff
(but doesn’t hang around to tell you how to live your life).
If I were a woman, I’d be insulted by Progressive Insurance’s
stereotyping of males AND females. If I
were a Progressive Insurance insured, I’d be infuriated that profits from my premium
dollars are funding the destruction of the American way of life.
I am neither a woman nor a Progressive customer. I hope you’re not (a Progressive Insurance customer) either. If you are a Progressive Customer in the KC metro area,
after you read the blog, would you at least give "my people" a call?
Sara and Scott Coffman at AHI Group are everything that makes America great and they'll do their
best to set you up with reliable insurance. I love 'em so much, I even gave a testimonial for 'em.
In a commercial called "The Ex", Citi Card illustrates the benefits of their credit cards through the story of a sad sack "boring, boring, boring" guy who's girlfriend breaks up with him. This ad preys on the stereotype of men just wanting to sit at home and watch TV.
To be fair, I don't think this ad necessarily puts the ex-girlfriend in a great light. It presents her as superficial and shallow, herself. I know Citi needs a 'hook' for their commercials, but I don't think it is necessary to disparage people.
You'd think guys would be safe in beer + football commercials. Not so fast, Bud Light flips the script. Take note at 24 secs when the cute blonde girlfriend brags that her beer "made him cry" - 'him' being the sad, sappy looking boyfriend pouting at her side.
I've previously pointed out how Progressive Insurance enjoys emasculating men. Here's an even older commercial than the ones previously cited. I simply can't figure out why a major insurance carrier relish mocking and diminishing man. In this ad, a woman compels her male partner to carry a "European shoulder bag" which everyone else recognizes as a woman's purse.
This e-poster is making the rounds on the internet. Does it strike you as funny?
Every year in the US, about 3.2 million men are the
victims of an assault by an intimate partner.
Is THAT funny?
Data from British Home Office statistical bulletins and the
British Crime Survey show that men made up about 40% of domestic violence
victims each year between 2004-05 and 2008-09.
Is THAT funny?
In 2000, 1,247 women were killed by an intimate partner,
while 440 men were killed by an intimate partner.
Is THAT funny?
Why is it okay to joke about killing males? Whatever happened to all those cries for "equality"?
McDonald's is highlighting man's natural insecurity and bumbling attempts to fetch a damsel. This commercial (ending edited) features a nerd anxious about his fading looks, and stretching to sound intelligent about a stupid park sculpture. In the unedited version, the librarian mar'm catches him in his pretense which he plows ahead with anyway. The commercial reminds me of the old M*A*S*H episode where Hawkeye coaches Radar on how to sound intelligent around cultured women. "Any time she mentions music, just say 'Ah, Bach!'" When did women seize all intellectual pursuits beyond Nintendo and football?
A man and woman walk through an airport on their way to vacation. When the husband suggests a solution to baggage fees, the woman snipes incredulously, "You've got a plan?" (5secs) Moments later, the woman half-heartedly commends the man on his work by saying, "My mother was so wrong about you." (11-13 seconds in.) Note the look on the woman's face. Is this adoration and acceptance?
Here's is a bootleg of the commercial. For some reason United Airlines / Chase Bank don't want to make this one accessible on the internet.
While not completely demeaning to men, the advertiser even goes to the extreme of trademarking their hook line: "Men, easier fed than understood."(TM) Historically, the 'joke' has been that women are more complex and inscrutable. I'm not sure I understand how turning the tables advances the sale of hot dogs. Somehow, I see a wife walking into the house, pulling a pack of franks out of the grocery* bag, throwing it at her husband, and shrugging, "I simply don't understand you."
*Why do I have the wife toting the grocery bags? Because this commercial is addressed toward women (referring to men in the third person) and presumes that women will buy this brand because Ball Park realizes how incomprehensible men are. This is a lousy commercial all the way around.
Progressive Insurance is not about to let State Auto corner the market on demeaning men. In this long-running series, Flo, a strong and capable female (a notion which I celebrate) encounters two bumbling, effeminate males who shill for a competitor. Not only do the men represent a weaker competitor of Progressive, they also demonstrate themselves to be poor examples of competent males.
I'm going to be completely fair with my criticism. Progressive is counter-balancing their emasculating Flo with a ruggedly handsome spokesMAN, oddly called "The Messenger".
Denigrating men is especially contemptible when men participate in it, or in this case are spokesmen for the denigration. If you're a State Auto customer, I hope you reconsider your patronage of a company that takes money from men while, at the same time, running them down.
