January 2012
53 posts
The vintage ads are certainly the worst.
I know this isn’t a current ad and therefore not a current problem, but it still needs to be gaped at. I mean good God.
‘though she was a tiger lady, our hero didn’t have to fire a shot to floor her. After one look at his MR. LEGGS slacks she was ready for him to walk all over her.’
December 2011
64 posts
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jaffafuckingcakes asked: There's a recent UK Lynx Ad in which a man is shown building himself an arc. It's shown that within this arc are many many bedrooms. Then he sprays himself with the Lynx, and then two of every 'type' of girl flocks to his boat. I was relieved when I noticed the girls seemed to be 'sorted' on their hair rather than their skin. However, likening girls to animals that...
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lifeisastrangedeath asked: I think it's funny that people are trying to argue away the Burger King as not being sexist by saying there's problems with the men's version too. How does that make it any less sexist? Also men don't get to tell women they're not being discriminated against, end of story. Just like any other minority group has the right to voice complaints against negative stereotypes...
Anonymous asked: I really like the premise of your blog. I think people often undervalue the power the media has to either perpetrate or change stereotypes/sexist/racist ideas, etc. However, I'd love to see more from this blog. There's so much potential here; perhaps you could write a couple paragraphs about WHY an ad is sexist and explain how a similar add could be done that could fix the problem? I...
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Anonymous asked: Re: "the vampires are a positive representation": One of the things that commonly distinguishes vampires from other monsters is that vampires often have the traits we wish we had. They're sexy, elegant, eloquent, and educated. (That's why their popular enemy is the werewolf, our instinctive and base nature.)
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uglyvegetarian asked: I did a presentation on sexism in advertising and I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at how many people in my class thought that sexism in advertising was a thing of the past. It was pretty upsetting. Sometimes it seems like people are so used to seeing oppression that they hardly notice it anymore.
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ohsusquehanna asked: I kind of fail to see how portraying men as monsters is any better.
viceprincipalpanch asked: In response to the last ask I saw you answer: I think that the man in that BK ad IS most definitely a sexual representation-- however, his representation invokes power and sexual prowess, where he's in control. The woman's mouth is dehumanized, sexualized, and made into an object to be broken.
Your points have been absolutely right. I just wanted to point that out!
Your points have been absolutely right. I just wanted to point that out!
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Here in the Netherlands Suit Supply gets away with everything.. they caught a lot of flac for their latest stuff (see the link after the image) and now their site is prim and polite. Don’t know if they ever apologized, though.. Most Dutch people feel like there is no sexism anymore (and we have come a long way in the past 100 years) but this is just too embarrassing.
Kaitlyn here -...
ohsusquehanna asked: I don't appreciate my commentary on the matter being removed and ignored and the submission being taken out of context. You remove my name now.
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Anonymous asked: I don't know if its just me but when I see the male ad the first thing I thing is 'blow job'. I'm not saying you guys are wrong, in fact I think you guys are more then right, just wanted to add my two cents.
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Anonymous asked: Dear Anon: The iPhone adverts feature only hands so the viewer can picture themselves as the owners and users of the phone, afterall, most people have hands. A woman being reduced to a sexualised body part, a body part with an obvious 'sexual function' is not intended to be identified with but to be 'used' and 'consumed' in the imagination of the viewer. This is...
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Anonymous asked: "Because advertising doesn’t work that way." Isn't a citation or a source to back up your argument. You're attempting a "I'm right because I'm right" tautology and that's no basis for a point.
iPhone ads sometimes only feature hands. Is that dehumanizing too? What about ads for products featuring only a voice over? I'm more...
iPhone ads sometimes only feature hands. Is that dehumanizing too? What about ads for products featuring only a voice over? I'm more...
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ohsusquehanna asked: "I've never seen an ad that focuses on a guy's mouth before. I'd be interseted in seeing one if only to see the reactions"
Okay: i [period] imgur [period] com/f3Uj1 [period] jpg
As a man, I can't say I'm particularly offended nor do I feel dehumanized. I get that the sauce is supposed to be "blood", but I can't say I...
Okay: i [period] imgur [period] com/f3Uj1 [period] jpg
As a man, I can't say I'm particularly offended nor do I feel dehumanized. I get that the sauce is supposed to be "blood", but I can't say I...
imagin-eeri asked: The fact that it's normalized to see that kind of sexism is appalling. And of courses they're not going to show a man's mouth. We live in a heteronormative, cissexist world where all women have vaginas, all men have dicks and everyone is straight. If it had been a man's mouth, people would be double taking and complaining about what it's implying. As opposed to defending...
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imagin-eeri asked: I can't believe people are still trying to deny that the BK ad of the woman's hurt mouth isn't sexist. Of course it is. The simple fact that someone was able to take the ad and turn it into a condom ad is indicative of the sexism. The burger is a metaphor for an endowed man. It's like saying "eat this and you'll be just as big and manly as the burger that was too big...
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humanvirtue asked: I don't understand how people don't see the issue with the Burger King mouth ad. The original ad was still sexist because it was SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED to make you think about this woman having a big dick in her mouth. This ad is not really about burgers. It's supposed to be "sexy" and "sly" like many ads that use sex to sell things that have nothing to do with...
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Anonymous asked: "Furthermore, they did not just “flip a coin” - they chose a woman’s mouth for a reason. They want us to stop and look at a woman’s injured mouth." So you have proof of this? How is your guess more valid than mine?
"And it would not have detracted from the message to show her whole face" Perhaps not, but the ad would have been more subtle....
"And it would not have detracted from the message to show her whole face" Perhaps not, but the ad would have been more subtle....
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chasingpictures asked: I'm absolutely adoring your blog. I don't know if you guys have made a post about this commercial yet but I haven't seen it so far...but the gucci commercial for their new perfume called guilty. The commercial depicts a strong independent woman, who takes charge in a sexual situation, and then as the commercial ends the words guilty, the name of the perfume, appear. This just...
lillianbassman asked: I feel like no one who submits asks to this blog knows how either sexism or advertising work. Advertising is an enormous section of every business. Every single decision that goes into each ad - from the font to the color of the background - is scrutinized and goes through 50 different versions in order to make sure that they have the most calming blue or whatever they're going for. So to say...
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voxprincess asked: By the way, you can go to Tide's website and email them to let them know you liked the "stay-at-home dad" ad. I did, and I got a (somewhat) personal response within an hour or two. Maybe if they get a lot of positive emails, they'll start making more advertisements that break the mold!
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Anonymous asked: "As an image, it still bothers me. Why show a woman’s mouth and not a man’s? And again, showing just her mouth?"
Why does it matter? A woman's mouth is just as valid as a man's mouth. For all you know, they flipped a coin to decide or had a hodge podge of models come in and she had the most suitable mouth for the job. Additionally, they obviously only...
Why does it matter? A woman's mouth is just as valid as a man's mouth. For all you know, they flipped a coin to decide or had a hodge podge of models come in and she had the most suitable mouth for the job. Additionally, they obviously only...
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cockamamied asked: Racist against white people? LOL, anon is so confused.
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Anonymous asked: This blog is sexist, just like hating on white people is racist, just because it's not the discrimination we see everyday, doesn't mean it's not there
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Anonymous asked: If the BK ad showed a man's mouth instead, why isn't that sexist? because you're biased blabbering idiots. please.
lexdysic asked: you seen the new tide ad? it's kind of great since it's coming after the other ad with the mom being all disapproving of her daughter for being a tomboy..."Tide - My Tide TV Commercial - Tide Dad Short Version" on youtube. this would sound a lot less like a spam message if tumblr didn't block links.
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An alternate take on the Samsung commercial →
Perhaps this is a backlash to the Droid backlash, reassuring guys that there’s a happy middle ground between the feminine iPhone and the grizzled, stubbly Droid? Perhaps the type of dudes who are prone to sharing photos and videos on social media sites (the central selling point of this phone) are also the type of dudes who prefer a less prototypically manly bearing? Or perhaps the...
Anonymous asked: "But men acting suggestive does not have the same connotations and history as women doing so". Stop there. By not complaining about the suggestiveness in men, but going all-out on the suggestiveness in women, you just implied that male suggestiveness is a-ok. Even if it isn't as bad... for some vague reason you didn't explain, you still have to complain about it.
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We're totally selling a camera, can't you tell?
Kaitlyn - first I thought it was just typically sexist - “oh look hot girls, use our camera to take pictures of hot girls.” Then I actually looked closer and oh I need to take a shower.
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Anonymous asked: I respect what you are trying to convey through your blog, and being an advertising major I know I will have to overcome challenges such as selling sex. However I would have to disagree that the Virgin Airlines ad you posted is sexist. They convey both men and women being "suggestive" in an amusing way, a la James Bond-opening-credit style (which I actually think is pretty cool.)
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owlsharks asked: That Durex ad is a fake! It was actually a Burger King ad someone altered.
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winseykills asked: Just a heads up, that Durex ad is (fortunately) fake. It was originally a (terrible) Burger King ad.
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manpointingupatsky asked: I don't agree that the Windows Phone add is sexist. It's not demeaning men or women, and the recorded footage on the phone I could see being embarrassing to either sex. The joke isn't that he's being girly, the joke is that he's being caught in embarrassing situations (being naked in the bath, being extremely emotional).