is it just me, or have all the ads for women's hygiene products lately been more about men than about women? the two that immediately come to mind are one where a woman is getting into some really tight & uncomfortable lookin jeans, tops & boots but then wants a pad that's comfortable. the ad seems to be told from the point of view of her boyfriend who is watching and waiting (and waiting). the other one is the juvenile guy plastering pads over himself and playing star wars (or something) in front of the mirror.
the first one annoys me because its all about teh women being all irrational and crazy, again! and taking hours to get ready, again! the second one is kinda funny. but the point is that here is one product is solely and exclusively designed for women. the marketing is surely targetted at women, so why can't they be bothered doing an ad from the point of view of women, or telling a women's story?? is it really that hard? can't we have like just one product where the ads are all women-friendly and about women? apparently not.
incidentally, there's a nice discussion on the first part of radio nz's "the panel" on friday (afternoons, 16.07), where simon pound talks about an episode of the ad show looking at the lack of women in the creative divisions of advertising agencies. he talks about the fact that there are a lot of female students, and a lot of women in other sections of the same agencies.
10 comments:
There's a blatantly sexist ad on during TVNZ news most nights, for an insurance company I think. There are two middle aged women doing a yoga class behind a bloke who bends over in front of them and they look at each other and oogle at the guy's behind.
If those roles were reversed (two men oogling at a chick's butt) there would be outrage. But somehow it's okay the other way round.
oh yawn. if you want to bring up just one example of the opposite as opposed to hundreds of examples the other way around, and then do a "what about teh menz", i'm afraid you're on the wrong site anon.
and you've missed totally missed the main point of the post rather badly.
There are tons of ads that are sexist against men, and tons that are sexist against woman, the only ads that i have a problem with is the ones, that use children to promote products that are sold to adults, eg: cars, cell phones, houses, etc etc etc.
That ad withn the woman looking at the guys butt could be considered racist also, those woman are white the guy is black, its promoting black men as just a piece of meat.
Wow, stargazer, I'm so sorry that in order to communicate with people like me who really enjoy your blog you have to deal comments from idiots like that.
I presume you've seen this ad, which was doing the rounds a few weeks ago:
http://www.feministing.com/archives/020407.html
I suppose they are trying to move away from the whole waterfalls/freedom/daisy chain feminine hygiene product ads from the past but I dont think that these ads work either.
The one I REALLY hate is the tampon ad where the girl takes her pet Beaver out for lunch etc. You have probably done a post on it before but its just horrible and I find it degrading in so many ways. I also cant remember which brand it is so it cant be that good an ad.
@Kate: Opinion on the "Be Good To Your Beaver" ad must be split - I like it. I see it as exactly what tampon ads need - be kind to yourself, and carry on with your life...WITHOUT the white swimsuit/riding a horse/floating flowers BS that most tampon ads get the treatment of.
As for the "woman's products from a man's perspective" ads - yeah, they're (as in ad agencies) trying, but they're not quite there yet. The one where the guy plays with the pads seems like a way to help demystify women's products for guys (and it does show the woman being unimpressed, not "omg how embarressing you're showing my stuff to the parents"). But I can't help think "but pads are so expensive! I'd be PISSED if some idiot wasted them like that!"
So, I wonder...what WOULD the perfect tampon ad look like? I think one that was closest to the truth - though they used SWF (Skinny White Females) - was the night pads one where the girl got up and down all night, came out looking crappy (in that very cute SWF tousled way) in the morning, and was offered certain night pads by her neighbour.
@kat, thanx so much for your comments. knowing that there are readers like you out there makes it a little easier to deal with the derailers and trolls. and thanx for the link as well.
re the beaver ad, i can't recall it so can't comment as to whether i like it or not.
moose, i really like your point about demistifying women's products. it's a perspective i hadn't considered.
Does anyone remember the ad where the guy buys "large" tampons (or something) at the check out? And it's all wink wink nudge nudge?
I was in awe of how amazingly stupid that ad was.
And I'm with A Nonny Moose - my first thought on seeing the guy covered in pads was 'what a waste of money'.
I just don't understand all the marketing and advertising around pads and tampons. I've only ever bought one brand of tampon my whole life. And I can't for the life of me understand why people would want to buy coloured tampons. They go in your vagina they don't need designs on them.
Oh did I say vagina? Oops. I meant beaver or foo foo or whatever random word is being used instead of vagina in the latest ads. I can't keep up.
I also found the 'large tampon, nudge, nudge' ad stupid. Whenever I've sent a guy out to get tampons he's generally asked me what kind I need and has never needed to ask a second time.
People keep on talking about coloured tampons. Do you mean the ones that come in all the bright coloured wrappers? When you take the plastic off they are just ordinary white ones like all the rest :-)' I normally get those because they are quite often the cheapest at the supermarket. Stuff ads, I just go for cheapest that isn't a home brand or tampax.
Hahaha I thought the tampons themselves were coloured. I'm an idiot. LOL
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