You Be the Judge–NOW Claims This Ad Is ‘Offensive to Women’–Is It? (Part I)

2007-10-25
By

Background: TV often portrays men and fathers as idiots–to watch some videos of “dad as idiot” TV commercials, click here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, or here. As Bill Maher says, “Look at television…the wife is always brilliant and ethereal and right about everything and the husband is always just a dumb jerk who’s lucky to have found her.”

We’ve done two campaigns against these types of commercials–to learn more, click here and here.

The National Organization for Women/NOW Foundation has launched a new campaign around ads which they label “Offensive to Women.” The campaign involved Love Your Body Day 2007, which was October 18. In this series, I’m reprinting some of the ads which NOW tells us are “Offensive to Women,” giving my own humble opinion on the matter and soliciting yours.

Maker’s Mark is a handcrafted small batch type of bourbon whisky distilled in Loretto, Kentucky. NOW is criticizing the Maker’s Mark ad pictured. They explain:

“What is it about selling alcohol that makes advertisers want to belittle and insult women…does it really make men feel more powerful?”

In this case, I’m inclined to agree with NOW. In fact, the ad pictured is a pretty good example of the way advertising routinely treats men and fathers, with the genders switched. Gratuitous insults for the other gender, often delivered with a kind of breezy contempt. So NOW starts at 1 for 1, in my book.

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  • CaptDMO

    I’ve had Makers Mark, and other autographed small batch treats, in my day.
    Somehow I suspect the free publicity that it pisses off those nice folk at NOW
    will give it the marketing edge over other products of its ilk.

    Nope, sorry, I’ve NEVER found ANYTHING N.O.W. has come up with that
    had even close to the superior iintegrity of Makers Mark.

    In my book, N.O.W. has been 0 for 100 since the useful idiots
    co-opted the heavy lifting.

  • BobH

    Getting fat is just another way for a woman to punish the man for not giving her everything that she wants, particularly if she knows that it REALLY pisses him off. This is particularly true if it is extremely expensive for him to leave the relationship and find another woman.

  • fourthwire

    Roger Knight, for quite a few men, it IS the wives gaining weight after the wedding that is a (not “the”) problem, as the matter of fact.

    Those (fat) wives morphing into bitches throwing screaming fits complete with flying objects and physical assault; running up the credit card as if the paycheck is an infinite resource; and then running to the courthouse when they have had enough of you ARE ADDITIONAL ISSUES.

    At least this is the case for men who don’t get erections for tubs of blubber……..

  • http://www.antipeonage.0catch.com Roger Knight

    Gentlemen. We have far more serious things to worry about than liquor ads and NOW’s thin skinned reaction to them.

    It is not the wives gaining weight after the wedding that is the problem. It is them turning into bitches throwing screaming fits complete with flying objects and physical assault; running up the credit card as if the paycheck is an infinite resource; and then running to the courthouse when they have had enough of you.

    Fine character is what is all too rare. If a fat wife has it, not only will she treat you right, you will eat good too! Thin women tend to eat like finicky rabbits and stress over every extra ounce they think they’ve gained.

    Perhaps I will have a sip of Maker’s Mark and ponder this some more.

  • KRS

    ….although I have to agree with other posts that men are routinely bashed at all levels in the media, whether it’s TV shows, ads, or whatever.

  • KRS

    Where is it written that people have the right to not be offended by anything in life? Holy cow….

    At any rate… I agree with Jim Peterson’s comment. Effective advertising always has a positive spin, not a negative one. As it reads now, the ad definitely has a cutting, negative spin.

    A much more effective message would have been something like…. “If you like body and character in a girlfriend, why not demand the same from your whiskey?”

    This wording would have been much more provocative, while communicating the same message.

  • BobH

    I can’t count the number of times that some woman has told me that I need to “get a sense of humor” about stuff like this directed at men. So I just can’t resist:

    These women need to get a sense of humor.

  • Ed

    More to the point- who cares?

    Most Amerikan are fat and getting fatter. What? You actually think men are supposed to “accept you for what you are? Lose some weight and quit whining.

    You honestly think your GF’s aren’t laughing at you behind your backs aafter they’ve just told you how great you look in that new $350 dress that you can barely squeeze into? How many guys have watched your ex-_____ (fill in tha blank) call every female she knows and laugh about some GF that can’t look in the mirror and see reality?

    Shallow Hal? Grow up.

    Watch movies from another era and see how much thinner the people were. And yes, both sexes. We just don’t whine about it 24/7.

    And yes, we do want thinwomen.

    It’s every ad, every commercial in every media showing slim attractive females. Or, every other. The ones telling you how to lose weight on the next $500 diet. Stop eating so much, you’ll look better.

    And no, men will not accept you for the way you look. Not your husbands, not your boyfriends not your mailman.

    And to the woman from Cheers on the Jenny Craig ad, honey, you lost a lotta weight but you’re still fat.

    Grow up ladies, errr…grow down actually. And stop whinning about men being shallow Hals and all that, we’re not. Fat women in a world of advertising that glorifies slim women makes you look fatter.

    So there

  • Ed

    Wha? Some one wnats to tell their GF that she’s fat and that makes him a sexist?

    Again, so what?

    Live the lie like women do? “Does this dress make me look fat?”. Are you kidding me? If she’s fat she’s fat. “Yup, makes you look like a Hummer”. You don’t want truth?

    What are 90% of the women and 99% of the ads on TV about; women losing weight. They’re fat.

    You think men are fat? GO ahead, just be honest. For once.

    That Jenny Craig ad with the woman from Cheers- honey, you lost 300 pounds but you’re still fat.

    Men don’t like it. When someone is honest with you, unlike your stupid girlfriends that tell you you look like a million bucks to your face and then call your friends to laugh about you (guys, how many of you have seen/heard this a hundred times) think you’re fat too. We’re just up front about it.

    GROW UP

    And yes, alas,, add my name to the list of men that tell a woman to her face “you really need to lose some weight to look great”. So what. I spend a lot of time trying to keep myself in shape, at least to the point of keeping blubber off my body. And if a woman I’m remotely interested in ever made a remark about weight I’d take it to heart.

    Memo to the majority of Amerika’s female population, especially over 40: you’re fat. Read the AMA comments about growing obesity and the health consequences that are coming for this nation.

    Forget about sweeting it up guys (no pun intended) – most of these women in Amerika look hideous. And like the ad Glenn refers too, most guys wish you’d do something about it then whine about men not accepting your expanding waist lines.

    So there

  • Jim Peterson

    I guess my problem with the ad is that it makes one wonder why she is still the girlfriend. If she has great character but porked up, then it is crass to remark on that to outsiders. If she has a great body and no character…well that makes the guy seem shallow for being with her.

    I would change it saying something like: “If you want this in a girlfriend, why not demand this in your whiskey.”

    In other words, there is nothing wrong in and of itself with an ad campaign that refers to the whiskey as having “body and character”.

    I don’t think even NOW objects to that part.

    It does seem like the advertising executive who made the decision to run this is insulting a specific woman or making a comment on American society that is inappropriate in this particular ad. If the advertiser wanted to make a statement about feminists with bad character, for instance, it would be better to direct his advertising money by making a donation to Online Dating Rights to launch their lawsuit against IMBRA or toward getting the Office on Violence Against Women declared unconstitutional because it deals with a States Rights issue.

  • fourthwire

    I agree with NotNOW – this ad likely was designed to appeal to men by giving “voice” to a legitimate, if not politically-correct concern of men: that women tend to pork up after marriage, once they get their claws on the ATM card and have already received their sperm donations.

    As for the inference to “fine character”, one only has to visit Mensnewsdaily.com periodically to see how in their lust for “indulgence, privilege, and entitlement, not to mention comfort and convenience”, so many women have cast aside all pretense to “character”.

    Perhaps murdering husbands, then crying “abuse”, or claiming to have been raped by multiple sports team members when in reality no attack took place, killing children, engaging in pedophilia with their grade school students and similar incidents have put a bit of tarnish on women’s “character”.

    Funny how those NOW-sows never seem to mind those ads that are offensive to men, though.

  • NotNOW

    This is backlash advertising. Finally, someone has the balls to publish ads that actually favor men and ever dare to demean women. While I do not necessarily approve of demeaning women to sell stuff, this is a very very positive sign that men’s needs / wants / sensibilities are again beginning to be considered. Rejoice!

  • Thom

    No more so than the Trojan condom ad that depicts all men as pigs.


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