You've seen these commercials, right? One shows a man sitting at a table with his wife, having a coffee or something, when a thin, blonde girl on her cellphone walks past. The wife looks up, but the husband keeps his eyes on his wife, and the commercial announcer says something like, "Dave McHorndog kept his eyes on his wife. Give this man a Klondike bar." Yes, Dave. The people at Klondike have decided you really deserve something for being a good and respectful husband, and it's.....ICE CREAM!
The second commercial shows a wife unloading groceries, while her husband sits at the table twiddling his thumbs, or something. The wife is going on an on about someone she saw at the grocery store, yadda yadda, and she asks him a question, to which (wait for it).........he responds to. The announcer comes on and says, "Dan Theairhead listened to his wife's story. Give this man a Klondike bar." Wow, really? Isnt that what people in normal, healthy relationships do?
Not only are these commercials a bit misogynistic, it's depicting men as vapid, simple, uncontrollably horny, and riddled with ADD. Which women don't want, and I really cant see men getting on board with that image, either. Are there a bunch of crazy scorned women and/or gay men working in marketing for Klondike looking for revenge? Did someone slip a roofie to the person who was supposed to approve these?
A google search lead me to the press release put out for the new commercials. Here are just a few of the quotes:
..."Now, the “What would you do for a Klondike® Bar?” question is back in a series of new TV spots that capture those moments during everyday life when a spouse or significant other does something so unexpected there’s simply only one response – offer them a Klondike Bar!"
Or a bitch slap, whatever.
"The new Klondike ads capture the moments when people - particularly men - do something out of-the-ordinary to the surprise of their significant others. In one commercial a man puts his empty glass in the dishwasher (1) rather than leaving it on the counter – prompting an astonished reaction from his wife. In another, a man shows surprising (2) self control as he keeps his eyes focused on his wife while a beautiful (3) woman slowly strolls by. One of the five ads portrays a wife as she keeps her “true”thoughts about her in-laws to herself. (4)
1. NO WAY. I DONT BELIEVE IT.
2. Surprising? I guess I should be expecting my SO to do a full head swivel when a pretty lady walks past.
3. The Klondike people really need to re-define their idea of beautiful, I'm afraid.
4. Never seen this one, but I guess we're not allowed to let our husbands/wives know how much their Uncle Dan pisses us off now.
Okay, so I realize I'm taking an ice cream commercial a little too seriously. But I think its a bit silly that the Klondike people are putting out ads that perpetuate the idea that a man (and woman in that one instance) deserves a treat for acting like a decent human being or spouse. I know plenty of men who would think so, too. They deserve far much more than a Klondike bar...more like some good, good lovin and a beer. I'd take that any day over a 330 calorie ice cream bar, wouldn't you?
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9 comments:
I know. I'm as annoyed by the misogyn-crap as you are. But I'm also, well, to put it bluntly, married. To a man. And I'm a woman. And as much as I hate the commercials themselves, and as much as I hate to admit it, it's really true. They just don't do things like we do, they just don't see things like we do.
Johnny, thankfully, doesn't ogle other women in public (I, on the other hand, may have been known to ogle other men; but he just doesn't notice me the way I would if it were him). And he is hanging drywall in our kitchen at this very moment as I type this. As much as I hate to admit it, I could not be doing that. I mean, I could, if I knew how, but I don't, and he does. Maybe another woman would know, and maybe if I were gay I'd feel guiltier and help her out. But for now I'm letting him do it and I'll try not to get too pissed off about it being my job to clean up the mess left when he's finished.
I guess what I'm saying is: I just try not to get too tits-up about these things anymore.
But I still feel the impulse.
I wonder…could I get a treat for doing my husband's laundry? I wouldn't mind a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich!
Ege - I'm all for equal opportunity ogling! Men will look at women, women will look at men, women will look at other women, so on and so forth. I just think gender stereotyping is ridiculous - I bet you know how to do a few thing that are not "expected" of women!!
Venus - Mmm, what a delicious combo. Theres been lots of talk about bacon on the blogs this week!
I just saw that ad and marveled at how it managed to be true and simultaneously play on stereotypes. Do we make the pigs or do we just make ads about them?
I know what you're saying, and unfortunately, it's more than just this one ad campaign and more than just this one company. I wasn't really aware of it until a few years ago when my boyfriend pointed it out to me. And because I'm a mom of two young boys, I knew I needed to be aware of what they were being told by the media.
We're aware of the bad images that are being presented to our girls. Unrealistic body images, shapes and lack of personality if you're "beautiful". But what our boys are being told is as bad. They are being told they are dumb, can't really do anything without a woman (or feed themselves without Carl's JR.) and all they think about is sex.
While, yes this can be true sometimes, it's extremely superficial. I've started seeing the male images on the tv and big screen in a completely different light. I"m just glad that my boys have my boyfriend as a good role model in their lives. Smart, caring, funny, strong... those are good traits for both genders! No matter what other skills they have.
My husband HATES those commercials, and every time they come on he gets on his soapbox and explains to me how stupid they make men look.
I am definitely going to have to share this post with him. lol
I was also married. My husband would have been helping me put the groceries away. Also, he was usually the one telling me I don't talk to him enough. In the case of looking at other women I wouldn't have had a fit about it.
I laugh at these commercials. Because they make fun of both genders.
Like the lady putting groceries away? She's just blathering away about something stupid and uninteresting to him. Learn to Keep It Short & Simple, or get some girlfriends who care! Husbands only want the highlights.
If you marry a good man he'll be a good guy 99% of the time. And you have to just laugh about that 1% of the time he forgets and acts like a pig.
I agree. Stupid and ugly.
But I'm not strong enough to boycott.
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