Posts tagged as:
Okay, because yesterday was such a bummer of a post, I wanted to leave you with something a bit more positive today. So I searched out what I think is one of the strongest advertisements running on television this year, and one of the best ads for the non-profit/charitable sector I’ve probably ever seen. It’s an astonishing combination of moving and inspirational. Enjoy.
{ 1 comment }
Eve, the serpent, and an apple a VD remedy. Deconstruct.
A couple of months ago, we bore witness to a vintage Spanx for men ad and had a good old laugh about it. But don’t be surprised when I tell you that the modern-day equivalent has now arrived. Introducing the Core Precision undershirt, a body-shaping undergarment designed for men. The “man-girdle,” as it has been colloquially referred to, will sell for about $90 to $98 and is designed to create a sleek and slender male form, taking inches off the waistline. Now, if men want to jump on board the body-slimming-garment bandwagon, who am I to stop them? But, really, why the hell would they want to? This is where some handy marketing comes into play.
Strangely (and yet not surprisingly), while the Core Precision undershirt and Spanx (the designed-for-women kind) were created for similar purposes (i.e., to squeeze the body into a smaller size and different shape than it actually is), the two products are marketed quite differently. The male version promises to “improve posture, support core muscles, visibly streamline and slim, control body temperature, and promote circulation.” This description appeals to one’s sense of logic and the desire to improve one’s form in a good-for-your-body kind of way. Improves posture and promotes circulation? Sign me up! On the other hand, women’s Spanx claims to “shape problem areas, accentuate your waistline, minimize your tummy and thighs, lift your rear, and make inches seem to disappear.” The focus here is on aesthetics, implying that women are actually concerned only with appearance and can’t be bothered to contemplate more practical matters such as core muscles.
Of course, women have a long history of wearing undergarments that slim down (and sometimes harm) the body. (Corsets, anyone?) And the fact that these types of products continue to sell well (I’m assuming the Spanx people make a pretty penny), means that the marketing they use must work. However, when a similar shape-adjusting product is created for men, it needs to be advertised as actually improving one’s physical form and health. (And people say sexism is dead. Ha!)
Good for the body or not, the one thing that the Core Precision undershirt and Spanx do have in common is their ability to cause discomfort. However, as a male journalist for the Times Online describes after his one-day test of the Core Precision undershirt, although the garment is rather restrictive, it does still render the wearer capable of breathing. And I’m sure many women who have squeezed themselves into corsets, Spanx, control-top pantyhose, and other body-smooshing undergarments have used the ability to breathe as a basic criterion for wearability.
Hell, if manufacturers of body shapers are looking for an advertising hook, why not go with this one: “Allows you to slim down while still retaining the ability to take shallow breaths.” But I guess this is why I never went into advertising.
{ 4 comments }
Remember when we first told you about the not-so-subtle “mow the lawn” television spot that was running in the UK? Yes, the one featuring dainty women stroking pussies (er, CATS, I mean) and making puns about shaving your pubes (”All that’s let for me to see are two-lips [tulips] on the mound!”). Need your memory refreshed? Go here.
Well, an eagle-eyed reader has spotted a similar kind of pube-shaving advocacy campaign over at the Gillette site–but this time, it’s for the menfolk. And lest you think body shaving is just for gay men, Gillette is here to let you know that the ladies like a smooth man, too. Everywhere you go on the body shaving portion of the site, you’ll find sexy young women oogling a dude wearing a towel. This is all to underscore Gillette’s pube-shaving message (and what a vital one it is): “Trees look taller when there’s no underbrush.”
Here’s the instructional video for how to shave your balls:
Promises of enhacing one’s sex appeal is the oldest trick in the advertising book, of course. Preying on men’s feelings about the size of their organs is a great way to lure them into buying razors. But what struck me the most about the difference between the campaign aimed at women and men is that the men’s vid is precisely instructional. The threat of accidentally cutting your scrotal sac while shaving is totally cringe-worthy–but I kinda feel the same way about the razor slipping while you’re cleaning up the ladyparts. Yet men need an instructional video? Is that because shaving (along with all other feminine activities, like cooking and child-rearing) are suposed to come naturally to women?
Perhaps the other significant difference is that, so far, the vid on the Gillette site is just that–a video on a website that men may find when researching this delicate issue. But the UK ad was, presumably, an ad that ran on television. It points to the fact that women eliminating or significantly reducing their pubic hair down to a lovely little landing strip is an acknowledged part of public discourse. For men, “mowing the lawn” is still part of a gay sub-culture–though this is now obviously changing, since someone can make more money if more men start doing this (and from the sounds of the comments over here at the Minneapolis City Pages, more men are doing this).
What do you think of this video? Is Gillette providing an important service for men by offering this kind of info? Or are they capitalizing on the lengths (ahem) men will go to to enhance their packages? And is this evidence of men being subject to the kind of pressures for the perfect body that women have long undergone?
Dell has a new site set up–quaintly called “Della“–to sell women computers to women (thanks to T for alerting us of this). It seems pretty patronizing, and, as Engadget’s Laura June points out, it’s
a bit disconcerting that they mention “finding recipes,” “counting calories,” and blissing out to “guided meditations” on the Tech Tips page.
Agreed. But I admit, as one who likes nice things, that I’m torn–Della’s pushing some pretty cute and stylin’ laptops. It’s too bad they come wrapped up in such a sucky marketing package.
Thoughts, dear readers? Does Della make you want to run out and buy a sweet new computer to coordinate with your hot new jumpsuit or loincloth? Or do you find this whole marketing attempt just a little (or a lot) insulting to women (hello, Mom’s Night Off Meal and pink vitamins)?
{ 2 comments }
Holy mackerel. This is one time that I kinda have feelings of love for a bank. The spot features a trans woman in a totally respectful way. Amazing.
{ 7 comments }
Oh, ma ga. Parlaying our culture’s current fascination with hairless lady parts, Wilkinson Sword’s Quattro for Women has released a new ad in the UK…and the not-so-subtle tagline is, ahem, “Mow the lawn.” The UK/ European version of the ad features a variety of multicultural women gleefully pushing lawnmowers and happily wielding hedge clippers while singing a catchy little tune about the joys of shaving. The US version for Schick Quattro is much more toned down and totally humourless–that one features women walking past bushes that magically shrink and become all tidy. Of course the European version is much more campy than the US version–and as a result, the humour diminishes the potential offensive-ness.
Debate about women’s, um, bushes aside, one thing that really did bother me about the UK ad was that, despite the happy multi-culti faces, there were still some racial sterotypes that were reinforced. Specifically, at one point, a black woman sings, “Some bushes are mighty big,” and then it cuts to a dainty-looking Asian woman in front of what appears to be a bonsai tree who sings, “Some gardens are really small.” UGH. Yes, ladies, apparently even the volume of our pubic hair is determined by “race”!
Judge for yourself. Here’s the “naughty” UK version:
And the boring North American version:
So, what do you think? When you laugh at ads like this, are you doing so in spite of yourself? Or do the yuks take the politics away?
Thanks to Divine Caroline for being the source for the original clip.
{ 12 comments }
Jessica on Sharon McIvor wins before BC Court of Appeal
Dee Vaughn on Homeless shelter makeover à la Oprah
Terry Grahl on Homeless shelter makeover à la Oprah
Connie Crosby on The Persons Case: A complicated chapter in Canadian history
phillip on Bea Arthur: A beloved, ballsy dame
Sabine on Deconstructing windbags
Fuzu on Deconstructing windbags
Confabulous badges!
