« teacher training | Main | high maintenance »
we can do better
By heather | February 8, 2010
I have the kind of job where people are compelled to ask me what my major was in college. For the record, my degree is in Advertising and Public Relations with a minor in Business Administration and has absolutely NOTHING to do with my job.
My engineering-major husband liked to joke that to earn my degree I watched television and analyzed commercials. This is true. I would rather be watching commercials than plowing through hours of complex math problems that take 4 sheets of paper to solve when both paths resulted in a college degree.
Therefore I feel somewhat qualified to rant on the Dodge Charger spot from the Super Bowl last night. When the commercial started with those tired looking guys listing all the things they do everyday I had a feeling where it was going, and I wasn’t wrong. It was described as a “defeated man launching into an internal tirade against a castrating little wife” and ranked as one of the ”best” ads in unscientific polls.
Seriously people…WTF?
I’ll stay away from the fact that Chrysler is basically owned by the government and that its only thanks to a gigantic bailout that this brand even still exists. I’ll also refrain from a discussion of how much this commercial cost to produce and air, again if not using government money then certainly thanks in part.
I would like to point out that in playing into these same sexist stereotypes of men always being nagged by the woman and never getting to do what they want because they appear to be dragged down by marriage and family, Chrysler proves that they didn’t learn anything from events over the last 2 years and they still believe perpetuating the good ol’boys network is the way to go.
I should mention that numerous studies show marriage is highly beneficial to men in terms of longevity, happiness, and overall health while having the opposite effect for women. Poor you commercial-guy, for having a job and all those responsibilities. I know plenty of people who would love to have a job and a family – some have neither.
At the risk of sounding hyper-sensitive, I was really offended by this spot.
Perhaps it was the fact that I’ve been spending a lot of time immersed in yoga teachings lately, learning that THINGS won’t make you happy and neither will negative perceptions about how much your work and life suck. If you don’t want to do those things, then don’t. If you don’t want to live that life or be in a partnership, then don’t. It’s as easy as that.
Perhaps it’s because marriage should be a relationship of equals and when it comes to major purchases there should be none of this “I’m going to do what I want” garbage. Maybe if more people had actual conversations about finance there would be less debt and less divorce.
Perhaps it’s because I have a better marriage than that, and I want my daughter to have better than some loser who thinks she is a burden to his imagined free-wheeling lifestyle.
Perhaps I just took offense to the amount of money spent on continued stereotyping rather than original thought. I’m starting to despise the advertising industry for their lack of creativity and perpetually enforcing and teaching notions that degrade both men and women. Then again, I am more astounded by the number of people who, lemming-like, think this qualifies as a great commercial without taking any time to really think about it.
There is a theory that every single thought and action affects the overall happiness of the world and that we are all affected by problems other people are having, no matter how irrelevant it may seem to you. Think of us as all standing in one big giant line, waiting for help from whatever God or god you pray to. By clearing out some of the negativity you hold on to, you make room for other people to work on clearing theirs and then you are in a position to help them do so. Further, if you can approach things positively you never get in the line in the first place.
If you watched the show Undercover Boss that was on right after the Super Bowl, maybe you were inspired by the people working hard clearing up trash and cleaning port-a-potties and never bitching about the work. Those are the people who are contributing to the happiness of the world and putting that theory into practice.
I recognize that there probably was very little thought put into this ad other than trying to make it funny. Certainly, suited execs sitting around the table while some eager creative director pitched it to them didn’t stop to pontificate whether some over-burdened guy would then go out and buy a car without discussing it in the grand scheme of family finances, thus leading to a marital rift.
I remember clearly the PR mantra that there is no bad publicity, (at least that’s what we would tell ourselves in the midst of a PR debacle) so any discussion over the ad is probably considered good for the brand.
I just think we can do better. Better than accept this as one of the best, most creative commercials out there. Better than to accept that any married, employed man is burdened by those things and that no matter what the person he’s talking to thinks he’s going to do what he feels like.
Come on Chrysler and Go-Daddy (not touching this one, BTW) and my fellow Ad/PR grads…YOU CAN DO BETTER.
Topics: corporate disappointments, yoga | 8 Comments »
Tags:
February 8th, 2010 at 2:57 pm
I agree. What the heck? The whole thing left me completely uninspired.
SoccerMom’s last blog post..Valentine Week Day 2
February 8th, 2010 at 10:11 pm
I actually loved the ad. For too long we have asked men to not be manly. We’ve asked them to sit with us and paint our toenails and love it. We’ve asked them to watch Lifetime and then want to discuss the movie. We’ve asked them to give up time with guy friends so they could shop for sheets with us at Belks and then have salads at Panera. That’s not what (most) men are. I did think that the commercial brought to light a lot of the ways society has been trying emasculate men. They have testosterone running through their brains. Let’s let them be men and do men things (within moral guidelines, of course, you know me) and not ask them to be sissified. Of course, being a commercial, it’s going to play it out to its ultimate extent in buying a car. That’s what advertising does right, make you want a product?
I do agree that a relationship is built out of equals, but those equals are not the same in their likes/dislikes and hobbies. If a man is truly going to be happy in his relationship and in return want to make his woman happy then he’s going to need to do some things he wants to do and be the way God made him. That doesn’t mean going out and buying a car without consulting with his wife. That’s dumb and irresponsible. But women need to wise up that we cannot make a man act like a woman and have a happy relationship. Neither one will actually be happy.
On a somewhat side note, I’ve wanted one of those cars for a while now. It’s badass and cool and totally not what one would think a normal mom would drive. Oh yes! The gas mileage is too low though. It’s even 4-door isn’t it? I think that might be our next car. In fact, they should come out with a complementary commercial in which the wife steals the car from her husband to go on a girls’ weekend.
Vicki’s last blog post..The blizzard(s) of the century
February 9th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
oh my effing…. seriously??? that SHIT was on tv??? sigh.
what the eff ever. You can ask a man to be “manly” (whatever that really means) without degrading women by doing so. ALSO- I always take offence that cars like that are marketed to one sex, DUDES, you are missing 50% of a possible target consumer. I like fast cars, and RESENT being told (via implied ridiculous ad) that because I have a vagina, this car isn’t for me. whatever.
women buy cars too.
seriously, these types of ads reinforce why feminism still exists. like marriage and relationships are really like that. I think it’s high time we stop characterizing “male” vs “female” qualities and just start talking about “qualities”… I am tired of hearing how a man or woman should or should not act. It’s lame.
EcoYogini’s last blog post..How to Green your Beans… Yoga and Coffee
February 10th, 2010 at 1:39 am
I totally agree with you.
I can’t get my thoughts together for a coherent comment, but I can’t get over the load of stereotypical crap that is that commercial. I’m so sick of this myth of the poor downtrodden male.
alejna’s last blog post..the yard in winter
February 10th, 2010 at 8:47 am
What about the GoDaddy ads? Ads like that are the insidious type that really set women back in their quest to be taken seriously. Whereas the Charger ad I saw more as satire, humor, I take offense at the GoDaddy ads for blatantly portraying women as sex objects. Men and women in stable marriages can handle the stereotypes. Men cannot handle the visual stimulation of ads like that for long. They are visual creatures. My indignation rests on the destructive tits and ass display.
February 21st, 2010 at 11:01 am
HEAR, HEAR.
Holly’s last blog post..Bacchus, Sunday night.
March 10th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
[...] Heather of finding atman with We can do better [...]
March 10th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
[...] Heather of finding atman with We can do better [...]