Post: #1

I've been meaning to start a thread on male-bashing commercials for some time, but haven't managed to track down all of the examples I can think of. I figure I might as well open it up to the community, since some guys, invariably, have seen ones that others haven't. It'd be nice to put together a little collection of these.

The most common motif, of course, is the idiotic, inept, bumbling boyfriend or dad, but there are others. I'm still hunting for an sample of one of the worst violators, Carl's Jr.'s "without us, some guys would starve" campaign of the early 2000s. In each of those spots, they depict dudes as total dumb-asses who can't fend for themselves, even on the very basic function of feeding themselves. In the one that especially comes to mind, a guy is trying to blend two whole avocados in a blender, because--needless to say--he doesn't know how to make guacamole. For 30 seconds, he simply stares, as they rumble around un-broken in the blender cup. Then we hear voiceover, "without us, some guys would starve." Another common, and sort of related, theme is the emasculated, weak man needing the guidance of an in-control, strong, intelligent woman.

There are also tons of movies like this, of course. The Judd Apatow beta-loser movies come to mind a lot. The male lead is a total ass-clown, the girl is an successful, "empowered," intelligent alpha.

Here are some examples of what I mean. Fox News (though I'm loath to use any of their material) did a decent little piece on this as well, and I've included that too.

Post: #2

I dunno, sometimes I think we take this a little far (i.e. the weed commercial is a stretch). I mentioned elsewhere that when I was in college I took a women's studies course (it was required). This is exactly the kind of stuff they TEACH women to look for (except the genders reversed), and I was felt like it was a bit too try-hard... they were really reaching for reasons to complain about men. While I agree some of these commercials are bashing males, I don't think we want to go down the same path as women by seeking out petty reasons to be angry. At the same time, I understand why it's a problem (some of the above are good examples) when it becomes more and more mainstream, especially when they start crossing the line (i.e. joking about cutting men's penises off on a women's talk show). http://news.mensactivism.org/node/16928

Post: #3

(10-07-2011 04:48 PM)Gmac Wrote:  I dunno, sometimes I think we take this a little far (i.e. the weed commercial is a stretch). I mentioned elsewhere that when I was in college I took a women's studies course (it was required). This is exactly the kind of stuff they TEACH women to look for (except the genders reversed), and I was felt like it was a bit too try-hard... they were really reaching for reasons to complain about men. While I agree some of these commercials are bashing males, I don't think we want to go down the same path as women by seeking out petty reasons to be angry. At the same time, I understand why it's a problem (some of the above are good examples) when it becomes more and more mainstream, especially when they start crossing the line (i.e. joking about cutting men's penises off on a women's talk show). http://news.mensactivism.org/node/16928

I'd argue that this is more about crafting an artful retort to the very women you're talking about--and their Benedict-Arnold sympathizers, the white knights--than complaining ourselves.

And, yes, some of these commercials are bashing men more than others (or at least more blatantly), but--in this case--I was more trying to depict the full arc of the theme, which is threaded throughout out the society, than about showing the most blatant examples only. I'm sure there are other, better examples out there, in other words.

Interestingly, I just noticed another example in the Al Bundy thread.

Credit to: basilransom

Post: #4

The problem isn't that a man is portrayed as a dolt. There are male dolts after all. It is the fact that the man is a dolt, and the woman is wise and all knowing, and holds power over him. And that it's that way in *every* *single* *ad.* So the bias can't always be seen by viewing a single ad in isolation.

Here are some:













I don't think either sex should be demeaned in ads. Look at the ads called misogynistic, even from 50 years ago, and they're nothing of the sort. They simply reflect the fact that women raised children and cooked for the household.

They dredge up things like this, as the most sexist ad ever:





In reality, the ad is about shielding your wife from harm. Anything that portrays women as vulnerable is irredeemably sexist. And then we wonder why girls get raped on an early morning run. Even in those ads said to be demeaning, it's usually just a woman portrayed as a sexual object. Or it's a woman doing wifely duties like cleaning the house or cooking. But in the man-hating ads, the man is clearly beneath the woman, and even the house pet; he is a pathetic, inferior creature. Take a look at the '10 most sexist ads' by AdWeek, and then the '4 bonus anti-male' ones, and you'll see what I mean: http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/10-sexist-...igs-133401

Look at a list like this: 15 sexist vintage ads. Of those, only two are actually misogynistic - that treat women as less than an adult human - the pants and coffee ads. Most of them were in fact targeted at women, and merely reflect the fact that women are weaker and were in charge of domestic affairs. If this is the worst they can find, it wasn't all that bad.

Post: #5

On the bright side: "Men" who accept the message of feminism are our "competition."

Post: #6

A simple test is to reverse the roles. If the girl was shown as a stupid cunt and the man smart, would there be outrage? If yes, they're sexist. Feminists don't want to eliminate sexism, they want superiority.

Even the establishment is trying to get in on man bashing, by commissioning a "study" that shows men are inferior to women:

http://jezebel.com/5846567/study-finds-c...lege-women

Post: #7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M-Fr53vT...re=related

Almost all of the beer commercial are cringe-worthy. The Miller Lite ones may be the worst.

Post: #8

The movie 'horrible bosses' also makes men look weak.

Post: #9

There is a bell atlantic commericial were this nerdy guy tell his wife (looks a lot older than him) that he got some free minutes. His wife than procedes to chastise him and says that she should have married some other guy. He than says it was free, and she sort of changes her expression a bit. I looked it up on youtube but couldn't find it.

Post: #10

(10-07-2011 08:48 PM)Donald Duck Wrote:  The movie 'horrible bosses' also makes men look weak.

How so? I thought the one who gets sexually harassed by his hot boss was a great role reversal satirizing the points brought up in this thread. People think its funny when a man basically gets raped by a woman because how could he say no etc.

Post: #11

(10-07-2011 08:48 PM)Donald Duck Wrote:  The movie 'horrible bosses' also makes men look weak.

I disagree, the guy getting sexually harassed comes out on top in the end. Especially in the very last scene where he starts screaming at her and calling her a crazy bitch.

Post: #12

I'm pretty sure I've seen this commercial in the states, but I could only find the Euro version (which is identical):

Post: #13

(10-07-2011 04:24 PM)Tuthmosis Wrote:  The OP.

The FOX piece made me cringe badly.

The male guest consistently made the point that it would be different if it was a female being pushed out of a car but the girl didn't even answer his point - just stating 'OH CUM ON ITZ FUNNEH LOL'. The host is a perfect example of an emasculated man that the other guy talked about; he simply agreed with the female guest.

Her point about George Clooney made me curl my toes so much I thought they'd break. 'HE MAKES FUN OV HIMSELF ALL DAH TIME AND WUIMEN LOVE HIM'. Yes but would they still love him if he wasn't a handsome multi-millionaire who scores all of the alpha roles in films anyway?

Post: #14

(10-07-2011 09:06 PM)kbell Wrote:  There is a bell atlantic commericial were this nerdy guy tell his wife (looks a lot older than him) that he got some free minutes. His wife than procedes to chastise him and says that she should have married some other guy. He than says it was free, and she sort of changes her expression a bit. I looked it up on youtube but couldn't find it.

Yeah I saw that commercial too and couldn't help thinking how well it probably represents a lot of men's relationships with their wives. She was acting like a total self-entitled, holier than thou, spoiled bitch, and the dude a beta push-over.

That video that Basil posted about the guys in the doghouse was pretty damn funny IMO, it did kind of show that guys are pussy whipped and let women control them, at the same time it did kind of show some truths to how men think/act.

Post: #15

I've never seen any of these commercials before, I rarely watch T.V. but when I do it's in espanol (much hotter women). Has it really gotten this bad on american TV? The Pepsi max commercial was easily the most disturbing on so many levels, along with the doghouse commercial. I'm proud that I don't patronize any of the products seen in these commercials(Taco Bell,weed be gone, Jewelry store, T-mobile, Doritos, Pepsi-Max,etc), because if I did I would have to stop on principal. I can't decide what other beta males and women choose to spend their money on, but I can control what I do with mine.

These "functionally-retard modern heterosexual man" commercials are a relatively new phenomenom, probably since 2002, I definitely don't remember this bull-shit growing up. Which is sad, because a new generation is being raised on this and thinks its how the world is.
Men= dumb,bad Women= smart, good

Advertisements on Spanish T.V. in the U.S. prove that companies can market products and produce commercials with out attempting to insult and emasculate 50% of the population and still make a profit. There is a bigger agenda at play here.

Commercials in Latin America are even better then the ones we get here, they usually ooze female beauty and sex appeal instead of cheap laughs at the expense of males. Hell, I have even seen ones where the woman is played as immature and uninformed, a complete role-reversal. It shows you who's really in charge in any given country. I wonder how our ads compare to Europe or the Middle East......

Post: #16

(10-07-2011 05:38 PM)basilransom Wrote:  Here are some:
/watch?v=6iCryRWyEcc[/video]

It's interesting to think about this Pepsi commercial with genders reversed. Imagine the outcry if a man were taking a woman's food, making her eat fruit cups instead of cries, and throwing soap at her if she looked at other men.

Post: #17

(10-09-2011 11:03 AM)Scott Wrote:  

(10-07-2011 04:24 PM)Tuthmosis Wrote:  The OP.

The FOX piece made me cringe badly.

The male guest consistently made the point that it would be different if it was a female being pushed out of a car but the girl didn't even answer his point - just stating 'OH CUM ON ITZ FUNNEH LOL'. The host is a perfect example of an emasculated man that the other guy talked about; he simply agreed with the female guest.

Her point about George Clooney made me curl my toes so much I thought they'd break. 'HE MAKES FUN OV HIMSELF ALL DAH TIME AND WUIMEN LOVE HIM'. Yes but would they still love him if he wasn't a handsome multi-millionaire who scores all of the alpha roles in films anyway?

What she didn't state was that in REAL life, George Clooney bangs the hottest chicks, tells them point blank he won't marry them, dumps them when they start whining about the fact that he won't marry them, and immediately repeats the cycle with a new volunteer. It's easy to be self-effacing when you, and everyone else knows you run shit.

Post: #18

This Vinni Mac guy is doing a stand up job with exposing male-bashing ads.