Brandweek Prints Dozen Letters Criticizing Anti-Male Advertising
December 3rd, 2007 by Glenn Sacks, MA for Fathers & Families
Background: We've done several protests against ads which portray men and fathers as clowns--see Campaign Against Anti-Father Verizon Commercial, Campaign Against Anti-Male Advertising, Campaign Against Detroit News ‘Get Her a Gift or She’ll Give You a Black Eye’ Ad and Portable On Demand Storage Decides to Remove Anti-Male Ad in Face of Protests. To learn more about the problems with the way men are portrayed in advertising, click here.
Brandweek editor Todd Wasserman discussed the problem of 'Dad as Idiot' advertising in his recent column The Surviving Dads Of Ads (Brandweek Magazine, 11/12/07), writing, "It’s hard to argue that guys like Sacks don’t have a point". Today the editor of Brandweek wrote that Wasserman's column "drew a very heavy outpouring of letters, nearly all in agreement," and the magazine reprinted a dozen of them in its letters section.
Lori Clayton of South Fulton, Tennessee wrote:
"As a mom, we agree with you. Fathers should have rights too. I am a mother, a wife , a daughter and a grandmother. And I have seen the way men are being treated these days; makes me sick to know that men are being treated so horribly. Step back a moment, and just think: how would you feel if this was your Dad, your brother or your son or grandson?"
Akshaya Patel of Marlboro, New Jersey wrote a letter titled "Ads Do Impact the Very Young":
"I enjoyed reading your article about the negative portrayal of men in the media. I am a father of a 5-year-old boy and I can tell you that advertising impacts his perception of the world much more profoundly than adults may realize.
"Last year I severed my relationship with Fidelity Investment because I was appalled at the way they portrayed men in their advertising. I became politically aware during the years of anti-apartheid divestment and it has stuck with me.
"My son has learned to use Tivo and he skips through the advertising these days so I suppose this may become a nonissue in my home. Nonetheless the corporate community speaks to the masses through advertising and they have to maintain a gender neutral balance in their message."
Eric Tarkington of Atlanta, Georgia wrote:
"Critics who say 'enough dumping on dad already!' are not alone—far from it, if anybody has a bizarre attitude about this, it's the disconnected ad man sector, not the growing annoyed sector of the public. I have some sympathy for ad writers. You need the good feelings from a gag to become associated with your product or service. Somebody is always the butt of any joke, and political correctness says you won't make it a her. Besides, you don't have to be careful dumping on dad in this society. Or do you? People are getting annoyed, and your customers probably shouldn't look bizarre to you..."
To read all the letters, click here. Brandweek Magazine's letters section can be reached at feedback@brandweek.com.
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December 3rd, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Sounds like the backlash is in full swing, thanks in large part to you, Glenn.
We all need to let our voices be heard.
December 3rd, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Agreed. This is a step in the right direction when more mainstream awareness is being raised on the problem. Keep it up.
December 3rd, 2007 at 1:44 pm
...I think it says something about the lack of competence of advertising executives when they a: think no one will notice all this anti-male advertising, or, b: that it doesn't matter.
"Yes we make men out to be idiots in our ads and women out to be gods. What of it?"
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Glenn, have you ever seen the commercials for Summer's Eve Body Wash? THERE's an insulting ad campaign. They run during daytime broadcast telivision, so I see them all the time when I watch General Hospital on ABC (yes, I watch soaps).
Every commercial has the same formula, with a man and a woman couple. The man does something that's stereotypically unhygeinic, like turning his shirt inside out to change for a party, or covering a stain on his shirt with his tie. The woman, of course, roles her eyes/shakes her head. Female voiceover goes "men have their way of maintining freshness, and we have ours." And then it promotes the actual deoderant or body wash, with the tagline "Enjoy being a woman."
Check them out, if you can. They really are something else.
Although, it does bring up the factor of it being targeted for women, during a broadcasting time and channel consisting largely of women (except for us soap-watching guys). Still, if you see them, I'd be curious to see what you think.
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Alex, the ad should be changed as follows: "Enjoy being a woman . . . who's given unfettered discretion to bash men."
December 3rd, 2007 at 4:18 pm
12 whiny letters from 12 whiny men and not one letter that points out how much worse women have it in commercials and ad's. How often are guy's portrayed in skimpy clothing in ad's?
December 3rd, 2007 at 4:26 pm
..tired of whining...when society sickens themselves to the priveledges women have enjoyed for centuries, which they are...And how you want even more of everything, and are willing to lie, cheat, steal for it...
You may just pine for the old days when you were "oppressed"
December 3rd, 2007 at 4:38 pm
,,,theres something particularly perverse when the most liberated group of people the world has ever witnessed in terms of health, wealth, leasure time, and general life options (white middle class female)...can say they are oppressed!!
..Maybee their doing it for the cash cow they have grown!!
when women got minority status...white middle class educated females began ""feverishly"" filling out all the grant forms for funds from congress that were to help American imigrants and real minorities!!
..These white middle class female ...."funding hogs" ....have such a voracious appetite, that if one was to look at state/federal logs to see who is getting the "hogs" share of all these grants..
it would in fact show there is but crumbs left for the minorities that really need it!!
December 3rd, 2007 at 5:17 pm
...Tired of Whiny Men whines about whining. I wonder if she sees the irony here...She obviously enjoys this content because she keeps coming back for more...
December 3rd, 2007 at 5:18 pm
"12 whiny letters from 12 whiny men and not one letter that points out how much worse women have it in commercials and ad's. How often are guy's portrayed in skimpy clothing in ad's?"
1. There you go with the "whining" bit again. If you don't think that women should be portrayed badly in ads, why should the reverse be any different for men? The ads that Glenn talks about are genuinly hurtful and offensive to the many men who don't fit the dumb stereotypes depicted, and yet they're paraded about with little regret, and people like you call any protest to it "whining." Is it too much too ask that nobody, women or men, be depicted via idiotic caricatures to sell products? How do you feel whenever you see an ad that you feel is denigrating to women?
2. There are differences in how ads may denigrate women and men. Showing an attractive woman and using her as eye candy to attract customers is one thing. Depicting people as idiotic, immature, lazy incompetents based on nothing than their gender is another thing. You're not going to convince me that the anti-male ads discussed here are any less offensive. Sex appeal is a classic advertising method with an understandable psychological affect in which customers associate aesthetic beauty with the product, and react accordingly. The ads that show men as goofs? Well...to be quite honest, I really can't see how in the hell those are supposed to promote the actual product, except maybe to associate it with lame attempts at humor.
If you showed me an example of an ad where a woman was depicted based on negative personality stereotypes about women, though, I'd be all ears.
3. To answer your question on where men are skimpily dressed: Abercrombie & Fitch catalogues. A lot of cologne ads in magazines. Hollywood celebrity mags with pics of buff, shirtless young actors. Posters of male models and movie stars hanging on teenage girls' walls. Attractive men are also used for sex appeal in advertising. And yet does anybody complain about these ads? No. And, speaking for myself, I don't think there's much reason to. If women want to drool over pictures of hot guys, let them. They've got sex drives too, after all, and they can enjoy male eye candy all they want. In return, I'd like to look at my own pics of hot women in peace, if you don't mind.
4. Glenn has addressed the issue of ads that NOW says are offensive to women, and he has analyzed them as to whether or not he thinks they are indeed offensive. He's disagreed on many of them, but has also agreed that there are indeed ads that do more harm than good for women. If we can concede that there are instances where ads have harmful depictions of women, why is it so hard for you to concede the same about men in advertisement?
It seems to be a matter of prejudice with you. You refuse to see things from our point of view and understand why we may be offended or hurt, simply because those views are coming from male voices. You call us whiners for speaking up against injustices men may face, and when we try to tell you that our concerns are, indeed, legitimate, you just get even more convinced that we're whiners. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy, in a way. But if you would just make the effort to see us as fellow human beings with feelings just like yours, I honestly don't think it would be that hard to understand what we're saying and why we're saying it.
December 3rd, 2007 at 5:23 pm
Tired of Whining Men - I think you mean Tired Whiny Whimpy Man - get some new glasses or watch some different channels. Men are often seen in skimpy clothing - wrestlers, weight lifters, male dancers etc.
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:58 pm
I've been sitting at home watching this trend in commercials and saying to myself that this is a bunch of bullshit. I've seen how men are being portrayed and it angers me.
Sometimes I write about these kinds of things on my local community website and I am called a woman hater and worse.
I'm reassured to see that I wasn't the only one who was offended by the commercials and that there is a community that feels like I do.
December 4th, 2007 at 1:51 am
"the most liberated group of people the world has ever witnessed in terms of health, wealth, leasure time, and general life options "
Wot? Brazen statements like these just scream for supporting evidence. Another one that I used to see here frequently was that housewives are the happiest people on earth or somesuch.
December 4th, 2007 at 2:01 am
I have heard some feminists say that the women who form the counterpoint to the man-child in certain media are portrayed equally badly, with their shewish killjoy attitudes. While I agree that that portrayal is not positive, at least those female characters have adult maturity. It is sort of apples and oranges, but I'd say the men come off slightly worse.
Something I find interesting in that it is a rare point of common ground between masculists and feminists: feminists protest the man-child stereotype too.
December 4th, 2007 at 2:35 am
Harq al-Ada:
"Wot? Brazen statements like these just scream for supporting evidence. Another one that I used to see here frequently was that housewives are the happiest people on earth or somesuch."
There is absolutely no question whatsoever that women enjoy longer lifespan as well as generally better health than men. Additionally, it's pretty common knowledge that women control about 85% of the spending in North America. Women work (outside of the home) around 8 hours per week less than men (if memory serves), although with the addition of housework, it balances out. As to general life options, can we not all agree that it's considerably more acceptable for a woman to stay home than a man? Does a man have the same options as women when it comes to reproduction? Even just the purely legal ones, not dependent on plumbing?
These are just skipping across the wave tops of the issues men face every day. Apparently the big feminist issue this week is how disappointing the new Dora the Explorer doll is....
Good thing you're being so patronizing. Especially since you display such a firm grasp on what it is we're about.
December 4th, 2007 at 2:37 am
By the way, excellent taste in nicknames. I'm a big Dune fan myself.
December 4th, 2007 at 4:19 am
If I was being patronizing, it was toward an individual comment rather than the Men's movement as a whole. I happen to agree with a lot of both masculism and feminism. I suppose I did draw a parallel to another comment made on this site, but only because of the similarity of the comment, not as a reflection of posters here. I think the commentary here is quite good for the most part.
Asking for evidence for questionable claims is a good thing. Framing the issue in terms of evidence shows that I am taking it seriously--the opposite of being patronizing. And can I really let it slide when someone says women are wealthier, or more "liberated" in terms of wealth than men are? Maybe people who are less snarky than me can.
As for women's options, it's a complex issue. True, men don't feel like they can stay at home, but few men say "I really want a career and a family, but I don't know if I have time for both." That's because society is willing to accept a lower level of domestic involvement from men. There is a lot of truth in the idea that certain stereotypically feminine things (dresses, for instance) are off-limits for men in this society. Men are restricted far more in gender-typed behavior than women, but that is due in large part to "feminine" traits being devalued.
No, the doll is not the only thing feminists are talking about. Their main issues seem to be domestic violence, rape, and reproductive freedom--hardly the things to be concerned about in a post-feminist paradise. In case anyone wants to tell me they are all wrong about these issues, save your breath; I agree with MRAs to a large degree on them.
Yes, Dune is teh awesome. Have you read all the original six? I think the first is the best, but 4-6 are better than 2 and 3.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:05 am
"No, the doll is not the only thing feminists are talking about. Their main issues seem to be domestic violence, rape, and reproductive freedom--hardly the things to be concerned about in a post-feminist paradise. In case anyone wants to tell me they are all wrong about these issues, save your breath; I agree with MRAs to a large degree on them."
So then it is quite safe to say that you are a sepremist. "domestic violence, rape, and reproductive freedom" are issues to men as well. Men are abused by women at almost the same rate as women (I know I know, according to "your" information, that's not true but...) Men can indeed be raped... by women yet! And as for reproductive freedom... well, that is just a laugh isn't it. Exactly what part of reproductive freedom is it that women DON'T have?...Or did your pink bible not tell you that part.
TMOTS
December 4th, 2007 at 11:14 am
"I happen to agree with a lot of both masculism and feminism"
Harq, are you suggest that Glenn and like minded people are masculinists? I dont think so!
Check out Angry Harry - he is called a masculinist, yet I find him pretty well reasoned.
"society is willing to accept a lower level of domestic involvement from men" - is this the reason men do not have the choice of being more involved domestically? You seem to think that men try to meet the minimum requirements and nothing more. "Willingness" seems to convey choice availability to men, yet a stay at home dad will hear about "being a man" to no end. Its seems you are kinda accepting that men are being treated as second grade humans, yet you blame it on "feminine" traits being devalued - (a turn of 180 deg to realign with feminists) in a single sentence.
All you left out was blaming "Patriarchy" for it.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:41 am
From Harq al-Ada:
"That's because society is willing to accept a lower level of domestic involvement from men."
Traditionally I would agree with that but now that men are trying to take on larger roles of domestic involvement it would seem that society (mainly women and the court system) are going out of their way to main the idea that men have small roles in domestic involvement. Dads trying to have visitation rights or partial custody are shut out of their lives by vindictive mothers and the courts don't just sit idly by but they encourage it. Moms have the ability to hold dad's visitation rights at ransom for child support, just to take the rights away when the money starts rolling in. It used to be a joke that a mom would have to kill someone to lose custody but now it seems that joke needs to be reworded to say that even if she killed someone (even the father of said kids) she may still keep custody and not go to prison.
December 4th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
TMOTS:
No, I am not a female supremacist, if that is what you meant. I certainly did not make half the arguments that you attribute to me. Just because I think feminists have some legit points on certain issues does not mean that MRAs do not as well. As for reproductive freedom, that varies by state. Fundies have come up with a lot of creative ways of undermining it, such as conscience clauses, zoning restrictions on buildings which provide abortions, parental notification, requiring doctors to tell woman they're killing "a human person," etc.
Panjak:
I wasn't saying men are lazy or shirk housework without making up for it in more work hours, just that there is less cultural pressure against men who want to have both a career and a family. No one judges men for having a full work schedule, prioritizing their career, etc. Women have made a lot of ground there too, granted, but some people still make disapproving noises about women who want to "have it all."
"Its seems you are kinda accepting that men are being treated as second grade humans, yet you blame it on "feminine" traits being devalued - (a turn of 180 deg to realign with feminists) in a single sentence."
Yes, I accept that in the sense that I acknowledge that it happens, but I do not approve of it. Our culture should allow men more freedom of expression. It is a crude, caricatured and ultimately anti-male version of masculinity which our society often foists on us. Part of that construct of masculinity is the denigration and rejection of traits identified as feminine. This does align with feminist thought, but the argument is ultimately pro-male as well as pro-female. Changing certain cultural norms partially rooted in male supremacy has benefits for both men and women.
December 4th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
"No one judges men for having a full work schedule, prioritizing their career, etc. "
Tell that to fathers trying to answer "Who is the primary care giver?" in a custody battle in family court.
"This does align with feminist thought, but the argument is ultimately pro-male as well as pro-female."
Which feminist thought? Victim Feminism, Gender Feminism, Radical Feminism, Ideological Feminism, Black Feminism, Lesbian Feminism, Power Feminism? Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice....
"male supremacy" - Ah! another fancy word for the myth of patriarchy. I hate to turn Glenn's blog into feminist criticism, so please lets take this to feministcritics.org.
December 4th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Farad'n said:
"This does align with feminist thought, but the argument is ultimately pro-male as well as pro-female. Changing certain cultural norms partially rooted in male supremacy has benefits for both men and women."
I don't think on the face of it you would find much argument here, other than to say that feminists have absolutely no right whatsoever to have any input at all as to what is "acceptable" in terms of masculinity. In other words, we allow feminists about the same level of input as men got...
December 4th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Hmmm, that came off a little harsh. I'll put it another way. Feminists generally castigate anyone espousing attraction to blonde hair, blue eyes, big boobs, small waist over, say...short, chubby, and dark haired. "stereotyping" women into unattainable models is, according to feminist sources, a Bad Thing. Of course, they don't usually complain about the comparably handsome men in the ads/pictures, now do they? But it's really really bad, apparently, if we find certain types of women attractive. I know this, because feminists have been saying it for decades.
It is precisely this type of micromanagement of the human psyche that I detest most about feminism, so I respectfully say that I can determine my own worth, thank you very much.
(figuratively speaking of course)
I can hardly wait until we get around to changing certain cultural norms partially rooted in female supremacy...
December 4th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
"12 whiny letters from 12 whiny men..."
Are you including the concerned mother as a "whiny man"?
"...and not one letter that points out how much worse women have it in commercials and ad's. How often are guy's portrayed in skimpy clothing in ad's?"
How about we switch? Men will be shown in their underwear and revealing bathing suits, while women are shown getting slapped in the face and kicked in the genitals by men, all in television shows, films, and "funny" commercials. Plus, when they're not getting hurt, the women in these commercials will constantly be portrayed as idiots. Do we have a deal?
December 4th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
I am sick to death of hearing about how much more housework women do than men. SICK OF IT! The bottom line – it all depends upon what you mean by housework.
I maintain and repair my wife's car, my son's car and my car. I mow the lawns, I weed the gardens, I trim the bushes, I rake the leaves, I keep the gutters cleaned, I keep the house painted, I unplug the drains that are stopped up by my wife and daughter's long hair, I fix the fuses when my daughter’s hair dryer blows them, I repair our appliances (the hardware loves guys like me), I shovel the snow off the driveway and sidewalk, I keep all the various electronic gadgets - DVD recorders/players, videos, stereos, computers, printers, scanners and wireless networks – working: and in my spare time I retile two or our four bathrooms, I work about 50 hours a week earning a good salary that keeps the show on the road, and I come home and get to drive my daughter to her extracurricular events, I have sat up ALL NIGHT - MANY times with my sick kids but you know what? – I don’t complain that I have been subjugated by my wife. I don’t say a word - and I am not alone, not by al long shot.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
"Tell that to fathers trying to answer "Who is the primary care giver?" in a custody battle in family court." Good point--divorce certainly gives that exception to my general idea.
As for feminists and other outside groups wanting to contribute to the definition of masculinity, I see no problem if they promote FEWER restrictions on our behavior.
As for the attraction thing, I agree somewhat. I can understand frustration at thinking that there is only one narrow standard that men find attractive. It is of course not true that men only like one type of woman, but the media can give that impression anyway. I remember a few years back on a men's issues forum, a guy said basically that no woman will date a man under six feet tall. I felt bad for him. When you are very insecure you can ignore evidence right in front of you--I see average and short men with attractive women all the time, just as I see women who don't have every attribute that "all men desire" with attractive men. That's another thing. I don't want ANYONE telling me who I am attracted to, especially not the media, and not even other men who would represent my sex. I like nerdy, shortish, curvy dark-haired or red-haired women. Glasses are great. Freckles--superb. I would totally date Betty Suarez from Ugly Betty.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
To clarify: the first sentence was meant as "I agree somewhat with you." The next sentence should have started with "However..."
December 4th, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Oh and did I mention that I keep the software up to date and remove viruses from the four computers we have, I pay the bills, I organise our once a year vacation (flights, motels and ground transport), I take the three dogs to the vet and clean their vomit off the carpet , I share in the dishwashing, I am Clark Griswald – I put up the outside Christmas (sorry I mean holiday) lights, I keep our inflatable boat patched, I change all the low voltage (quarts-hologen) lights (the ones with the little screws whose threads always strip), I retrieve the various kites, balls and other things that kids throw up on the roof, I help with the grocery shopping and do all the hardware shopping. AND GUESS WHAT? I DON’T COMPLAIN.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:27 pm
Sorry, I take that back, I do complain. I complain about the notion that men do less "housework" than women. Men get no credit for doing work that is not called housework or domestic work. Well, if all the stuff I do around our house isn't housework, what is it?
December 4th, 2007 at 11:47 pm
Well, really the point is that feminists castigated men for being attracted to ...er....attractive women, instead of people that were "beautiful inside"...er, like them I guess(?). Now, after years of trying to tell us what to be attracted to, they're trying to get in on "redefining masculinity" (again, as if they hadn't been actively doing that for time immemorial)...and have the gall to tell us men if we're acting "acceptably". I pretty much refuse to listen to this crap anymore, as my usually abrasive attitude may suggest.
It'd just be nice to have a modicum of control over my own future thanks....
Oh, and the nerds are usually best in the sack...I'm right there with you. :)
December 5th, 2007 at 12:02 am
steve R.
The women as victim "housework hysteria"...has been debunked by Dr. Warren Farrel in his bestseller..."The myth of Male power".
It simply wasn't publisized !!
February 4th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Well, I've put my money where my mouth is. On the very rare occaisions I have to pick up a pizza, I do NOT go to Domino's or Pizza Nutz. Papa Johns or one of the local stores gets my business, and they go about it the way a company should - advertise and deliver a quality product.
I'm not sure what chain it is, KFC, I think, has an ad with, while not ideal, considerably better portrayal of men. Mom's stressing about everything, and Dad and the Kids come in with the whole meal. Everyone's been busy, and Dad stopped for take-out. The kids aren't rolling their eyes, no one makes a big deal that Dad pulled off a meal, just simply made the point that KFC was a good idea when everyone's busy. I could even overlook the bit of "Saint Mommy" at the start of the ad. I'm not sure if that bit was to appeal to women, or to reassure men that their smart, resourceful, overstressed, career and homemaker spouse would approve of the meal they brought home, as opposed to, say, another freaking pizza.
February 26th, 2008 at 8:03 am
It's amazing how men are easily bashed in advertisements, yet ad companies would never, ever dare bash women, blacks or Jews. If they did, it would bring down lightning bolts from the heavens as well as the screaming harpies. The boycotts would be enormous and the apologists would be grovelling on their knees making all kinds of amends.
When men get to the point of the boycotts and ripping these ads constantly, and with threats of discrimination suits, then we will see the end of the nonsense.
Also, time to take a look at the greeting card industry with all the anti-male venom spewed out of the cards.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:51 am
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