ASDA slated over 'sexist' Christmas commecial

All I can think of is this,

Skarjo wrote:

Falsey wrote:

Fizheuer Zieheuer wrote:storm in a teacup perhaps, but I think there's a broader conversation to be had. /2¢

Why does everything need a broader conversation? Im sure yourself and Skarjo just skim through the headlines for anything that tickles the righteousness gland so that you can go wild.

Its an advert for a supermarket. Ok, so perhaps your dad does it all. Perhaps youre a strawberry floating weirdo who cooks dinner for your mates, whatever. Its not a personal attack, just dont shop there if you think they are deriding us poor manfolk.

Don't be pissy with me just because your own mum agrees that you're gooseberry fool at everything that doesn't involve a computer.

Maybe you're happy to be represented by the same useless, lazy, incompetent stereotype that we've been subjected to for thirty years but I'm not.

Im good at cars too.

Falsey wrote:

Skarjo wrote:

Falsey wrote:

Fizheuer Zieheuer wrote:storm in a teacup perhaps, but I think there's a broader conversation to be had. /2¢

Why does everything need a broader conversation? Im sure yourself and Skarjo just skim through the headlines for anything that tickles the righteousness gland so that you can go wild.

Its an advert for a supermarket. Ok, so perhaps your dad does it all. Perhaps youre a strawberry floating weirdo who cooks dinner for your mates, whatever. Its not a personal attack, just dont shop there if you think they are deriding us poor manfolk.

Don't be pissy with me just because your own mum agrees that you're gooseberry fool at everything that doesn't involve a computer.

Maybe you're happy to be represented by the same useless, lazy, incompetent stereotype that we've been subjected to for thirty years but I'm not.

Im good at cars too.

And yet you have a BMW

The ultimate driving machine.

Actually I'm quite pleased when an ad decides to go for a particular group or scene, rather than the homogenised mess of much of advertising these days. You can pretty much picture the PC focus group meetings after you read the latest leaflet which just so happens to conveniently have a black couple on the cover and an Asian man on the back, a clearly gay guy in the middle fold and no white hetrosexual couples anywhere to be seen. Seriously. I'm not joking. This is done.

Sure, there's a balance to be struck here, but an occasional ad that showcases a particular scenario that many will be aware of (or laugh at, in the case of mums who think they do everything at Christmas), is hardly front page news.

Or they could have just been like Sainbsury's...

When i saw the ad i didnt think it was sexist.

Bunni wrote:I would say it's more hurtful to have women described as being utterly useless than to be over worked. Any sort of DIY?plumbing/car advert has the same of hapless chick sighing to the sky because she can't start her car or whatever. Then a long comes good looking hero man to save her from her idiocy.

If that's how women are stereotyped I'm actually sort of thankful for this advert that makes out men to be lazy and useless cooks. It's only fair for them to get mocked at the lack of ability in a mostly female dominated task area.

But i didnt really like the tag line;

.....and behind every mum theres asda.

Because i interpreted this to mean the mum is actually as "gooseberry fool" as the rest of the family and its only because asda exists that she isnt. The supermarket claiming all credit for the work. What i got from the ad is that asda think we're all clueless banana splits and if it wasnt for them we'd all be rubbing gooseberry fool into our faces on christmas day.

KKLEIN wrote:Or they could have just been like Sainbsury's...

Was about to mention this. They've had a great series of adverts for a while.

Smacks of being offended for the sake of it to me.

Anybody who is genuinely offended by this advert and not just taking the piss needs to remember it's just a TV advert and stop being such strawberry floating pussies about it.

I would bet no one actually is, but its people being offended on the behalf of others.

Most people who shop in supermarkets and do the groceries for the house are women, in most families the woman does most of the housework and cooking. Proven by surveys. The advertisers are not being sexist, at least not with intent. They are simply targeting a key demographic.

However, I suppose that one could argue that one ought to think beyond simply turning a profit and think of one's social responsibilities; perhaps deliberately including a man cooking along side the women to avoid leaning on tired stereotypes. I suppose that may have been a good idea from a marketing perspective as well as it would broaden the appeal of the ad. Still, I see no reason that they should be legally obligated to do this any more than they should be obligated to contribute to other social goods like charity.

People make a decent point about some demographics being overly represented to the point of nausea though. The college near me has lots of brochures that make it look like a multi-ethnic paradise. In reality about 98% of all the students there are white; Northern Ireland does not quite have the same level of diversity as the rest of the UK.

I get my African slave to do all my chores.

I haven't seen the advert (don't have a TV, lolz) but anything (in this case people kicking up a fuss) that gets us away from the lazy and laughable stereotypes that plague adverts is a good thing. For example, men who can't cook/clean/look after kids, and women who can't do DIY/anything manual. I was off ill a few months ago and saw quite a lot of daytime TV - the number of ads that paint women as godesses at everything and men as big children was ridiculous.

Like, an advert for a steam cleaner that said:

"It even cleans up after men!" *camera focuses on bathroom floor next to the toilet*

Lotus wrote:I haven't seen the advert (don't have a TV, lolz) but anything (in this case people kicking up a fuss) that gets us away from the lazy and laughable stereotypes that plague adverts is a good thing. For example, men who can't cook/clean/look after kids, and women who can't do DIY/anything manual. I was off ill a few months ago and saw quite a lot of daytime TV - the number of ads that paint women as godesses at everything and men as big children was ridiculous.

Like, an advert for a steam cleaner that said:

"It even cleans up after men!" *camera focuses on bathroom floor next to the toilet*

How did you see daytime TV ads if you don't have a TV?

No no no...nothing about this adds up at all.

Knew someone would pick up on that.

I lived at a different address then.

captain red dog wrote:I'm pretty sure the ad is based on market research. Who is complaining though, men or women?

Neither, lesbians.

Bunni wrote:I would say it's more hurtful to have women described as being utterly useless than to be over worked. Any sort of DIY?plumbing/car advert has the same of hapless chick sighing to the sky because she can't start her car or whatever. Then a long comes good looking hero man to save her from her idiocy.

If that's how women are stereotyped I'm actually sort of thankful for this advert that makes out men to be lazy and useless cooks. It's only fair for them to get mocked at the lack of ability in a mostly female dominated task area.

Really? Because a fair few have some sort of fat balding bumbling buffoon thinking he can do it himself, then the smart Alec woman jumping in to fix everything by pointing out the obvious or calling a professional.

abcd wrote:When I first watched it, I felt very sorry for my friend whose Mum has only recently died.

Felt that about kids without mums in general this christmas when I watched it.

TimeGhost wrote:

abcd wrote:When I first watched it, I felt very sorry for my friend whose Mum has only recently died.

Felt that about kids without mums in general this christmas when I watched it.

I scoffed at the whole thing when I saw it the other week, as my dad's done a bang up job with Christmas for the past 15 years even without my mum being there.

I can imagine it being horrible for newly bereaved families to watch though. The first year after my mum died was very stressful, especially around Christmas and Mother's Day when everyone was concentrating on family and the hole in your life was so obvious. I'm pretty sure dads that have just lost their wife and are learning to run Christmas on their own for the sake of their traumatised and heartbroken kids won't appreciate some advertising execs pissing all over their chips.

Those P&G "proud sponsor of mums" ads strawberry floated me off no end as well.