Mostly, I am fairly oblivious to adverts. They are never aimed at me and it is one of the huge reliefs of not having a TV that I don’t have to put up with them. But of late I’ve been overdosing on Hulu, and consequently have been subjected to repeated viewings of two adverts I find particularly obnoxious. One is blatantly sexist and I think actually both are misogynistic. (As a side note, it is interesting to me that companies spend so much money on ads, and the majority haven’t a fucking clue how it works online. Not the vaguest. Here’s a hint: interrupting an online show with ads? It’s annoying. The longer the advert, the more annoying it is. I hate your company and your product. However, letting me know at the beginning of the program that you are not interrupting the show with ads? Less annoying. I remain ambivalent towards your company and product. Which is the best you can hope for.)
But back to the offenders.
1. is an ad for some ready made meal or other. Only women will eat this meal, of course, because I think it’s supposed to be vaguely healthy, and as we all know, in ad land men only eat barbecued meat. The first part of the ad shows a woman in a reasonably work appropriate shirt and skirt, clearly in an office, trying out the meal and deciding it’s ok. But gosh, those girls are so ditzy, even the ones with jobs will never figure out where to find the processed crap in a supermarket! So, let’s show them a little cartoon of a vacuous blonde with an improbably tiny waist, and hips that sway like a metronome as she pushes a trolley through the store. And let’s say she uses ‘GPS – Go to the Pasta or Soup aisle’, as a reminder of where the noxious foodstuff is located, because her head is so empty that otherwise she will be at a complete loss. But just for humour, and for additional emphasis that women are not functioning adults, we’ll make it clear that we don’t mean the kind of GPS used in a car, because it is hilarious that a woman might (a) drive or (b) know what GPS stands for. Hello, food company? The 1950s called and they want their gender stereotypes back.
2. is an advert for some American car or other. So, ok, uphill struggle to start with and there is a whiff of desperation to the whole thing. Which basically consists of shots of men’s faces while a gruff voiceover lists an array of appalling things guys have to put up with (getting out of bed; going to work; talking to the women in their life; recycling), all of which they do so uncomplainingly, manfully bearing up under the unfair burdens that women inflict on them, that as a reward for this unfailing heroism they will buy the car they really want. The whole thing could be much quicker if it was just a shot of a bloke in the car while a voiceover said ‘The Chevy Penis Extension: Because I’m worth it’.
Oh, and here’s a third one for free.
An advert for some cleaning product. A bunch of women are led into the observation area of a laundry detergent testing zone. Note that it is only women, because all the men in the entire world are presumably too busy whining about how difficult their lives are, eating barbecued meat and mooning over crap cars ever to do any laundry. Meanwhile, the women are made to watch while clothes are stained in front of their very eyes! See them exchange glances and bite their lips in mutual recognition of just how difficult it is to get the ink stain out of the husband’s shirt. But never fear, ladies, because this new cleaning product shifts stains like nobody’s business. Which is excellent, because you can then spend all that extra time you saved from doing the laundry wandering helplessly around the supermarket, unable to find the food.
Really? I thought it was 2010.
Musings from the sofa 
Oh dear it sounds as if US ads may even beat out British ads for terrible sexism. Have you heard if you live in the UK and you’re a woman you’re not allowed to eat McCoys now because they are officially ‘man crisps’ ?
There’s this awful one at the moment about being cushioned by financial protection and it’s all ads of men being told their wives will be having kids and their girlfriend wants that v expensive engagement ring, so an airbag explodes from their chest to cushion them against the cost. Because only men will be paying for the kids and the wedding costs obviously, I expect the women will be spending all their spare cash on healthy convenience food, y’know if they even have jobs. Grrr but I could go on about this kind of thing all day.
I hate all those ads, but I particularly hate that car ad. I usually just ignore or fast forward through ads (thank you Tivo), but when I caught that car ad I got down right pissed.
Jodie – I had in fact heard that. But last time I bought a packet of McCoys I was too weak to open the packet anyway. And I didn’t want to risk chipping a nail. Well, what’s a girl to do? I giggled helplessly and fortunately there was a man there who kindly took the packet away from me before I hurt myself and gave me a pink, heart shaped marshmallow instead.
Zoesmom – Because that car ad is infuriating on so. many. levels?
I haven’t seen the first one, but I saw that second one during Sunday’s Superbowl, and it infuriated me. The absolute worst, though, was the man who’d been dragged shopping with his wife and was missing the Superbowl, because she had “performed a successful operation to remove his spine.” (As if we women WANT men along when we go shopping.)
pvreader – I did, once, date a bloke who was great at shopping. Ah, happy days. I am so glad I haven’t seen that advert because I’m already infuriated at the description. I’m sure there are women who prefer to drag their boyfriends or husbands wherever they go and who can make life pretty unpleasant if they don’t get their own way. But then, chaps, don’t make the choice to get into relationships with the crazy ones in the first place.
Damn! I did it again. “PVReader” is just me (in case you were getting your hopes up that you had some cool new blog follower. You know, someone who likes to shop…).
Thanks, Emily, I knew it was you!
Well those packets can be tricky and I imagine you’d have trouble even lifting a Yorkie bar so it’s a good job girls aren’t allowed those.