Saturday, May 6, 2023
In Case You Hadn't Figured Out What Many...
... of our posts is about, these guys are available to tip you off..
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/C5f__UY8c6I
Keywords, #marginalizedmen, #doltishdad
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Disruptive Luxury from G-Fore...
We haven't updated this blog in nearly a decade. Is its premise dated? What is its premise? Simply that advertising does a better job of reflecting our current culture than any other art. Why? Because it has to. Gotta pay the bills...
Art, you say? Yes I do. This spot from G-Fore Golf is simply sublime in its artistic execution. We will present the full 1:20 version which, of course you will never see on TV... but should.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Viva Brunettes, a Now Rare Uncut Version of a Classic...
Viva brunettes!! Yet, sadly, the latest version of this spot has eliminated the payoff smile by said brunette at the end in favor some Direct Response tag copy. Let's get this brilliant creative back intact!! #zerowaterfilter
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Que es Mas Macho?, Ellen de Generes or Matthew McGonaughey?
Ms. DeGeneres steps up, slides into the back seat and encapsulates what this blog is all about. So then... who indeed?
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Can a Rodeo Clown Show More Cajones Than A Bull Rider? ...
Que en es muy macho, Payaso del Rodeo o Jinete de Bull? Well in this case....
Monday, July 5, 2010
Well, Would One?...
I was getting a bit weary of this GEICO campaign, as well as their female targeted one (white dress brunette who likes bikers). But they have refreshed it with some new creative and I am impressed enough to post it.
Do I honestly think that our culture would benefit from more shrinks like this?
Those that know me know the answer to that question.
BTW, I was a little perturbed at the use of "maybe" twice in this script. Whose booty do I have to kick to get someone on this writing staff with something north of English 101 under their belt?!?!?!
Do I honestly think that our culture would benefit from more shrinks like this?
Those that know me know the answer to that question.
BTW, I was a little perturbed at the use of "maybe" twice in this script. Whose booty do I have to kick to get someone on this writing staff with something north of English 101 under their belt?!?!?!
Monday, January 25, 2010
A "Man"'s Last Stand...
...in this campaign from Dodge. (Did they take a government handout? That would be a sissy-ass contradiction.) No matter. These are :30 second one-shots with at least a couple of voice-over versions...
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Very Latest in the Doltish Dad Genre...
....of course when in the post-feminist era has a commercial shown Dad as anyone but a doltish fall guy? (Unless, of course he is portrayed as an evil matricider per below).
Here is another that has all the key elements.
Open on self-impressed Doltish Dad setting himself for The Fall as Smart Put-Together Mom is regaling her friends with her good economic judgment and common sense when, ta-daaaa!, in jumps Doltish Dad number 40,394.
By the way, why does the human psyche find pain and suffering so intrinsically funny? Professor Herbert Lamont from whom I took Humanities and Western Civilization at West L.A. College has observed, along with many others, that humor is essentially hostile.
Anthropologists have theoretically traced laughter and smiling to the baring of teeth in early primates and other mammals in an aggressively excited state, e.g. attacking prey or defending territory.
"Heavy stuff" as Professor Lamont would have observed.
But, to be fair, this spot is really quite funny, as in just plain funny. Grrrr!!
Here is another that has all the key elements.
Open on self-impressed Doltish Dad setting himself for The Fall as Smart Put-Together Mom is regaling her friends with her good economic judgment and common sense when, ta-daaaa!, in jumps Doltish Dad number 40,394.
By the way, why does the human psyche find pain and suffering so intrinsically funny? Professor Herbert Lamont from whom I took Humanities and Western Civilization at West L.A. College has observed, along with many others, that humor is essentially hostile.
Anthropologists have theoretically traced laughter and smiling to the baring of teeth in early primates and other mammals in an aggressively excited state, e.g. attacking prey or defending territory.
"Heavy stuff" as Professor Lamont would have observed.
But, to be fair, this spot is really quite funny, as in just plain funny. Grrrr!!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Merry Christmas and a Familiar Vehicle...
The word "misogynist" came up the other night as I was chatting with my Mother about Tiger, specifically, some remarks he made in a GQ article. I wouldn't say that even the randy 21 year old in the interview was misygonist, although my sister had described him as such to my Mother.
"Misogynist" is not a synonym for sexist, but has come into that usage, it seems. Another example of term-expansion and a general dumbing down of the subtleties of the English language to fit our social needs, fears and desires.
All sexism is not specifically misogynist. All misogyny is sexist by definition, of course. Tiger would more accurately be described as philogynist, from whose root also springs "philander", unless I am woefully mistaken.
Nobody complains about humor being misandrist. In fact, my spell check does not even recognize the word. Yet misandrist humor is quite pervasive and on the rise. I am reminded of a joke regaling the dozen or ways that a cucumber is more useful than a penis that has been sent my way occassionally.
But I digress.
The clip above could legitimately be described as misogynist in the stereotypes that it invokes as well as the predictable outcome it portrays. I found it mildly funny while not particularly offensive. Perhaps this is the real "get me out of here" vehicle alluded to in the Dodge Charger ad above.
"Misogynist" is not a synonym for sexist, but has come into that usage, it seems. Another example of term-expansion and a general dumbing down of the subtleties of the English language to fit our social needs, fears and desires.
All sexism is not specifically misogynist. All misogyny is sexist by definition, of course. Tiger would more accurately be described as philogynist, from whose root also springs "philander", unless I am woefully mistaken.
Nobody complains about humor being misandrist. In fact, my spell check does not even recognize the word. Yet misandrist humor is quite pervasive and on the rise. I am reminded of a joke regaling the dozen or ways that a cucumber is more useful than a penis that has been sent my way occassionally.
But I digress.
The clip above could legitimately be described as misogynist in the stereotypes that it invokes as well as the predictable outcome it portrays. I found it mildly funny while not particularly offensive. Perhaps this is the real "get me out of here" vehicle alluded to in the Dodge Charger ad above.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Boys Will...
...been a long time, but with Phil's stellar performance at Riviera today, I am inspired. The masculine imperative starts early in this campaign and this one is my favorite. From E*Trade...
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Yardwork, Group Health 2008...
Group Health, a U.S. health cooperative in Seattle brings forth many funny commercials. This 30 second spot is one of the most rich and complex I have ever seen for analyzing contemporary stereotypes.
In the first of our "Homer Simpson" series, two males parenthesise their wife/mother with their own unique brand of uselessness and selfishness or ???
Who is uplifted and who is degraded in this spot. Is it funny? As always, you are the judge, my friends!!
This ad is in current "hot rotation" in prime time and elsehwere on major Seattle stations.
In the first of our "Homer Simpson" series, two males parenthesise their wife/mother with their own unique brand of uselessness and selfishness or ???
Who is uplifted and who is degraded in this spot. Is it funny? As always, you are the judge, my friends!!
This ad is in current "hot rotation" in prime time and elsehwere on major Seattle stations.
Wis Mah Chips?
The stereotype of the dumb blonde is alive and well dan undah mite!!!
Is there a bit of class warfare/ethnically driven dialectic afoot here as well? You be the judge in this offering from Nando's, a fish and chip chain in Australia.
Despite the jump cut before the straw scene this ad seems to pack a punch and, hopefully, provoke some thought.
Is there a bit of class warfare/ethnically driven dialectic afoot here as well? You be the judge in this offering from Nando's, a fish and chip chain in Australia.
Despite the jump cut before the straw scene this ad seems to pack a punch and, hopefully, provoke some thought.
A Sleeveworn Male Heart on the Road from Avis....
...tradtionally men are (were?) supposed to be "close to vest" and "stiff upper lip" with their feelings. But this fella just can't help himself...
Does the "new man" where his heart sleeve more or is just a private conversation?...
Does the "new man" where his heart sleeve more or is just a private conversation?...
Mad Men, An Important Archetype...
Huzzahs to the this fabulous, sumptious and hyper-realistic production that runs on AMC every Sunday night. Of course, in irony to its mid-century vibe, you can watch this show anytime you want from its home on AMC. You can also, of course, "catch up" by putting the 2007 season in your Netflix queue or podcast it from iTunes.
Here is an inner look at a factory in the seminal years of contemporary television advertising.
Here is an inner look at a factory in the seminal years of contemporary television advertising.
The stereotypes and set design are dialed up just a hair. Or is that just the big color screens on which we now can now enjoy this piece? The production details and art direction are through the roof in their realism and we are taken to a gritty depth of human experience far exceeding anything produced for television during the period.
Mad Men explores in excruciating detail the angst that exists in a late-50's early 60's mid-level Madison Avenue agency. Our mother, who was an office worker of the generation, can't watch it, she says, because it is "too realistic". Indeed women are ripe for the ogling, sometimes fondling and more, virtual chattel (or so it would seem) of the male power brokers who run the shop.
But change is afoot and the de facto power of certain women begins to evolve into more formalized, if nascent, leveraged positions. Of course, the natural leverage of women is being buttressed by the change and awareness of their positioning during the late post war years of broad affluence.
Mad Men is as thought provoking as anything ever to emanate from boob tube.
Trust your AdMaster and get ye to a screen near you and, above all, watch this series from the beginning because the current dissemblage would spoil the beginning!!
Welcome to this Showcase....
It is often said that "hey, I like the ads better than the programs".
A comment like that reminds 50ish baby boomers like us, of males of my generation saying when certain magazines were spotted on their coffee tables or, more likely, in their bedrooms, "Hey I like the stories".
In the case of advertising it is more likely to be true.
But we digress!!
There is no digression in the medium that explored here. Advertisers have 10, 20, 30 or (rarely) 60 seconds to get their point across consumers.
The age of the trackable Internet has ushered in an era of results accountability so severe that advertising agencies are forced to become more and more entertaining to compel their corporate clients to spend the bucks to produce and place their ads on that most lavish of all media, television.
Lest x-y genners think that they have a monopoly on witty, interesting and sociologically significant advertising, we will post ads from every period that we feel like on this blog.
The bent, as the title suggests, will be toward stereotypical portrayals with the theme that presumptions about character are often based on our assumptions and life-perspective are not only all around us but within us. Stereotyping is human nature and it, like it or not, the way we always have and always will navigate through life. We should forgive ourselves for it, lighten up about it and have fun with it as long as we seek to love on another.
Above all we should not hate ourselves for our survival lenses of stereotyping as long as we genuinely seek to be considerate of each other's feelings.
In that vein, all NON - HATING posts are welcome.
The purpose of this blog to share perspectives about what we see in the featured content.
Enjoy!!
A comment like that reminds 50ish baby boomers like us, of males of my generation saying when certain magazines were spotted on their coffee tables or, more likely, in their bedrooms, "Hey I like the stories".
In the case of advertising it is more likely to be true.
But we digress!!
There is no digression in the medium that explored here. Advertisers have 10, 20, 30 or (rarely) 60 seconds to get their point across consumers.
The age of the trackable Internet has ushered in an era of results accountability so severe that advertising agencies are forced to become more and more entertaining to compel their corporate clients to spend the bucks to produce and place their ads on that most lavish of all media, television.
Lest x-y genners think that they have a monopoly on witty, interesting and sociologically significant advertising, we will post ads from every period that we feel like on this blog.
The bent, as the title suggests, will be toward stereotypical portrayals with the theme that presumptions about character are often based on our assumptions and life-perspective are not only all around us but within us. Stereotyping is human nature and it, like it or not, the way we always have and always will navigate through life. We should forgive ourselves for it, lighten up about it and have fun with it as long as we seek to love on another.
Above all we should not hate ourselves for our survival lenses of stereotyping as long as we genuinely seek to be considerate of each other's feelings.
In that vein, all NON - HATING posts are welcome.
The purpose of this blog to share perspectives about what we see in the featured content.
Enjoy!!
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