Posted on 08/07/2006 7:05:27 PM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
by Mark Finkelstein
August 7, 2006 - 21:52
You've all seen the TV commercial. A chubby white woman has dragged a TV onto her front lawn and is watching the game with two girlfriends, when her dutiful husband comes home, schlepping grocery bags. One of the girlfriends suggests they order in pizza, but the chubby woman actually calls her husband in the house, tricking her friends into thinking she's calling a pizza place. She haughtily orders her husband to 'make it the way I like it,' and adds 'make it snappy - chop, chop!'
You've never actually seen this commercial, of course. The dictates of political correctness would never permit it. But just such an ad for DiGiorno pizza did indeed air today [during the 4 PM EDT edition of the Tucker Carlson show on MSNBC] - the difference naturally being that it was a plump idiot of a husband acting like a complete jerk toward his wife.
This was immediately followed by an ad in which a white guy puzzles over the home security system keypad. He calls out to his wife 'hon, did you change the code again?' She answers that the new code is their anniversary date. The husband is totally befuddled. He hesitatingly enters some numbers but, dummy that he is, gets it wrong, setting off the alarm. A female voice-over condescendingly sympathizes with the idiot: 'we know responsibility can be challenging enough.'
Again, try to imagine a gender reversal for this ad. NOW would be picketing by sundown. Just for the record, the ad was for Liberty Mutual insurance.
In the PC world of advertising, an extension of the MSM, guys are the last fair game.
NewsBusters ping to Today show list.
Last time I posted a thread along these lines, opinions were divided. A number of people told me to lighten up, have a sense of humor, etc. I have and I do. It's the political correctness, knowing that you'd never see the mirror image commercial, that bugs me.
I just never tire of that "Kick to the Man's Groin" stuff that you see in TV & movies.
Har-dee-har-har.
What were they advertising anyway? All I remember is the story line. It was funny!
Ahh. No big deal!
I'm just a little tired of the middle aged, overweight, bald guy always being cast as the loser compared to the guy with all the hair.
When will that ever change!
Only crybaby wussy men would be upset by these ads.
Perhaps you are just humorphobic
It's annoying, but I honestly believe that, in the minefield of sensitivity and group identity politics, guys in general and white guys in particular remain the great, safe "default" for humor in advertising. I haven't seen that many commercials that really seem malicious. But, as you point out, reverse the roles, and (name the alphabet advocacy group) would immediately be up in arms and boycotting.
Now, if you start talking about the television shows themselves, that are supported by the advertising, that's another matter, and I can think of a few that really are malicious.
Yup, seen it. He says something along the lines 'have you ever found something that's so wonderful, and you just want to keep it forever?' Another idiot of a guy!
Have to assume you're not a regular reader of my threads. If I don't succeed, at least I try to treat virtually all issues with humor.
That's not true. The truth is that we don't want to see three overweight women, and one of them ordering around her husband. There's nothing funny about that scenario.
There is something funny about a husband pretending to order a pizza but instead telling his wife, only to have her retaliate by turning on the sprinklers.
Sorry, I can't
My hubby really does forget our anniversary date ..
And the only reason he remembers my birthday is because it falls on the start of deer hunting season .. LOL
There was intriguing phone gizmo on TV the other night, but the commercial had the cool black guy belittling the white dork with a "wizard" in his phone. I guess that product is not for me.
That was directed at the article of course.
The line in the ad ended "you could save hundreds on car insurance."
It was a geico commercial. Those are always great.
"It's the political correctness, knowing that you'd never see the mirror image commercial, that bugs me."
My 13 yr old son asked me why the men in commericals are always so stupid.
PC is stupid but if we have to live with it at least it should be universal.
All ads with more than three people must be multicultural, it seems. And if one of the characters in the ad has to play the fall guy, or the befuddled person, or the service person, or (in burglar alarm ads, for example) the crook, you can bet your last dollar that he or she will be white.
My favorite scenario is more subtle. The golfing foursome is used to sell a wide variety of goods and services -- not only golf equipment, but also insurance, investment services, adult beverages, and so on. Forget what your Saturday foursome looks like. In TV ad-land, every foursome must be ethnically and/or sexually diverse. Every one. When's the last time you saw an all-white male golf foursome in a TV ad? Yet, aren't most golf foursomes in real life so composed?
I think that commercial is hilarious....although the subject matter isn't that great....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.