Super Bowl Sexism: Pepsi Edition
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This is just plain stupid. REAL people (not figments of advertisers' incredible wrong imaginations) don't do things like this.
That being said, I know plenty of men who drink diet cola... my father's diabetic and has been drinking it for years.
Ugh. Who creates ads like this and expect them to be affective?
The men in those videos would have died in half those situations. Is it a diet soda? I couldn't tell. I was too busy wondering why a man would prefer to be electrocuted and flung 200 feet to land on a hard trailer than drinking diet soda.
No wonder men die sooner than women. They are taught biology doesn't apply to them, unless it's their taste buds.
"They are taught biology doesn't apply to them, unless it's their taste buds."
You can't be serious.....
Well it might be a laughable comment, except for the apparent observation that our culture (American culture, that is) does seem to buy into the idea that eating meat is manly, vegetarianism is for pussies, and that men should eschew anything remotely looking like a fruity alcoholic beverage in favor of hard liquor and "holding one's own" by pounding down endless beers all while seemingly acting proud of themselves for doing so.
And don't get me started about the strange sense of pride surrounding intentional overeating.
Ok, but the comment i was responding to seriously pretends that men dont understand that diet soda is preferable to being electrocuted, or that super bowl ads have the power to convince people out of common sense.
I'm fairly certain that comment was made with the tongue firmly planted in cheek.
Yeah, I know that men would in fact rather drink diet soda than be electrocuted, but the idea that it's okay any of this happens over drinking a diet soda?
Men are taught to feel that no matter what happens, they should 'tough it out.' The commercial said that getting electrocuted was preferable to drinking diet soda, ergo, pain from being electrocuted can be ignored while taste buds cringing over diet soda must be listened to. Obviously men won't think this is true, but they still have the "tough it out" stereotype being reinforced, while the "girl drinks are intolerable" is also reinforced.
I admit the comment didn't really make much sense, and can laugh at it myself,but nobody's perfect : ) And we all know it's true men get medical help less than women. To me, this ad helps reinforce that it's the manly thing to do.
Heh, I thought your comment was funny :)
I'm so tired of the tagline, "for men." Can't they come up with something new? The suggestion that you'll become a "man" by drinking diet pepsi is so ridiculous. It's time for advertising agencies to move past this overused and laughable phrase.
Yeah well, be careful what we wish for. I'm sure it was between this concept and plastering some fake boobies on the can. But hey, the Super Bowl is a "family thing" so I guess that's out of the question--for now.
Much faith do I have in advertisers? Nope.
While I have to admit, I love the taste of Coke Zero and Pepsi Max, but they're clearly targeted towards men using stereotypes, because men can't drink something that's, gasp,diet. However, they can drink things with MAX at the end and that comes in a dark black/grey can. I do agree that there's almost certainly a connection between men dying at earlier ages due to the idea that "real" men don't worry about health because it's somehow weak and feminine. Apparently needlessly dying early is the price of masculinity.
I think what bothers me is that Pepsi was never gendered at all, so they're gendering something that isn't gendered. That's like fixing the wheel that was never broken. And as for diet soda, I don't think these advertisers remember that there are men who are trying to lose weight. As well as the men out there who are diabetic.
Apparently it's only women who are conscious and aware of diets.
Seriously, Pepsi?
And women can take anything too. Like portaging canoes. And hiking Isle Royale. And childbirth.
There was no connection between the soda and the acts of so called manhood. This is terrible advertising.
Agreed! Especially when you consider that women have a higher pain tolerance than men. They might want to change their view on who, exactly, can "take anything."
For the record, I don't think diet soda is very healthy. But on to my real point: one method by which advertisers attempt to appeal to men or women is by appealing to conventions--men are strong, women are sexy. For a long time sexy and weak were also correlated, but women have made some progress in furthering the idea that sexy can also be strong. Strong is already strong, but strong (as in this ad) is sometimes correlated with stupid. However the conjunction between strong and stupid is not nearly as pernicious as between sexy and weak. We, as a culture, probably aren't in too great a danger of inhibiting men's potential by over-correlating strong and stupid. However, some very intelligent men must deal with "meathead" stereotypes.
Also in another Super Bowl spot Pepsi basically posited that will.i.am is this generation's Bob Dylan. That's just so....wrong.
The pathetic thing was that this particular ad is about ten thousand times LESS sexist than some of the others, for example the Godaddy.com ad. Danica Patrick went down in my book for her endorsement of that...how could a woman who has broken gender barriers herself turn around and star in one of the most degrading and exploitive commercials ever?
Regardless of what I think of the commercial, I can imagine it being effective for the audience they're after. I'm a huge football fan, and I understand that most of the commercials I see aren't made for me. They're made for an 18-30YO male demographic, so I do keep that in mind. Of course, I'm also generally annoyed by all the hype over SuperBowl commercials. They're not the main show after all.
"I understand that most of the commercials I see aren't made for me."
But why shouldn't they be made for you too?
They're made to appeal to sexist people. That doesn't make it any less sexist.
This is what the ad seemed to be saying to me:
Men are really dumb. These dumb men hurt themselves all the time doing dumb things. Then these dumb men are too dumb to even admit that they are hurt when in reality they should ask to go to the hospital...oh...and here's some Diet Pepsi...
Here's what it's really saying, though:
You're a man. Don't be like women. That means act recklessly, refuse medical attention, and don't drink what women drink. Drink something that's manly, like you.
I find this really depressing. All these Super Bowl ads. It's comforting to think - oh, this won't work; these are bad ads. But I don't think companies would pay millions of dollars for a 30 second spot to put out an ad that's just a shot in the dark. These ads were produced because, according to the agencies' research, this is what people want: violence, degradation of women, glorification of men doing stupid shit. Each year, the ads seem to get more insulting.
Anecdote time: While I rarely drink soda, I only drink regular cola. My boyfriend likes diet. But we're gender-bending like that.
Yeah, my dad only drinks diet soda. And he doesn't try to blow himself up or drop bowling balls on his friends' heads. Guess he isn't a manly man...I should tell my mom so she can go and file for divorce.
On a related note, with the obvious exception of the Godaddy commercials, was anyone else surprised by the paucity of commercials overtly objectifying women? I feel like I'm in bizarro world. The morning after the superbowl, feministing is all atwitter about the negative, stereotypical messages being aimed at men?
Sexism is bad no matter who it's aimed at.
Hey All You Dumb Dykes! Shut up already!
Nothing about this commercial is misogynistic or negative in the portrayal of women.
Pepsi has done extensive market research on their target demographics and discovered men do not buy as much diet soda as women do. They assume men find it effeminate to drink diet or be concerned with counting calories. They also assume men would rather sacrifice their figure over taste, since diet loses the taste of the original. This new soda will get customers of both genders to love the great, new taste of diet. They also have done market research and found out that men relate better to slapstick comedy. Yes, the situations portrayed in that commercial would kill you--one must suspend disbelief for a thirty second television advertisement.
If you got confused and thought just because something isn't "Exclusively for Women", or "Gender Neutral" and registered in your small, lady brain that it was "chauvinism" you're an dumber than your father thought. Tampon ads don't target men because they don't need to; likewise, this ad only targeted men because it wanted men to buy this product. Also, remember the context: this ad was shown during the Superbowl. Football is traditionally watched by men. But then again you lesbians are tearing down walls and munching up the carpets of society's gender bias. Thanks for that.
This just won't do.
And I thought it was good satire for the first couple sentences.
Nah, I think it's poor satire. Things aren't spelled wrong often enough for it to be a real troll, and they never admit to hating women. They usually say they're sticking up for "men's rights" or something.
Damn, where did my can of Troll-b-Gone go?
I would have loved to discuss how things like this perpetuate negative gender stereotypes and all that. But considering you just call us a bunch of "dumb dykes" tells me not to waste my time.
There are no women in this commercial, and yet you claim it to be misogynistic. Oh lawdy.
The praise of MEN is NOT the hatred of WOMEN. I know you find that hard to understand.
Men are allowed to be proud of ourselves, and our gender.
I don't believe a single person has said this ad is promoting the hatred of women or used the word misogynistic.
In fact, if you'll note, the majority of the comments are about the negative portrayal of men and the messages it sends about masculinity.
It's pretty gentle humour, though. Men act like they're so tough all the time! Men think diet cola is effeminate! It would be annoying to see an ad based on mocking those ideas directed at women; not so much to see one that invites men to laugh at their own common misconceptions.
Why must there be women visible in the commercial for it to be misogynst?
I'm surprised you view this commercial as a "praise of men," since it portrays men as complete tools. But when men are told not to be like women (i.e. "effeminate" as your trolly friend pointed out), that's insulting to women. What's wrong with doing something women do, hmm?
Hey, moron, you think this is praising men? As a man who's fairly intelligent and proud of that, I find it ridiculously insulting. I mean, I've done my fair share of stupid shit, but it doesn't define who I am and I'd really rather not be lectured to by advertising about how dumb I am because I'm male.
While I don't think it's "praise" to be portrayed as a complete imbecile, it seems to be right on the money in your case. Can't fault 'em for that, but for those of our gender who have some grey matter, I'm gonna take offense. Don't get your jock strap in a bunch, okay?
Oh, and not to put too fine a point on it, but no one was using the term "misogynistic" before y'all man-hating MRAs came on board... The ad was called "sexist," which it most definitely is... In this case, the target was pointed at men - ie, it denigrates us. So, even though you're banned, I'd suggest sending a thank-you note to the Feministing family to let them know how much you appreciate them going to bat for your (well, maybe not your, per se, but our) mental capacity.
I didn't think this ad was too bad. It's just silly how the most neutral items are gendered. Soon we'll be getting things like men's and women's toothbrushes and toilet paper. That and I'm sick of the whole man-child trend in advertising and comedy.
Sorry folks, trolls gone!
This was the problem I saw with most of the ads that we're talking about during the Super Bowl...you didn't know what the heck they were advertising until the very last second! I mean, put all the stupid stereoptyping and sexist crap aside for a second and these just don't seem to be very effective ads. Yes, I can see how their target audience might laugh their heads off at them, but at the end of the day, would they remember what they were selling? Isn't that supposed to be the job of these ads?
I hear people around my office (unfortunately) talking about the Potato Head commercial. They thought it was hillarious. But are they saying "Hey, did you see that Bridgestone Tire commercial?" No. They're saying "Did you see that funny Potato Head commercial?" The ad wasn't selling toys but that's what the guys in my office remember. And they're also cracking up about the guys dropping bowling balls and electrocuting themselves. And what was that ad about again...oh yeah...Diet Pepsi. I don't see any of them rushing out to buy any because that ad was so hillarious.
So at the end of the day, while I'm annoyed but not surprised at the sexism and stereotyping displayed in these ads, I have to ask...how effective are they?
The idea is not that these commercials create a conscious desire for or interest in the product, but that they create positive emotions that become associated with the product. If you're staring at a shelf of colas, there isn't a whole lot of objective criteria to make a selection by. In that situation, people often make affective decisions ("trusting their gut", etc). Humorous commercials supply affective information.
This totally reminds me of the Burger King "I AM MAN HEAR ME ROAR" commercial that genuinely pissed me off:
http://www.splendad.com/ads/show/384-Burger-King-Manthem-I-am-Man
Especially since it used a feminist song and changed its lyrics to something both stupid and sort of sexist.
Gross, I just watched the commercial from your link. If anyone needs a diet, watch that-- you'll lose your appetite.
But I also have to say the Danica Godaddy one was much worse. I was at a conference yesterday (Fem2pt0-- was anyone else there???) and there was a panel with Christine Brennan (USA Today Sports Columist) and she brought up the Godaddy ad and said how painful it was that, here's this ridiculously successful talented woman in a completely male-dominated field who knowingly participates in all sexy marketing, reducing herself to being a sexy woman first, a legitimate competitor second.
Frankly, I don't think anyone should drink Diet Cola. If you're drinking it for health reasons, I suggest drinking something healthy instead. Ever since NutraSweet, I don't trust artificial sugar replacements.
But anything that has to specify "For men" "for women" is stupid. I mean, do men need things to taste better than women do? It doesn't even really make sense. In this context, I would think that the soda tastes bad or is painful to drink, so only super manly men can handle it. *ahem*
I thought it was funny until the announcer started talking. I like slapstick humor and hate diet soda...by Pepsi's standards, does that make me a man?
And for what it's worth, Pepsi Max doesn't taste much better than regular Diet Pepsi.
I thought it was funny and maybe a little subversive. Seriously? I thought it was poking fun at male stereotypes. All the guys in that video were total doofuses, not superheroes.
I think this is really dealing with a very specific stereotype, and it is not that men are idiots who regularly endanger their own lives, but that men often try to appear invincible or immune to pain. It's a joke about a particular stereotype and many people will find it funny because, well, they've probably observed this behavior at some point among men whom they know. I doubt that it is going to result in any deep psychological probing, but its humor basically relies on pointing out a ridiculous aspect of cultural demands on men to be manly.
Maybe it's not terribly clever, but especially in comparison to some of the other Super Bowl ads (like the Potato Head ones, which was really awful), I think it's harmless at worst, and, like have.at.it said, maybe a little subversive at best.
Well, look at all the male grooming products. Men don't use liquid soap in the shower ... they use manly gels! Men don't use facial creams ... they use man moisturizers! Men don't wear pantyhose .. they wear macho-hose!
I'm sure most men are afraid of saying "I like to drink diet soda" because it might indicate the are more feminine. So now soda-manufacturers have gotten wise to this fact and will sell Soda Max! It's diet soda without the word diet. shhhh. So you can still watch the Superbowl with your buddies and drink your diet Pepsi and they will not think you are gay.
Of course, this is just an old marketing ploy to get suckers to buy the exact same product that was already on the market.
Shhh. It's a secret.
Sorry to be off topic - this isn't a SUPERBOWL ad, but since this is the last place I saw people discussing sexist ads, I thought I should share the top #2 winner of all misogynist ads. (#1 of course being the exploitative "girls gone wild" videos).
I turned on Comedy Central to watch the Daily Show at about 10:58pm. I had the tv on mute, but the images were enough!
I saw a busty woman in a tiny black skirt walk into her bosses office where his chair was rocking (due to implied oral sex).
Then they showed happy young Caucasian guy in a suit grinning and apparently the ad was for a 6 hour ENERGY (?) DRINK (did the women need the energy boost after working in that environment?)
The product was something called Stackers 2.
I turned off the tv (and I've never missed a Daily Show in the 5 years I've been watching) and wrote to Comedy Central. Then I looked up Stackers and wrote them a nasty email saying that I wouldn't appeal to their none existent shame but that portraying 50% of your target market in such a degrading & insulting way was not the way to win more drinkers of their product.
Seriously, they're going to pull market share from Redbull, Rockstar & Monster energy drinks by promsing men blowjobs?
I don't EVEN want to know what that ad would have been like if I had the SOUND on!
ugh!