Target Women: Douchebaggery at its Finest!
Sarah Haskins takes on the douche factor in Carl's Jr's ads. I have written about some of their ad campaigns before which are definitely heavily laden with the dude-bro sentiment.
I got to see Sarah Haskins give a presentation at WAM. And you are jealous.
UPDATE: For those wondering how could I use the word douche (!) here are some thoughts on the matter from Ann and from the Bitch blog.
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Yes, I am jealous. That was hilarious!
(jealous of you seeing Sarah Haskins, not the nasty sexist Carl's Jr burgers)
Good. I never liked Hardee's anyway. So I have no problem boycotting their food.
And to think we have people who deny sexism in advertising. "Sexism!? In AMERICAN media? Impossible. They wouldn't let that happen."
Hardee's is Illinois' version of Carl's Jr. I don't know how many people knew that, or where else it's called Hardee's. I don't get out of my home state much -_-;;
It's Hardees here in NC, too. Same heart-attack menu, same idiotic commercials...
Carl's Jr/Hardees is interesting from a marketing standpoint because once they were just another burger chain, about to go under competing with McDonald's, Burger King, etc. They radically overhauled their menu to target that niche that really wants 1500-calorie sandwiches. While I understand their motives, it's really disappointing to see a company rebrand itself as the restayrant of choice for cavemen, rather than going the other direction and maybe trying to do something healthy.
It's Hardees here in Kansas. But there's only one close by and I never go there.
I have lived in New York, Kansas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Delaware, and I have never seen it called anything else BUT Hardee's!
It's Carl's Jr on the west coast, and when I first moved here (Wyoming) it was Hardee's, but then they remodeled it and it became a Carl's Jr.
Oh course advertising is laden with sexism and racism and classism and all of the other isms. Advertising sells more than products, it sells the ideal lifestyle.
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My friends and I always thought that if they showed the reality of the situation, Carl's Jr ads would be less offensive. Remember the stick-thin model sitting on the mechanical bull eating the 900 calorie burger? If they showed her get off the bull and go puke up the burger after the cameras stopped rolling then that would be realistic. The same thing goes with the various models washing cars and eating giant burgers.
Wow, I don't expect to find bulimic jokes in progressive, feminist circles.
You know what? Some skinny women do eat high calorie things and stay skinny, just as some overweight women eat relatively low calorie diets and stay overweight.
Even if the women in the commercials were bulimic, that certainly wouldn't be something to joke about. It's a mental disorder, one that's already trivialized to an incredible degree.
Women in our culture are judged enough for their eating habits and weight -- let's not add to it any more.
I didn't mean it as a bulimic joke, and I'm sorry if it was offensive to you. That wans't my intention at all.
And I realize that not all models have eating disorders. But it's extremely common, and it's unfair for ads like these to show a woman with a body that's unattainable for most women eating food that most women cannot eat while maintaining that body. It sets yet another standard that most women cannot live up to. And I recognize that some women can eat like this and stay thin. I'm high thyroid, so I can. But the vast majority of women can't.
Also, I don't feel that my comment was an unrealistic portrayal of the modelling industry. Many, many women emerge from modelling careers with serious EDs. I modelled for a short time in high school, and every friend I had that went into modelling at the same time ended up with an ED. Every single one. Now many of them have fucked up teeth, skin, and hair because of it. So in my experience linking modelling with a high risk of EDs is perfectly logical.
See, I thought that you meant eating a giant meal while rocking back and forth would make you puke.
Ha!
They should do an SNL skit like that. Sometimes the SNL ad parodies are the best part of SNL because of the way they highlight the cultural bullshit behind the original commercial.
It would be stellar if somewhere, out there, there was a webpage with current/recent sexist commercials/ ads so that people (who happened to be aware of how degrading the media is to women) could look in one place to see who to boycott! Honestly, we boycott stores that use sweatshops, why not boycott companies that demean women with their advertising?
I busted a gut when Haskins fell off the car. The woman is astounding at physical comedy.
Sarah Haskins is super awesome!!
Women are merely annoying decoration for men who are barely interested in them, except sexually, while knowing that eating Dude Food is much more satisfying. Shut up, woman. I got guys stuff to think about.
THANK YOU SARAH HASKINS
I have been waiting for this video. I am so happy I'm about to scream.
Carls Jr has been a thorn in my eyeball for the past 5 years and I am so happy right now.
thank you sarah, you rock and i will do my best to promote your work.
Was anyone else thinking about Pink's music video--"Stupid Girls," I think it's called? It's the best.
Yes! I had always avoided P!nk because of "Let's Get the Party Started," but after Stupid Girls and her projects with the Indigo Girls I went and bought a whole bunch of her stuff.
She's a genius and I will never be as cool as she is.
Very funny, hilarious. And I have to admit I mean both Sarah & the Carl Jr's ads.
The Carl Jr. ads were kinda funny, and that was hilarious.
Someone could spend their entire life deconstructing advertisements. That burger-on-a-car one is perfect for this. At first, you think the point is so guys remember the hot girl and associate Carl Jrs with her next time they drive by. But the burger is so out of place, it's actually pretty funny. The non sequitur makes the burger itself more memorable, so that people don't just remember the babe, they also remember the association with Carl Jr. burgers.