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Cider ad makes big leap for women's rights
You might think this Dutch ad for Jillz, a new cider made by Heineken, is just a comic and campy romp through nature with four "gorgeous, muscular, apple-plucking hunks." But in fact, it's a total rethink of the human condition as it pertains to the gender wars. This is according to Pink and Poodle, the oddly named ad agency that did the spot. "In advertising for men, seductive females are almost standard issue, whereas male eye candy for women is still somewhat taboo," the press release reads. "This is because the advertising community is still in the firm grip of unrelenting alpha males. In the commercial, which is shot as a music video, the four singing hunks do not address women as the usual stereotypes of housewife, sex kitten, blonde bimbo or business bitch. Instead, the ad aims at a more elementary level of their femininity—the evolutionary instinct to discuss, judge and select attractive men." Good to know. Sometimes these advances in the human spirit sneak up on you! |
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April 9, 2009 in Alcohol, Europe, Jillz, Nudd, Pink and Poodle | Permalink |
Comments
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Here's a hint: the "elementary level of [my] femininity" has NOTHING TO DO WITH MEN. Believe it or not, guys, womens' lives do not revolve entirely around you.
Posted by: Laura | Apr 9, 2009 1:42:25 PM
Not so sure that they were really after women with that.
As a matter of fact I don't think I've ever seen an ad that's more blatantly homoerotic.
Posted by: Ryan | Apr 10, 2009 11:10:36 AM
This ad is different from many in the past that supposedly objectify men in that the men in those ads are seemingly unaware of the women viewer as voyeur, and so they are not so objectified. In this one, they continually look at the camera, as if toying with the viewer.... something women in ads usually do. So yes, this is different, and by doing this manages to stay away from being homoerotic.
Posted by: Hil | Apr 10, 2009 2:08:19 PM
I dunno if equal opportunity objectification is actually a step up.
But I do know I like it.
I guess in that sense we really are equal. I know it's probably wrong, but goshdernit I just wanna bounce a quarter off them abs. Curse you biological responses and social conditioning! Can't you get along?
@Laura, as femininity is by definition the opposite of masculinity it DOES have to do with men. You can change your personal definition (feminists have been trying that for years - we'd probably have more success if there weren't a BUNCH of new definitions to go around), but I think you'll have more luck with a whole new word that doesn't force a binary distinction.
Posted by: Rebecca Cullers | Apr 10, 2009 3:22:33 PM
It sounds more like an ad agency creatively marketing itself. This ad is completely without any substance; to call it "progress" in "women's rights" is as shallow as the images of apple-picking hunks. This isn't any more of a feminist statement than Fabio's "A Time For Romance." The notion that it empowers women to have this commercial featuring hot guys who look at the camera actually offends me. This still places men in the traditional gender roles of strong, muscular providers, and saying that women have an "evolutionary instinct to discuss, judge and select attractive men" doesn't make it better. Yeah, THAT's what's been missing from commercials all these years. Come on, seriously.
Posted by: Nick E | Apr 12, 2009 2:52:32 PM
Also..
@Hil even if you disagree about the gender roles (and I'm not particularly committed to that line of argument), this is still no different from other ads that aim to objectify men, whether or not they look at the camera. There will be gay male viewers too - eye contact doesn't change who will enjoy it. I don't think it's homoerotic and I don't care anyway. What incenses me about this one is that it's trying to make a bold feminist statement out of a stupid commercial for "Jillz Hard Cider." This is shameless marketing to women, and you can like it because they're hot, but if you saw ads like this all the time, do you really think the world would be different?
Posted by: Nick E | Apr 12, 2009 3:03:13 PM
Wow. Some of you guys are really.... in need of professional help. "Eeeew I feel offended cause they have abs and I dont. If I cant have em, nobody can"
I for one just simply like the commercial, without being all blabla about it. And it even inspired me to go to the gym more often :P
Posted by: NoSmintNoKiss | Apr 13, 2009 1:24:55 PM
I'm sorry, but this ad is incredibly gay.
(Surely the clue is in the agency's name?)
Posted by: Meme Huffer | Apr 14, 2009 12:00:47 PM
The first impression - oh, it looks so gay!.. :) The second - the men do really look fresh. And that's it.
Posted by: Maria | Apr 16, 2009 1:22:12 AM
I was waiting for a punchline? If you haven't seen the Schlitz Gay ad on Saturday Night Live, watch it. There is an uncanny similarity. Someone needs to be fired or demoted for this ad, or at least ridiculed at every opportunity possible. Not because it's ripped-good-looking-guys-with-abs-and-I-want-them but because it's a horrible ad. But good for a laugh anyway.
Posted by: JamieK | Apr 26, 2009 10:07:27 PM
