Men in Ads
August 30, 2009
Why do men in television commercials so often appear effeminate, incompetent or stupid? This excellent article in The Globe and Mail states the obvious. Advertisers believe portraying men as feckless is an effective strategy. It flatters women consumers who control the purse strings for most domestic purchases. One advertising executive, however, disagrees. The practice is counter-productive and offends women, who prefer to think they have some good judgment and don’t choose the male clods depicted in commercials.
Paul Nathanson, a researcher who studies misandry at McGill University, asks, “Can’t you talk to women without insulting men?”
My hunch is advertisers are not going to start portraying men as strong and admirable any time soon. The traditional family spends less frivolously. It also probably watches less TV. I never watch television commercials and don’t understand why anyone does.
Helen from Australia writes:
This is an excellent article. Just this morning, I was talking with my single 26-year-old daughter about this very thing. She said “Mam, I don’t want this to come across the wrong way, but I would like a man to dominate me, not the other way round. I could never be happy with a man I had the upper hand over..” I have always forbidden programs like The Simpsons etc, because they constantly make the male figure look stupid and weak. It turns my stomach. Most movies nowadays portray the man as weak and feminine and portray women as strong heroines – champions. I try not to watch any of this. A movie we saw recently called Flash of Genius touches slightly on when men were still honourable and defended their name and their labours. Oh, I could go on about this.
Laura writes:
Your daughter is very perceptive. Of course, when women say they want someone to dominate them, they don’t mean they want a bully and they don’t mean they want someone to make all the decisions for them. What they typically mean is that they want a man to be firm and decisive, someone who will resist their emotional excesses. They don’t want to live with one of their girlfriends.
