Automobile Ad Heats Up War Between The Sexes
This ad, for the Dodge Charger, seems to have pretty much infuriated every woman who saw it last night, which is what you gals get for watching The Big Game. Here's a pretty cute insta-response, but let's be honest: Men are under siege. It has never been tougher to be a man than now. Unless you're at college, where it is apparently a never-ending parade of blowjob parties no matter how ridiculous your retro headgear looks. Anyway, the ladies keep yammering on about this one, which they probably should. I mean, no guy REALLY puts down the seat, am I right?
It's a piece of shit car, anyways. Let the browbeaten, passive-aggressive suburban husbands of the world have their crappy sedans if they want 'em.
Yeah, if you do all those things to make me not want to kill you while you sleep, you can totally have your Dodge Charger, sweetie.
This ad isn't sexist though! It's perfectly valid to tap into people's grievances with this kind of marketing. There are ads aplenty about the stuff women put up with from men, moms put up with from kids, kids put up with from parents, employees put up with from bosses, and on and on and on.
People have to do things they don't like for the sake of any close relationship.
This ad is no more "anti-woman" than the ads that show children making messes are "anti-child."
It expresses a lot of generic contempt for performing basic acts of human interaction. Contempt is different from long-suffering. It is snarly. This ad is snarly.
I think it's sexist, but I don't know that it's women who should be offended.
It is definitely snarly! I think they are attempting to connect with a snarly audience.
And don't we all have a bit of contempt for basic acts of human interaction? Don't even pretend you've never had a "your friends' opinions of my friends" moment.
I think that's the point — we all do. So why not have, like, a lady in the ad somewhere? Speaking as a man who is regularly frustrated by the constraints of being in a relationship, the whole "Men are so frustrated by the constraints of being in a relationship!" bit is pretty tired.
I hope the pseudomasculine ex-frat boy in the original commercial and the whiny lady in the "pretty cute insta response" get married. They deserve each other so much.
It just hit me, the ad is designed to appeal to Tea Party conservatives. They're also (mostly) men pissed off that they live in an America where you can't beat the wife anymore. Not to mention the black boy in the White House. They want their country back! And their erections.
tea party people don't buy new cars.
"… contempt for performing basic acts of human interaction …"
Is that what the following is?:
"I will say yes when you want me to say yes, I will be quiet when you don't want me to say no."
Also, I sense a certain strain on the premise of the lady blogger's parody, right at the part where she says the words "I will be quiet when you don't want me to say no." I don't know if the implied symmetry is … exact.
No, no, no. Oh, sister, you're as dense as they come.
"I have been one thousand percent emasculated by the many shrill harpies who surround me at all times. That's why I drive this giant throbbing cock on wheels!"
That needs to be on a tee shirt.
It reminded me of a bit on The Daily Show last week when Samantha Bee was at a "men's retreat" – they were all complaining about their wives and shitty lives and she shouted "Just man up will you! You're turning me into a lesbian!"
"That's it woman, I'm going to go buy a DODGE and you can't stop me."
(The Challenger is cooler.)
That is a great car. The Charger is pretty shit (my father has owned both).
Huh, all the women [and men] where I was were just like "yeah right, for a Dodge? Fuck that."
My last stand was demanding that the middle row of the minivan have captain's chairs. We all draw the line at different places.
I thought that Corvette and Harley Davidson had the bitter ED sufferer's market all sewn up?
Hated that ad. It was just so negative.
Loved the Google ad. (I'm a sap)
Also, the promo for The Good Wife on CBS reminded me how beautiful Julianna Margulies is….wow.
Oh the Google ad was sweet. I wasn't really paying attention to the tv at the time but it caught my eye over the bar and I accidentally started smiling a bit as it played out.
I loved the Google ad too, but I'm not the sort of man who needs a Dodge Charger.
You want a Dodge, eh? Sleep in the fucking garage.
Is that Dexter?
The voice? Yes
THIS EXPLAINS WHY I CAN'T STAY MAD AT THIS AD!
That was Noah Kalina, right?
Wow! Right before our eyes, he's become a whiny dickbag, one day at a time.
Tread carefully ladies, if you complain you only confirm!
Bitches betta recognize, yo!
That is one lame car. If that's your last stand, you are doing it wrong.
My cat is better at showing me who is boss than this sad imaginary empty ball sack Dodge calls a man!
To be fair, it's not really a war between the sexes – it's more of a war between the half-brained and the no-brained.
I meant to add "regardless of gender". Honest.
OK, that's kind of sad. So you're a browbeaten suburbanite slob so your repayment is a shitty Chrysler wanna be sports car POS? Dude, men, aim higher!
Secondarily, as the tired, put upon suburban house wife, where's the car I want to drive, nay deserve to drive? Fawk that soccer mom hauler in the driveway,where's my Z4 already? Fair is fair.
That may have been a MUCH better commercial, or at least a nice companion piece to run with the first one.
Wait. A guy who trades his balls for a car is not a pussy?
Please explain.
But the second and third guys didn't keep up their end of the bargain on the shaving thing. Does this mean they lose their cars?
Lord-a-mighty, if you feel emasculated every time you're told to pick up your socks, or the toilet seat, or whatever, you're gonna be a puss no matter what car you drive, and for the sake of humanity you should just resign yourself to a life of of masturbation and Ayn Rand and video games.
If a man does all that for his partner out of love and in a loving way, then his partner would be so happy to see him happy in his new car and give him what he needs to feel respected and loved in return.
What are you, queer?
Not at all. My husband drives a new Porsche and I drive a Sport convertible Celica. We are happy to please each other and to show our appreciation.
Okay okay but I got to know: The toilet seat thing. A Porsche can make a guy remember?
I have to tell a friend about this.
The Bex Schwartz response to this ad is way more pathetic than the ad itself, because:
First, this ad was written by ad people. Whothefuckcares. Shrug it off. It's a CAR ad; An Ad occuring on the same night CBS gave free reign to Tebow's mom's abortion ideology shitstorm, and THIS is the one that angers you? WRONG BATTLE.
Second of all, her response isn't witty in any way. All it affirms is that Girls ALSO put up with things and deserve to buy themselves something frilly too. Big fat deal. The ad is not emasculating anyone. It says "MEN YOU ARE OUR TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC FOR THIS PARTICULAR AUTOMOBILE. YOU WORK HARD. YOU PLAY HARD. BUY OUR CAR."
Holy fuck, this should not be a thing. I have to sit through your dumbass probiotic yogurt ads ladies, and I don't call all of you big fat pussies for eating yoghurt because Jamie Lee Curtis thinks you should get more fiber in your diet.
Here, here.
The dudes I was with last night were far more inflamed by the idiocy of this ad than were the ladies. Mainly, though, we all just decided that we need to open an ad agency.
The ad's for guys on the down low: they imagine speeding over a cliff Thelma-and-Louise style with the hot coach of their son's football team.
Is it just me or are all the things the guy says we put up with to get a car things that make people gigantic pussies? I'm married. I don't "do" things around the house for rewards. Part of being a man, I guess? Weirdest commercial ever.
Awl readers will be mystified by all the assumptions that underlie the ad's narrative, but that's because this ad is for Republicans.
Looks like I missed the memo where adults who live with each other run some sort of star chart system when they do basic jobs for themselves, and then get rewarded.