Richard Tallent wrote:
I'm offended by the glut of advertising and sitcoms that portray every married man as a fluffy-but-lovable idiot and every wife as a smart-ass who mothers and manipulates her husband.

I hate Raymond. And Kevin James. And Tim Allen.

Give me comedies where men and women are equal nutters. The Costanzas of Seinfeld. King of the Hill. Married with Children.

I'm offended by racial pandering through token representation. The fact that every show, every advertisement, every freaking logo *must* have a person of color, a person of almost-can't-quite-make-out-the-color, and a few random white people.

I'm offended by the lack of racially-mixed couples on television and advertising. Sure, not all that common, but it isn't 1960 either.

I'm offended by scary graphics and music and unblinking coverage of utter useless crap by 24-hour news stations. Instead of focusing on some shark sighting in Florida, why not talk about the thousands of Americans who die every day from auto accidents and heart disease? Geeze, not wonder we have absolutely no perspective.

I'm offended by political "debates" that only include candidates from the two major political parties.

I'm offended by "news" programs that pit a blue idiot against a red idiot.

Well I can see I'm not needed here...I think you covered just about everything.

Naomiwynn wrote:
This ad is a HUGE FRICKIN' BILLBOARD on Houston St somewhere between sixth and second ave in manhattan. I mean, possibly the biggest billboard i've ever seen outside of times square.
The sexual nature of the image is one thing - which was perhaps even more offensive than it otherwise would have been because i saw it when walking from a place where I work with children. ("what are they doing, mommy? Why aren't they wearing shirts?") And then the pedophilic nature of it is something else. Everything about her is dwarfed by him. It looks exactly like those ads that have a man holding an infant, except the infant is a topless woman, the man's package is clearly displayed and they are steps away from doing the nasty. He, a 30 yr old man. She, a freshman in high school.

To create an ad like that is one thing - it is a stunning image. I see the aesthetic value in it, although I wouldn't endorse it myself - but put it in a magazine. Do not blow it up to epic proportions and shove it down peoples' throats.

I always wonder how they get away with stuff like that -- don't most cities have zoning laws or something?

While we're on the topic of billboards...I've always been offended by the amount of billboard advertising in predominently black neighborhoods -- all lifestyle ads  promoting alcohol and tobacco...Worst of all is how effective all these ads are.  Yet another sad commentary on the 21st century black experience.

Naomiwynn wrote:



This ad is a HUGE FRICKIN' BILLBOARD on Houston St somewhere between sixth and second ave in manhattan. I mean, possibly the biggest billboard i've ever seen outside of times square.
The sexual nature of the image is one thing - which was perhaps even more offensive than it otherwise would have been because i saw it when walking from a place where I work with children. ("what are they doing, mommy? Why aren't they wearing shirts?") And then the pedophilic nature of it is something else. Everything about her is dwarfed by him. It looks exactly like those ads that have a man holding an infant, except the infant is a topless woman, the man's package is clearly displayed and they are steps away from doing the nasty. He, a 30 yr old man. She, a freshman in high school.

To create an ad like that is one thing - it is a stunning image. I see the aesthetic value in it, although I wouldn't endorse it myself - but put it in a magazine. Do not blow it up to epic proportions and shove it down peoples' throats.

Actually I think it's the coolest Calvin ad I'd seen in a while. That would look cool huge.

I'll tell you what ads (from about a year ago) that I absolutely loathed, totally totally offensive. Damn I wish I remember the beer (probably Coors), but they ran them all the time during ball games. The "and Twiiiinnnnsss!" ads. As in "I love yada yada yada ('real male' stuff)" and then they'd pop up two ditzy hooters chicks... "and twiiiiins!" In a country twang.

I'm offended by the assumption that as an American male who sometimes likes to watch sports, I must be cultural zero redneck moron.

Naomiwynn wrote:

I've never seen that ad before.
It's pretty....
Isn't that Natalie V...erggh, something...

Susi wrote:
I'm really terribly bothered by Digger the Dermaphrodite...the animated nail fungus creature that climbs under the nail and then tries to convince us all to buy his companies nail fungus treatment.  And I've seen the commercial countless times...yet I still can't tell you what the company or brand is that they are trying to sell.  Not sure if that's effective advertising...lol.

I agree!  I'm offended because I hate feet, and they show those nasty fungus-ridden tonails.  ewww!

Shyly wrote:
I'm offended by the recent Weight Watcher's ads that prominently feature Cher's 'Song for the Lonely' or whatever it's called.  If you want to advertise your weight loss product/regime, fine.  Plenty of people will be interested.  But if the commercial is to be believed, anyone with extra poundage is lonely, socially inept, depressed, unloved, and incapable of having anything like an enjoyable life.

Which is such a bunch of horseshit that it makes me want to heave. 

There was another commercial about a year ago for Travelocity in which "Janice" is sitting in her stuffy cubicle at work fantasizing about a tropical vacation.  It prominently features a blond hunk until her reverie is interrupted by some fat guy she works with cooing over the fact that there are donuts in the break room. 

It was so wildly off-topic, stereotypical, and completely offensive that I and quite a lot of other people wrote both to Travelocity and to the networks that carried the commercial locally, and continued to do so until it stopped running.  I will NEVER give that company my money again.

I can kinda see the weigh watchers ad, but I don't understand the anger over the Travelocity ad. Maybe I'm missing something. And before the pitchforks come out, I'm not being an ass, I really don't understand.

Lamonica wrote:
I can kinda see the weigh watchers ad, but I don't understand the anger over the Travelocity ad. Maybe I'm missing something. And before the pitchforks come out, I'm not being an ass, I really don't understand.

Maybe you need to have seen it for it to be clear.  It's one of those things where the way something is said is as important as that it is said.

In this case, the foil of the plot is a stereotypical fat dude who is cooing - literally dreamy eyed - over donuts in the break room.  Which has what, exactly, to do with taking a vacation?  Nothing at all, except perpetuating the idea that where "normal" people fantasize about going somewhere exotic, us stupid fat people just fantasize about food.

Shyly wrote:

Maybe you need to have seen it for it to be clear.  It's one of those things where the way something is said is as important as that it is said.

In this case, the foil of the plot is a stereotypical fat dude who is cooing - literally dreamy eyed - over donuts in the break room.  Which has what, exactly, to do with taking a vacation?  Nothing at all, except perpetuating the idea that where "normal" people fantasize about going somewhere exotic, us stupid fat people just fantasize about food.

I have seen it and I still don't understand. I really don't think thats what they were trying to say. If the guy was black, I don't think everyone would freak out that they were saying that they are trying to say that black people love donuts. If I remember correctly, doesn't the guy say that there are donuts in some conference room. I'm not saying you shouldn't be offended, your entitled to believe what you want, I just don't understand why this one rubs you the wrong way.

Marko Cecic-Karuzic wrote:
Actually most American beer ads on TV are pretty offensive in that they think their audience is Homer Simpson.

Their audience IS Homer Simpson (and his like)!

Lamonica wrote:
I have seen it and I still don't understand. I really don't think thats what they were trying to say. If the guy was black, I don't think everyone would freak out that they were saying that they are trying to say that black people love donuts. If I remember correctly, doesn't the guy say that there are donuts in some conference room. I'm not saying you shouldn't be offended, your entitled to believe what you want, I just don't understand why this one rubs you the wrong way.

I think this really just goes to show how ingrained size prejudice is.  People don't even see it anymore, no matter how blatant it is or how often the stereotype is trotted out for laughs.

Shyly wrote:

I think this really just goes to show how ingrained size prejudice is.  People don't even see it anymore, no matter how blatant it is or how often the stereotype is trotted out for laughs.

Uumm, no... I think it just shows how sensitive people are. I have plenty of friends who are plus sized, and I asked one of them if he was offended by the commercial. And, like me, he didn't understand why people were getting bent out of shape out of it. But, like I said before, everyone is entitled to think what they want, it makes the world a more interesting place.

Marko Cecic-Karuzic wrote:
Actually most American beer ads on TV are pretty offensive in that they think their audience is Homer Simpson.

Vito wrote:
Their audience IS Homer Simpson (and his like)!

ack... what a baseless assertion. looks good in print, of course, and sounds clever.
nope beer drinkers (here and elsewhere) are not all Homer.

hmmm. intriquing thread, mayan. as soon as i've decided which one of my personal biases i want to expose, i will add to it.

Lamonica wrote:
Anywho... I'm not easily offended, but, the one commercial that made me go wtf was that McDonald's commercial when the black girl and guy were on the plane and the flight attendant tried to throw away her chicken selects and the girl say, "You better don't!" At first, like everyone else, I laughed. But, then I thought, is that how the country thinks black people speak. To me, she sounded ridiculously uneducated, and for lack of a better word "ghetto". After awhile, the commercial was no longer played, but it did make me open my eyes a little.

Apply this same set of values to the commercial Shyly is referring to, substituting a fat person who seems to only care about doughnuts.  They're both stereotypes, but one dosen't bother you because it dosen't reflect directly on you.  This is how the media gets away with stereotyping/marginalizing us all -- they count on us not understanding what the other person is offended by.

I try to explain this to white people all the time, when they can't understand my total loathing for hip-hop and "ghetto" culture.  Let me put it this way:  Imagine every black person you meet viewing you through the filter of Larry the Cable Guy or the Dukes of Hazzard.  That's what a stereotype feels like.

Black Ricco wrote:
nope beer drinkers (here and elsewhere) are not all Homer.

I disagree... "domestic" beer drinkers are, for the most part, Homers.

What do you know about anything!!!!! It's a disgrace that they let you back in here. Try to keep your big mouth in check for a change.

Melvin Moten Jr wrote:

Apply this same set of values to the commercial Shyly is referring to, substituting a fat person who seems to only care about doughnuts.  They're both stereotypes, but one dosen't bother you because it dosen't reflect directly on you.  This is how the media gets away with stereotyping/marginalizing us all -- they count on us not understanding what the other person is offended by.

I try to explain this to white people all the time, when they can't understand my total loathing for hip-hop and "ghetto" culture.  Let me put it this way:  Imagine every black person you meet viewing you through the filter of Larry the Cable Guy or the Dukes of Hazzard.  That's what a stereotype feels like.

Yeah, I understand what she is saying, but so far, I have asked 3 of my plus sized friends, and they didn't think anything of the commercials... They honestly don't see why someone would get upset over them.

Melissa Lynnette wrote:
Why don't we agree that all commercials are stupid and insulting to what should be a normal intelligence level?  I mean, has anyone ever seen a commercial that actually made them feel more positive about the product?  To be honest, I've seen ads that made me decide to actively hate certain products or companies simply off their idiocy.

Yeah, when I saw that McDonalds commercial, I was upset but I later laughed my ass off because I know people who are actually like that (black and white hahaha)

Melvin Moten Jr wrote:
I try to explain this to white people all the time, when they can't understand my total loathing for hip-hop and "ghetto" culture.  Let me put it this way:  Imagine every black person you meet viewing you through the filter of Larry the Cable Guy or the Dukes of Hazzard.  That's what a stereotype feels like.

I once had a friend in college with a Japanese dormmate named Anthony.

One day, Anthony was really upset because someone had made a sterotypical comment about all Asian students being really intelligent and getting good grades.

My friend didn't understand why Anthony was so angry about that.

"Yes, it is a stereotype," my friend said. "But it's a positive stereotype. It's a good thing."

"No, it's not." Anthony explained. "Because there are some Asian people who are REALLY stupid. So, if people think all Asians are smart and they meet one of the stupid ones, they will think that idiot is the standard of intelligence for all Asians."

It was really hysterical. And very true. I've never forgotten that story because it showed me how even a "positive" stereotype can be a negative thing.

Shyly wrote:
Which is such a bunch of horseshit that it makes me want to heave.

what you bemoan is the lcd in advertising (lowest common demominator).  advertising is a numbers game and it's about the greatest return on sensibility, not in sensibility itself.  delivering stereotype in messaging serves the numbers well.  profiling is far more intuitive for gaining results regardless of how much people hate being pegged as this or that.  it's probably the greatest truth there is in advertising.

please e-mail purina to stop having that man baby-talk to his dog.

instead of taking "requip" for rls (restless leg syndrome), people should get off the lazy boy and go for a walk.  or, take the pill and suffer from headaches, bowel syndrome, heartburn, dizzyness and a myriad of other effects posed by similar drugs that subsidize the nightly network news.

--face reality

Melissa Lynnette wrote:
I mean, has anyone ever seen a commercial that actually made them feel more positive about the product?

sure i've been positively effected by advertising, most often in terms of brand association rather than product specific, but even at product level there is advertising that works. noone is immune to that or one would never make a purchase based on anything but price alone.

Are there ineffective ads? Sure, and odds would tell you that more will be ineffective than effective. Destructive to our culture/society? Advertising is inextricably linked to culture and society. Some would say defining. Too late to turn back. Dismissing it all as bad eliminates any opportunity for real understanding. But then, like a bad advert, forums are usually just a place to pop off.

Naomiwynn wrote:



This ad is a HUGE FRICKIN' BILLBOARD on Houston St somewhere between sixth and second ave in manhattan. I mean, possibly the biggest billboard i've ever seen outside of times square.
The sexual nature of the image is one thing - which was perhaps even more offensive than it otherwise would have been because i saw it when walking from a place where I work with children. ("what are they doing, mommy? Why aren't they wearing shirts?") And then the pedophilic nature of it is something else. Everything about her is dwarfed by him. It looks exactly like those ads that have a man holding an infant, except the infant is a topless woman, the man's package is clearly displayed and they are steps away from doing the nasty. He, a 30 yr old man. She, a freshman in high school.

To create an ad like that is one thing - it is a stunning image. I see the aesthetic value in it, although I wouldn't endorse it myself - but put it in a magazine. Do not blow it up to epic proportions and shove it down peoples' throats.

Nothing offensive at all........To me, kids dont even pay attention to billboards 100 ft up in the air. My 6 yr old would be oblivious to it. And I never see kids everyday saying, "mommy, what are they doing".....that just sounds like a script right out of the joke book, and now we need the funny punch line.

When Im in the city with my kid, and if he even saw this photo on a billboard, it wouldnt even catch his attention...but if it was ELMO up there.....thats a different story...thats when kids will bey like "mommy....ELMO!" Thats when they speak up...they not going to speak up to this.

Lamonica wrote:

Yeah, when I saw that McDonalds commercial, I was upset but I later laughed my ass off because I know people who are actually like that (black and white hahaha)

Granted, there are people who live up to [down to?] most sterotypes, but that dosen't make it any easier when some idiot starts talking some ghetto/plantation dialect.  I confess to a certain amout of impatience:  The last time a [white] guy tried to do some fancy hand-jive greeting, I folded my arms and said "stop treating me like a n1gger and shake my hand like a gentleman."  He was taken aback, but he shook my hand and things were fine from that point.

Lamonica wrote:

Yeah, I understand what she is saying, but so far, I have asked 3 of my plus sized friends, and they didn't think anything of the commercials... They honestly don't see why someone would get upset over them.

Maybe your plus-sized friends don't see themselves as "plus-sized."