He wants to respond to Sally at the right time but it gets interrupted by a faulty kitchen sink. A guy would like to go fishing but he can’t stay with the pole long enough because he has an enlarged prostate which makes him have to use the restroom frequently. A couple of guys sit in a bar singing about a drug that lets them stand tall as men. You’ve all seen them and I’m sure many are quite tired of seeing the male part featured in commercials. I have a different take on it though. I think it’s about time men’s health was given the attention that women’s health is given. They sit through commercials about yeast infections, about pads and so forth. Red covers their faces if they’re young, if they’re older they’re use to it but certainly not a fan of commercials designed to keep us feeling fresh. In my opinion health is health, even when it comes to the male part a commercial promoting health is valid. I suppose what I object to is how the commercials are done. How phallic can you get with the exploding sink? I can’t believe they got away with that. In the commercial where the man is fishing they do an angle from the end of the fishing pole. Again, phallic and quite inappropriate in my opinion. It’s not the subject of the commercials that bothers me it’s how they’re made. So, I don’t have a problem with commercials that promote male health. I have a problem with the symbolism.
I think as long as all health commercials are done tastefully they should have equal chance to be viewed. I don’t think commercials having to do with male health are less desirable than those I can relate to. Are health commercials solely for women or can the men have a spot too? They’re fathers, sons and husbands, people who are loved and cared about. We want them healthy. If we can see men as individuals and not as a group we might be able to tolerate them a little more. Yes it’s irritating to see that skinny guy Norman jump into a pool and come out with a huge smile on his face. But would we be equally as irritated if the commercial was for female hormones? My point is that many times the upset is that men are getting the spot light again. But I think we have to remember that their health is as important as ours. Again, they’re our husbands, brothers, fathers and friends. I think their health is as important as the health of our mothers, daughters, sisters and aunts. I’ve seen them both done in poor taste. Recently a commercial about feminine hygiene hit the TV waves and truly offended me in a grand way. That’s the subject of Part Two.
Austin’s August
Commercials For Social Change
Wednesday, January 02, 2008-12:39AM EST
Yeah, I don’t like feminine products being advertised SO directly, and the suggestive images in male products just feel so dumbed down, but most of all I’m just really tired of how often they’re played - mostly male, but the word is out! And those in need will find the product. They’re not going to forget about if they aren’t reminded about it ten times a day.
Well hell, I never noticed the phallic symbolism before. I’ll be seeing it everywhere now
I remember the days when feminine products couldn’t be advertised before a certain hour. I sure wish they would do that with all these drugs. I don’t need to explain ED and Cialis to my toddler quite yet.
Interesting discussion. I haven’t seen the most recent ads, but I am also bothered by how health ads uses gender imagery. What bugs me is that the phallic imagery is presented as this positive potency thing and the female imagery–well it’s not really represented exactly, too shocking I guess, only in flower symbolic form sometimes–the female body is shown as the big source of icky problems that need to be mopped up and cleansed. Why is the female body so much more of a project? This kind of thing drives me crazy! Thanks for raising the topic.
A lot of people hate the “Bob” commercials but I actually find most of them funny even though they are overt. The ones I don’t like are the ones for a product called “Maxoderm” where these older guys are with women who are old enough to be their daughters. That one gets under my skin.
Those “Bob” commercials are simply hysterical. However, if I were a guy, I wouldn’t even consider a product that, by commerical, would make me feel so plastic.
I also get a charge out of those “Gotta Go, Gotta Go” commericals. All those commericals always end up with “Ask Your Doctor”. Another form of mass selling. They try to entice folks with their product, when it should be the doctors tha they want to impress. My doctor prescribes medicines with my chart in front of him.