Carte Noir ads: what the actual...

[KateMiddIeton]

There's several versions of these ads all seemingly cribbed from some 1989 idea of what women like:

Obedient men
Men who fondle kitchen implements
Men who enjoy bitching with you about women
Men who allow you to put your feet up
Men who understand you like pretty things like shoes and handbags and don't mind!

There is so much wrong with these ads it makes me want to stove in the TV screen when they come on. They manage that rare combination of being deeply offensive to women and men. They're not ironic or even funny. Just tragic.

Some examples here, with Jacques the French bit of totty:

[KateMiddIeton]

Bump

[KRITIQ]

If it helps, I cannot stand Carte Noir instant coffee. Bleuch!

I saw the one in the link and I think they're trying to do a we-are-using-handsome-men-to-market-our-product-in-a-way-similar-to-how-we-are-used-to-seeing-women-depicted-oh-isn't-this-inversion-clever-and-funny-now-buy-our-shite-coffee.

[EleanorRathbone]

I quite liked the "keys" one



The spice rack one was shit because he said he's buying me a spice rack and my instant thought was WTF, it's your job to cook the curries....

And the light bulb one was shit because it's a job that needs to be done every six months, not every day. I would have been more impressed if he'd been unloading the dishwasher or hanging out the laundry.

And Carte d'Or icecream is shit as well. I can't believe they sell it as a premium product here when it's so shit.

[KateMiddIeton]

There is one where a man unloads a dishwasher! It's the same one where he fondles a slotted spoon.

Even the way they speak slowly to camera as if the audience have a brain injury pisses me off. The worst is "yes I agree that woman at work is jealous of your hair". WTactualF??

KRITIQ I wouldn't dream of buying their shitey coffee either. Not when I can have real coffee is 45 seconds using a filter.

[EleanorRathbone]

Oh yes we're supposed to be like children, pouting at our man and wanting him to agree with us when we're stamping our pretty little feet and being unreasonable.

Fucking nobs.

And shit coffee and shit ice cream

[ForkInTheForeheid]

Shite adverts, but best instant coffee in my opinion, sorry :)

(plus it has nothing to do with the ice cream, carte just means menu afaik, "black menu", "gold menu" - different companies)

[KRITIQ]

(I don't use the words "best" and "instant coffee" in the same sentence!)

[AmberLeaf]

I agree Fork.

[KateMiddIeton]

Right men, we have to shift some shitey coffee. Target market is The Ladyz. Tim, name one thing ladyz like? Shoes? Excellent.

[ComradeJing]

I laughed at the very first one. The rest were shit and stupid.

Does anyone actually go and change their lightbulbs before they blow?

[Melpomene]

Yup, pretty stupid and not funny. I think they were trying to emulate but failed miserably.

[AltMama85]

i hate these adverts. i find them patronizing and offensive. acting like women are vacuous morons. i will never EVER buy carte noire

[EdithWeston]

How many of them are there?

I quite liked one I've seen ("I'll empty the dishwasher straight away" and "I'll be in the bedroom, folding things"), but not the other - can't remember what irritated me about it, wasn't watching closely enough. So the idea wasn't strong enough to carry the weight of more than one as.

So if we're thinking if the same ad, I agree with ComradeJing.

Nothing wrong in showing a domesticated man.

[KateMiddIeton]

There are 4 per man and 4 men.

I had to stop looking on YouTube for examples because there was a danger I'd do myself a mischief.

I got caught unawares by one about a walk-in wardrobe last night.

[chocoroo]

I am probably outing myself a bit but we had these men in our office the other day making coffee.

The concept is ridiculous. The men are a bit ugly. I just put my head in my hands and ranted on about what would happen if they were women etc etc. They're just really patronising.

[FreyaoftheNorth]

There was only one bit of these I considered actually offensive (as opposed to routinely a bit irritating in the same way as much media content.)

It's where a guy says "I met your boss - she does look like a man". So he's saying it's unacceptable to look androgynous (with possible implications of trans- or homophobia).

it reminded me of a bad first date I had a few years ago, where I decided not to see someone again partly because of similarly toned remarks.

[EdithWeston]

I've now seen more of them, and don't like the subsequent ones I've seen as they tip too far into annoying cliche. And some of them (eg the handbag collection one) seem trivial and forced.

[KRITIQ]

I've only seen the one advert on YouTube and thank heavens I don't have a TV so don't get the random intrusions :) But, it certainly occurred to me that the series of adverts might be based on this book, which I've seen in a couple of shops. Porn for Women.

Hey, you don't want to know the links that popped up when I did an internet search when I finally remembered the title of the book!

I think it's supposed to be satire - the idea that while men get off on "porn," women get off on conventionally handsome, attentive, reconstructed men. I'm sure the book has been around for a few years so the adverts are therefore, a bit "last season," as well as promoting a pretty awful product.

(Sitting smugly with a mug of fresh, real java!)

[KRITIQ]

Incidentally, I like the idea of attentive, reconstructed men (although "handsome" is subjective, so I won't buy that,) but just having a flick through the available pages of the book, in its attempts to be funny, it does fall into all the stereotypes about women's insecurities, preoccupation with shopping, crap like that - no surprises really. I'm guessing the adverts are along the same lines.