Local mag has 2 page advert entitled "It's a man's world!" (MAN'S WORLD are bold)

[Lioninthesun]

Below are such 'masculine' items as a tablet, sonos MP3 speaker and a coffee machine!
I must have missed the day these were only to be enjoyed by men.

It has put me off Barretts Digital World for sure. Am probably being a bit delicate about it but it has given me the rage for some reason.

Oh and advert comes complete with a manly man with his arms crossed in a little circle next to 'winner of retailer of the year award 2012'. Presumably to show their customer service will be a man, not a woman.

[NeoMaxiZoomDweebie]

Email them and let them know that since their products appear to be only for men, you will never buy from them again and also tell them that you've informed the whole of Mumsnet the same thing. I would.

[NeoMaxiZoomDweebie]

Oh I've just realised it's their clumsy attempt to advertise their goods for Father's Day! Pile of fools.

[Lioninthesun]

I did wonder but there is no mention of fathers day on the whole spread...or celebrating a special day or anything. Just "The latest in home networking boy's toys"
The coffee machine even says:
"Is cappuccino the new beer?..No self respecting 'manhood' is complete without a top of the range coffee machine."
I don't know who is more belittled by that!

[Bunnylion]

It does irk me how electronic goods are so often shown as masculine products.

These items (generally speaking) have nothing to do with penises, so I'm not sure why this is.

[Lioninthesun]

It's like an extension of the blue/pink marketing isn't it!
I thought this kind of overt sexism belonged in the 70's/80's though. Very odd idea to alienate half of your audience in an advert.

[BranchingOut]

Growing up in the 70s, I remember being surprised, years later, that a man would ever use a hair dryer, as the picture on the box of my Mum's dryer was of a woman...

These images/ideas can be surprisingly powerful.

[BranchingOut]

Then again, I don't think my dad ever used shampoo and used to wash in cold water each morning, so I had pretty low expectations of male grooming...

[NeoMaxiZoomDweebie]

As a copywriter, I have been asked a few time to write product descriptions for various websites. They are almost always listed as things like "boys toys" when it's general gadgetry in question. I take huge delight in being deliberately open in my descriptions...so a garden beer caddy becomes "cold drinks caddy, perfect for all manner of cold beverages" ...and I never go with the whole "boys and girls" shite.

[Lioninthesun]

Good for you Neo
Where do they get the people who make these ads? How did no one notice it looks so backwards before it went to print?

[NeoMaxiZoomDweebie]

I once wrote the script for an interactive doll and added lines like "Let's go and climb a tree!" and "Shall we play football?" instead of the suggested "Shall we play Mommies?"



It was a Chinese toy...they were very happy with the finished script. I wanted to add a suggestion which I got on this board..."I am dolly hear me roar!" but didn't quite dare!

[NeoMaxiZoomDweebie]

Lion re. where do they get the people who write those ads./...mostly cheapo local advertising agencies run by...you guessed it...middle aged men!