to think the new ASDA advert is the biggest pile of sexist crap in a long time

[MaureenLove]

to think its trying to APPEAL to women? dur!

Xenia 2.1

This is my first experience I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

OMG!!! I have just figured it out!

Xenia is Liz Jones!

Actually I quite like the ad. I see it as being tonigue in cheek although it all goes a bit wrong for me at the point where the husband says "what's for tea love?" and the strapline about behind every good christmas there's a mum. I think the posh satchi ad exec thought they were trying to be clever with a bit of sattire but then the Asds exec waded in with the strapline. Anyway, its got us all talking Asda. I still wouldn't go there though as the 'straight out of John Lewis' looking woman in this ad is not reflective of the average customer in my local Asda and I am a snob.

As for you Xenia - Avoiding poor career choices is a whole lot easier when you come from a 'nice' family, have been to private school , and have parents who can support your days at university or early days of your career. Most people, including a lot of women, do not have lives like that so choice doesn't always come in to it.That would no doubt include quite a few of the women you would have employed in one capcity or another to file your paperwork, clean your house and look after your children.

I think its very thoughtless. Not everyone will be celebrating with their mums at xmas & I think its a kick in the stomach for those people.

The audacity of it just pisses me off, big time.

Interesting that a lot of the MNers on here defending the ad make the point that they do get some help. In other words, the ad doesn't apply to them, and likely they'd be pretty unhappy if it did apply in its entirety.

And the women who actually don't get any help at all, hate it.

So, all round, the scenario that Asda has conjured up is unadulterated crap.

Personally I'm sick of all the bloody ads that mostly portray women as the hard workers & the men as just sitting on their arses doing fuck all or bossing his wife/partner/gf around,its not always like that!!!!

"Why do you do it, we are flying abroad to ski" is a little bit like Marie Antoinette.
Its nice that some have that choice, but not all do. Even if they have made excellent career choices. In fact the majority, given the average wage, would probably not have that choice.
Although you have put a thought in my mind, and I will tell DD today that she needs to sort a career which will enable her to take the family ski ing at Christmas. Nothing else will wash. Teaching, for example, is out, as is medicine.

The advert is awful. It will give men, growing children and women the wrong idea about the balance of work in a home at Christmas. Not just that but most normal nice people would have said something loving to a lady who had just sunk into the chair with the family at the end of all that rubbish with the shopping and the hoover and the pouffe.

Yes, the family in the advert are incredibly rude.

I did not say every woman should work so hard she gets the best A levels in her school and graduates in the top of her year and picks a well paid career so she can afford the Christmas she wants although there is obvious a serious point in there - better to be a female CEO of ASDA in £4m a year or whatever than a non earning housewife who has no money or power.

I said pick the Christmas you like. Women (some) moan and effect no change. My advice is effect the change and don't moan.

The alternative Christmas might be walking the children to a sung mass at the best church in your area or taking them off to work in a OAP home for the day. In other words particularly for those who are not materialistic whether atheist or otherwise you do not have to do the sell out, buy into the materialism, spend money you do not have. It is not a route to happiness to wear yourself out, get into debt and reinforce sexual stereotypes at home.

I actually quite liked the advert and whether we like it or not still probably represents what a lot of mums with 3 kids end up doing over the Christmas period. I understand that it may come across as sexist to some but at the end of the day not completely unrealistic - i may be wrong but if you surveyed the population you would find the majority of women do wrap the presents, write the Christmas cards and cook the turkey dinner. I think the advert reaches out to mums and I found comfort in the idea that other mums will be just as busy over the festive period. Exhausting but very self fulfilling and satisfying!

Missbumkin - I've said this before and I'm sure I'll say it again: focusing on whether it's realistic or not is missing the point.

lol its so bad

Do a lot of mums, most mums, really have such rude families? I don't think so. Or are we meant to aspire to have such rude families?

Am i the only one who thinks that its just an advert?and also that if a man works long hours outside the home then maybe its fair for the woman to take care of all the other stuff?

The only bit that i can understand anyone getting annoyed about is the whats for tea love bit.

But i have to say,ive not cooked christmas dinner in years,i hate english food so we go for a curry on christmas day!!

But in this ad it is the woman bossing the man about inapineapple!

Yes, she is all blond hair and winsome smiles. But she is is also deeply controlling and passive aggressive.

She can't even let the poor man be when he's putting the tree in position ffs!

They are both irritating as fuck!

And yes funnyperson you'd better tell your DD that only law or banking will do as a career. Then she is guaranteed to earn over £100,000 and will be able to take her family skiing at Christmas.

Although I am not convinced that we need more lawyers and bankers in the world, as opposed to say teachers, nurses, scientists, police, etc etc...

Or that clever and educated people are always the ones that inevitably earn high figures. That seems to say that the 'less bright' automatically move into lower paying public service roles which I don't believe is correct nor desirable.

Personally I would like a clever nurse to be managing my care in intensive care and an intelligent teacher to be teaching my children. And I do believe they exist, just as I believe there are some lawyers and bankers in their roles due to connections, confidence and a high quality private education and the polish that affords...

But in Xenia land there are no clever nurses or teachers because the bright and good are all earning over 100k and don't have to live the life of the common [Asda] people.

Not sure that is my reality though... But Xenia you keep believing that if it makes you feel better about yourself and your choices

It's not the fact that lots of women organize Christmas that's the problem. It's irrelevant that some of them like doing it.

Adverts are meant to sell you a lifestyle as well as a product, and the lifestyle they portray is meant both to chime with you as well as to offer you something aspirational. That is why we don't see, say, an ugly person using washing powder in a nasty kitchen, however white the whites end up.

Saatchi and Saatchi are putting forward this vision of Christmas as something to aspire to. This is a proper family, this is how Christmas feels and should feel, this is how mothers feel when they've served everyone food wearing a nice apron. They are putting this out there for your daughters and mine to think 'aaah Christmas, isn't it all lovely', and popping in the stuff about martydom and expecting no thanks along with it as a perfectly fine way for a woman to be - indeed, as something a woman should aspire to.

If that's over-thinking I don't care. More people should over-think, more often.

I totally agree SteamingNit - nicely put.

steaming night surely what goes on at home is more influencial than an advert?if its not then doesnt that say something?

It presents an unrealistic and unpalatable view of a family hold the front page! Most ads do

Although my rant now said, I do agree with some of your last post Xenia.

I agree that we need to be masters of our own destiny as much as is humanly possible and if something isn't working we need to think about how we can effect change...

But it is still the reality that there are some very bright people in roles which do society a great service but which will never earn in the 6 figures.

Personally I am grateful that these people are in these positions and aren't all advising massive cooperations how they might legally avoid tax, or enabling the rich and powerful to evade their responsibilities to their employees or children, or delivering financial solutions to high net individuals and families.

Instead they might be managing the care of a premature baby in neonatal intensive care, or working with domestic violence survivors in a refuge or arranging foster care for a traumatised and abused child.

They will never earn a high salary but surely their roles are of high importance within society?

Sorry for hijacking thread. I got a bit steamed up there

' They are putting this out there for your daughters and mine to think 'aaah Christmas, isn't it all lovely', and popping in the stuff about martydom and expecting no thanks along with it as a perfectly fine way for a woman to be - indeed, as something a woman should aspire to.'

No they are not!
Their sole aim is to make people spend more money in ASda at Christmas!! They don't give a stuff one way or the other about martyrdom!!

Possibly so, Amber, but surely it would be incredibly naive to suggest that just because Influence A is stronger than Influence B, we should not worry about Influence B? Unless you live in a vacuum, what goes on at home is part of the same discourses in circulation in society anyway.

I did not say they were putting it out there as part of a conscious masterplan! But they are putting it out there. And they think that this is the lifestyle which will seem aspirational to the people whose money they want, and are thereby perpetuating such a vision of 'normal' family life.

And, actually - don't they? What's going to keep the women buying the cleaning products and the pinnies and the pretty little cupcake stands, and the bubble bath for 'pampering', otherwise?