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Original poster

To think Poundland ad is not “genius” and is actually a bit I appropriate?

773 replies

speakerwoofers · 21/12/2017 15:25

Most comments on Facebook are proclaiming it “genius.” I don’t think a sexual innuendo is that genius TBF.

Plus why is it a woman lying on her back with a t shirt saying “power” and a man standing over her dominating her. They could have at least chosen another sexual innuendo.

Also difficult to explain to kids.

Or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

To think Poundland ad is not “genius” and is actually a bit I appropriate?
OP posts:
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7
VerticalBlinds · 22/12/2017 12:21

Even I know that Angus Deayton got sacked after it being in all the papers about his "exploits" with cocaine and prostitutes, and I don't really follow sleb type gossip, it was a massive story at the time though, and 15 years ago!

I think these people who say "the outrage is the joke" are arseholes really. Like when men in the pub grab your arse or whatever in order to upset you / cause a negative reaction so them and their mates can have a laugh.

In fact that's exactly the level this is aimed at, and what the image is directly pointing at, the elf is smirking at his audience while the doll lies there with a ? around whether she is conscious due to the way they have posed her, and covering her face.

Pumpkin, you said yourself that they have deliberately done this to provoke a reaction in the light of #metoo, and now you are saying that the reaction is funny.

I really think people like you are quite nasty, to be honest.

Piggywaspushed · 22/12/2017 12:21

They have a new one today. The Barbies have gaffer taped the Elf to the wall, legs akimbo. The tag is ' Four play'

This is obviously their attempt to empower the Barbies.

They obviously were copying inspired by Greggs. Just needed to go back a few posts in one of the tagged 'creatives' Facebook page.

Piggywaspushed · 22/12/2017 12:22

Bit confused as there are five in the pic so the Elf obviously isn't consenting...!

DeadMorose · 22/12/2017 12:24

Today’s one is different. Better. Although I don’t see it making things better.
Still not planning to shop in Poundland.

To think Poundland ad is not “genius” and is actually a bit I appropriate?
BertrandRussell · 22/12/2017 12:24

Pumpkin- did I miss where you explained why sexism is OK but racism isn’t?

PumpkinSquash · 22/12/2017 12:24

It's designed to divide - at least you recognised that - it that makes it sinister and nasty, not genius. I am sad for you.

Well, we'll have to agree to disagree on that one, as I'm sad for you as you're obviously one that assigns to one way of thinking, everyone must be the same....
we're not. The sooner people learn that, the better. Instead of throwing around insults like "you're thick" etc.
Makes you look like the thick one.

Piggywaspushed · 22/12/2017 12:25

I have to be honest vertical , I think you are crediting the creative agency with rather more brain than they have.

I think they just thought it would be 'well funny'. I am not sure they meant it to go viral. They just thought it would be a bit silly and a bit like Greggs and that people would LOL at it.

Am not sure #metoo is on their radar.

PumpkinSquash · 22/12/2017 12:25

Still not planning to shop in Poundland.

Don't think any little boycott protests will matter to them, it was absolutely heaving in there when I passed it in town earlier.

Piggywaspushed · 22/12/2017 12:27

Which explains the attention seeking teabagging one. They weren't getting enough retweets/likes so they did something a bit more risqué. Edgy.

Like when DS1 farts to wind me up. He's 16.

Fair play; it worked. To an extent. But not long term. More successful for them than Poundland, I'd hazard.

We'll see young Spilby on the Apprentice next year.

Frequency · 22/12/2017 12:30

Pumpkin. This ad is designed in every level to be offensive to women. The joke is not the initial scorn it provokes, the joke is when the object defends it, not even understanding that the creators have nothing but contempt for the 'ffs it's a joke Army.' The joke is very literally on you. You have been insulted and are fiercely defending your aggressors. It's designed to divide - at least you recognised that - but that makes it sinister and nasty, not genius. I am sad for you

I get what you're saying and if it were an advertisement for a lad's mag or The Sun, I'd agree but I don't believe, in this instance, that much thought has been put in to it.

No advertising agency would be stupid enough to deliberately piss off half of their target audience. No advertising agency would be stupid enough to deliberately make women the butt of yet another sexually exploitative/abusive joke in the current climate.

This isn't genius. It's poorly thought out, poorly timed and juvenile. They aimed to create a stir, yes. They expected backlash. I doubt they expected people to jump to the (obvious) conclusion that Barbie is comatose.

If they did, then it's even more worrying but I just don't see Poundland being that deliberately divisive, not when they are facing massive financial problems.

I don't think they'll be offered new jobs. I actually believe they've killed their careers. An ad agencies job is to think about everything. I know someone in advertising they give careful consideration to the background colours fgs. Overlooking Barbie's position and outfit is a mammoth oversight or a deliberate middle finger to the #metoo. Neither scenario shines a good light on the agency behind this.

DeleteOrDecay · 22/12/2017 12:33

It is a combination of the crass advert and the puerile response of the company and its defenders on here putting us off.

Yep same. I'm far from middle class by the way (for the pp who implied it's only the well off middle class who will 'boycott'). I find the likes of b&m, wilko, home bargains etc better for value and choice anyway so it will be pretty easy for me to avoid them.

DeleteOrDecay · 22/12/2017 12:35

it's refreshing to see a different humour base being aired.

Sexist 'humour' is refreshing? Really?Confused

VerticalBlinds · 22/12/2017 12:41

piggy - it was pumpkin that said she thought it was a response to #metoo, and that it was designed to upset people and therefore "start a conversation" and cause upset and that the upset is the point as it's well funny.

I think the people who made it in the first place were just behaving like standard young men - whether the posing of the barbie as ?passed out / unconscious was deliberate or not I have no idea, probably they didn't think that hard.

It's pumpkin who believes it was deliberate, meant to upset, related to #metoo, and that this is an awesome thing.

VerticalBlinds · 22/12/2017 12:42

pumpkin's post here and what she was reacting to:

""pumpkin can you really not see how this image comes across? And that’s ok with you? So why choose Barbie and not another Elf?

As someone who's into social media, that's probably WHY they've done it. They knew they were going to touch a nerve. Bring out the debate.
Have everyone talking.""

Piggywaspushed · 22/12/2017 12:45

I knew that vertical.

Sadly, I think the 'brains' are 50% female.

VerticalBlinds · 22/12/2017 12:46

I also think the reason for the posing of the barbie is that as someone said upthread, the elf is the subject, he is sharing what he's doing gleefully with the audience, the Barbie is the object on which he acts.

Why would they consider the positioning of an object? It's irrelevant to the story.

The other explanation is that they definitely wanted to make it look as if she was probably not conscious / with it, which I hesitate to say. I suspect they didn't think because why would you, the elf if the important bit.

BarbarianMum · 22/12/2017 12:46

Strangely, nobody that thinks this has been particularly keen on explaining why.

PumpkinSquash · 22/12/2017 12:50

it was pumpkin that said she thought it was a response to #metoo,

Point me to where I mentioned #Metoo. .

PumpkinSquash · 22/12/2017 12:51

I really wish people would get their facts right.

VerticalBlinds · 22/12/2017 12:57

Erm in the quote upthread and if you read that part of the conversation back Confused

VerticalBlinds · 22/12/2017 13:02

The conversation was around metoo and donald trump.

What on earth did you mean by this then if you were not referencing sexual assault? That makes sense in the context of that conversation and the piece that you quoted in your response?

""pumpkin can you really not see how this image comes across? And that’s ok with you? So why choose Barbie and not another Elf?

As someone who's into social media, that's probably WHY they've done it. They knew they were going to touch a nerve. Bring out the debate.
Have everyone talking.""

Meeep · 22/12/2017 13:11

It's absolutely horrible. I won't go in Poundland again. Don't want to give any of my money to thick misogynistic ugly red-pill mgtow fuckers.

VerticalBlinds · 22/12/2017 13:12

I think you credit them with too much intelligence to be honest.

I think that the inadvertendly made it highly ambiguous - up to the viewer - whether this is consensual or not - and then when people said hold on a minute they said so what.

And you said that seeing people upset by this is funny, and further suggested that they had set out to upset people (women) on purpose. And so therefore you believe that they wanted to upset women by referencing sexual assault, because they find it funny when women get upset about this stuff.

Which is exactly the same thought process as when men in real life sexually assault / harass you and then laugh at your reaction with their mates. The reason lots of women don't like this is because for them it reads as a sexual assault, and the audience is being invited to find this funny. And the reason this reading of the image happens, is because it has happened to us in real life, and it wasn't funny then, and it isn't funny when a bunch of puerile ad people recreate that dynamic using dolls.

DeleteOrDecay · 22/12/2017 13:15

d the reason this reading of the image happens, is because it has happened to us in real life, and it wasn't funny then, and it isn't funny when a bunch of puerile ad people recreate that dynamic using dolls.

Pumpkin clearly thinks sexual assault and women's experiences of sexual assault is all one big joke.

Piggywaspushed · 22/12/2017 13:20

It doesn't actually match the general image and work of the creative agency. Their stuff on their website looks pretty classy and well constructed. It just looks like they must have got a bit carried away in their own joke. And they obviously aren't proud as they don't list it on their website and left the Poundland work to an apprentice and a pretty junior employee! should have been a spy