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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
LassWiTheDelicateAir · 22/12/2017 20:01

They're out there to sell shit. And in those terms it's worked

Has It? Has it increased sales? You have no idea if it has. You just keep banging on that it has "worked" with no proof whatsoever. It has certainly cast Poundland in a very unfavourable light for many posters on here.

Eltonjohnssyrup · 22/12/2017 20:06

Er it is Elton who said this awful advert is too trivial to bother with. She only cares about important things.

Um, what I said was that I couldn't get worked up about this when women are being mistreated in far worse ways in the rest of the world. I stand by that. What have you done lately to support oppressed women in the second or third world?

Probably fuck all. But you'll whinge about a fucking elf and go to bed feeling virtuous.

sagamartha · 22/12/2017 20:08

But they're a company their aim is to make money. And this campaign will probably do that

It probably will. Just like when PaddyPower and other companies 'cross the line' to sell their products and raise awareness.

Some companies don't give a shit about the message they give off - as long as it makes them money.

Of course, the last thing they would do is to offend their core customer base.

sagamartha · 22/12/2017 20:09

what I said was that I couldn't get worked up about this when women are being mistreated in far worse ways in the rest of the world. I stand by that. What have you done lately to support oppressed women in the second or third world

Oh - the 'whatabout' argument? Always touted when women complain about sexism in the UK

FFS

VladmirsPoutine · 22/12/2017 20:10

Er it is Elton who said this awful advert is too trivial to bother with. She only cares about important things.

I know that, Elton's nailed her colours to the mast - the ad isn't something she can get worked up about. My comment was in reference to your comparison between PL and F&M or Chanel.

LassWiTheDelicateAir · 22/12/2017 20:13

Yes, because I am sceptical at the idea of anyone "re-engaging " with Poundland. It is hardly a shopping experience is It?

Eltonjohnssyrup · 22/12/2017 20:15

Oh - the 'whatabout' argument? Always touted when women complain about sexism in the UK

Okay then. Let's put it a different way. 'Women' don't all complain about what you perceive to be sexism. You can sit here and whinge all you want. You don't speak for me. You don't speak for 'women'. You're going to make fuck all difference to Poundland's bottom line.

Because most women are too busy having budgets for their families and jobs n shit to bother changing their shopping habits for a few dozen online third wave feminists who are concerned they're not intersecting prope.

Eltonjohnssyrup · 22/12/2017 20:15

*properly

LassWiTheDelicateAir · 22/12/2017 20:20

Um, what I said was that I couldn't get worked up about this when women are being mistreated in far worse ways in the rest of the world. I stand by that. What have you done lately to support oppressed women in the second or third world?

Yes the "what aboutery argument" aka the "I find it impossible to hold 2 thoughts in my head at the same time" argument.

As for what I do - well I have been a member of Amnesty for over 25 years and have supported many of their campaigns for women; I have a small standing order every month to the Abortion Support Network in Northern Ireland. I could go on but is that enough to be going on with?

VladmirsPoutine · 22/12/2017 20:22

Oh - the 'whatabout' argument? Always touted when women complain about sexism in the UK

@sagamarthaI Odd that isn't. Just in the same way that none of the women declaring the ad misogynist and sexist have been repeatedly employing the 'what about' argument in reference to the reaction the ad would have received had it been a racial or (trans)gender based image. Hmm

PumpkinSquash · 22/12/2017 20:22

You can sit here and whinge all you want. You don't speak for me. You don't speak for 'women'.

Exactly.

Eltonjohnssyrup · 22/12/2017 20:24

Fucking hell. You're a member of amnesty and you're getting cross because you think a picture of an elf is outrageous. You're supporting the wrong charity flower. You'd be much happier with the lads keeping people in prison.

VladmirsPoutine · 22/12/2017 20:26

The question what if the doll was black? must have been asked at least a dozen times on this very thread.

sagamartha · 22/12/2017 20:27

You're a member of amnesty and you're getting cross because you think a picture of an elf is outrageous

It's possible to have 2 thoughts in your head.

Oh - and it's not outrageous. It's just depressing that given #metoo and all the recent discussion, that this agency decided to use such imagery in is adverts to generate predictable outrage.

They wouldn't have dared be racist or homophobic though.

Eltonjohnssyrup · 22/12/2017 20:28

the ad would have received had it been a racial or (trans)gender based image

I'm a TERF. If it had been a transgender image I would have been on the barricades defending it.

I'm sorry that my feminism doesn't believe women are so fragile and incompetent that our entire sex is threatened by an elf with a teabag.

Pumperthepumper · 22/12/2017 20:33

‘What if the doll was wearing a black power tshirt’ is a relevant question - the advert would then be racist.

So it wearing a girl power tshirt is obviously sexist.

Whether you care about that or not is fair enough, but it seems a bit ridiculous to claim it’s NOT sexist.

But the ‘what about other countries’ isn’t a fair comparison because we don’t often compare ourselves to the lower end of the scale when we’re trying to improve things - so we don’t look at literacy rates in other countries and say ‘well, we’re not as bad as them so no worries here’ or crime rates or money or employment rights. Yet for some reason we’re being told to do that for women’s rights and not give a shit about how we’re being treated here.

What do you do for global feminism Elton?

sagamartha · 22/12/2017 20:33

I'm a TERF. If it had been a transgender image I would have been on the barricades defending it

What about if it had been racist?
Homophobic?

All controversial. All guaranteed to generate publicity and no doubt generate new followers.

Anything goes eh.

pallisers · 22/12/2017 20:40

I'm sorry that my feminism doesn't believe women are so fragile and incompetent that our entire sex is threatened by an elf with a teabag.

Ah the old "women are fragile and incompetent' if they complain about the shit men give them. That has dominated the workplace for years -- as recent revelations show - but not surprising there are many women believing the propaganda. Sweet that you define it as feminism though. Must make you feel wonderfully radical and yet one of the lads too.

SlimDogMillionaire · 22/12/2017 20:42

Yeah but they've lost me as a customer and countless other people. You keep telling yourself it's genius though.

SophoclesTheFox · 22/12/2017 20:44

Who ever said that women were fragile and incompetent? Confused

Backingvocals · 22/12/2017 20:47

Womanhood is not threatened by an elf and a teabag. It is threatened by the pornification of everything so that women are just dumb receptacles of male sexual urges.

But carry on wilfully oversimplifying this so you can be cool kids who love it.

PumpkinSquash · 22/12/2017 20:48

Yeah but they've lost me as a customer and countless other people. You keep telling yourself it's genius though.

From what they've apparently lost they've gained a whole lot more.
Do you look elsewhere on social media apart from in here?
You'd see if so it definitely hasn't seemed to have harmed them much.

VladmirsPoutine · 22/12/2017 20:51

‘What if the doll was wearing a black power tshirt’ is a relevant question - the advert would then be racist.

Pumper I wholly agree with your point but I fear we're all going round in circles here because I'm almost 100% certain that had the ad depicted a black doll, someone somewhere would have said 'stop being so PC' 'it's not racist, you're just sensitive' 'PC has gone insane' and so on and so forth.
Had it referenced #nodebate - no doubt we'd all have been accused of being terfs and bigots.

This is all by virtue of the fact that it's subjective. So whilst it may seem to you "a bit ridiculous to claim it’s NOT sexist", conversely, it may seem to others ridiculous to claim that it IS sexist.

SlimDogMillionaire · 22/12/2017 20:55

Oh here we go Elton. Spouting off that you're a better feminist than the woman next to you.

Us other poor and weak fragile feminists just can't take it. Worrying ourselves with unimportant matters when there is BIG stuff to fight against. It's the same fucking battle, can't you see that?

SlimDogMillionaire · 22/12/2017 20:59

How do you know Pumpkin? Everyone's having a good laugh about it now. You think those new followers will take a blind bit of notice in a few weeks?

Yes, I am very much into social media, don't be so patronising.