To feel vindicated that John Lewis has pulled its awful ad with the boy in the dress trashing the house?

[Clymene]

I wrote to the ASA and complained. I said the ad was misleading (as into insurance will cover wilful damage), sexist (with a boy rampaging through the house and destroying his mother and sister's things, and sexualised.

I also called John Lewis and told them I hated it and why.

They've withdrawn it.

GOOD

Ok so just looked up the as and watched again. I see nothing remotely sexual.

@Benjispruce5

The boy is dressing up, so what? If he was in a cowboy outfit and acting like a cowboy, would that be ok?

If that boy was pouting, strutting, trailing fingers down balustrades and dancing against walls in what emulates provocative moves in a cowboy outfit my comment stands.

You are stating that because a boy puts on a dress, these actions are ok? Have you read what you have written?

Is it ok for a girl of the same age to do this performance in the same outfit?

NO! This behaviour is unacceptable to be portrayed by either sex.

@Benjispruce5

Ok so just looked up the as and watched again. I see nothing remotely sexual.

That is fine. Other people will disagree with you too. I do hope though that if you saw your own child acting in this manner, you would not merely hand wave away the fact they are emulating adult behaviour.

You must have studied this as frame by frame. It’s just a boy playing dress up and dancing . He’s not twerking or performing slut drops!!
Yes the insurance side is misleading but anyone taking out their insurance needs to make their own checks.

@Benjispruce5

The boy is dressing up, so what? If he was in a cowboy outfit and acting like a cowboy, would that be ok?

If the boy has been dressed as a cowboy and trashing his house like that, the ad would have been panned as 'portraying male entitlement' by the exact same people who have been defending this advert.

Why is it OK for a male to act in that way, just because he is wearing a dress?

Sorry.

you would not merely hand wave away the fact they are emulating adult sexual behaviour.

I defy any child playing with their mum’s makeup, not to pout! As for trailing fingertips, please!!!! Yes I do have children, now grown up and I work with children. Believe me, I see far worse on a daily basis I year 2!

@Benjispruce5

You must have studied this as frame by frame. It’s just a boy playing dress up and dancing . He’s not twerking or performing slut drops!! Yes the insurance side is misleading but anyone taking out their insurance needs to make their own checks.

My background is in Brand Management, as a marketing communicator, I do look at ads with more depth than many people.

*in year 2.

@Benjispruce5

See, I liked that advert became I love that song and liked the interior of the house. I didn’t make any other connections. There are far worse ads IMO . The Love honey one makes me cringe.

Sorry but your brain made a connection.

Why else would you go

Song, interior, child playing, insurance.

Worse ad:
Song, interior, adults, sex toys.

The cringe factor is so your brain will 'ping' on the ad, so the usual reason you brain linked the 2 ads is the 'ping'.

You must have studied this as frame by frame. It’s just a boy playing dress up and dancing.

He is not 'playing dress up and dancing', he is trashing his house and destroying the belongings of others around him. And he is 8 or 9 years old, way old enough to know better.

Through the course of the ad he
Rips open pillow cases
Kicks his shoes directly at light fittings
Runs down the stairs drawing on the walls and bannister
Chucks an umbrella at a vase, knocking it over
Stares at his sister before grabbing her paints and chucking them on the floor, thereby ruining the activity she was quietly doing
Smears paint on the kitchen cupboards
Climbs on the table and Chucks glitter all over the kitchen while his mum looks on passively.

Why is any of that OK? Because he is 'expressing himself'? Because he is wearing a dress?

It worries me from a safeguarding perspective that some adults DON'T see this as child sexualisation.

I defy any child playing with their mum’s makeup, not to pout!

What in your mind are these children doing when they are pouting, strutting and looking directly in the camera in this way? This is not a sulky ‘I didn’t get my way pout’ when combined with the other aspects.

What behaviour are they copying? Exactly?

Given the director’s background and content he’s created I wouldn’t let him direct John Lewis adverts with children

@Benjispruce5

I defy any child playing with their mum’s makeup, not to pout! As for trailing fingertips, please!!!! Yes I do have children, now grown up and I work with children. Believe me, I see far worse on a daily basis I year 2!

You let your Year 2 kids act like that on a daily basis? You need to get some behaviour management CPD pronto!

No I didn’t link the two ads. I used the sex toy ad as an example of an unnecessary ad that is still on tv yet this one has been pulled. Actually!

I also look quite in depth at the signaling in marketing communications. This ad has a number of issues going on.

@Helleofabore do you have children?Did you never play with makeup yourself.

@Thefartingsofaofdenmarkstreet don’t be silly.

I am still very keen to understand why you believe that any child putting lipstick on would ‘pout’ in this way?

And that it is ok?

[quote Benjispruce5]@Thefartingsofaofdenmarkstreet don’t be silly.[/quote]
What's silly?

The claim that Year 2 children act like the boy in this advert on a daily basis?

He purses his lips to show off the lipstick. Just watched ad again. Just what JL wanted no doubt. Well done.

I do Benji. I would be horrified if any child of mine pouted and strutted and did a dance move like that against a wall.

I have no problem with a child playing with make up or dress up.

I have a huge problem with that meaning that a child should act in a sexualised way before they put on make up.

@Thefartingsofaofdenmarkstreet because of course not. I said I see far worse things not that I allow them. Children are encouraged to dress up in whatever gender clothing they like when we have independent play.

There is no sexy dance move against a wall. I’d be more worried about you deducing that from innocent play(trashing stuff aside.)