Sexist Volvo advert

[TorringtonDean]

There’s a radio ad for Volvos at the moment which I find completely nauseating. It features a small girl having a conversation with “daddy” about how great the new Volvo is and some sort of finance offer. He says “did mummy put you up to this”. Then he goes on to ask what she wants for her birthday and she says “a new Volvo” in a tone of voice exactly like Verruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate factory.

The whole thing is completely sexist with the implication that only men can actually afford to shell out for a new Volvo while their manipulative wives and daughters will be pushing them to put their hands in their wallets. Hugely insulting, I think.

For the record, I drive a Volvo myself, I’m a woman, I pay all the bills and I’ve always admired their reliability and safety. But what with this sexist ad and scrapping estate cars, I don’t think this ad is encouraging me to get another one.

Is Volvo being unreasonable?

Have you actually heard the advert @TrailingLoellia ?

No, I said up front I cannot find a recording of it and do not listen to the radio.
I’m not saying it definitely isn’t sexist, I’m saying I’m not convinced it is definitely sexist based on what has been posted so far.

Funny how keen people are to make excuses rather than recognise when women are being put down. This is how we have been treated as inferior for so long.

It’s about the little girl pressuring the daddy to buy a car because “mummy put her up to it” and it’s a good finance offer.

So, another advert about the 'clueless husband' needing micromanaged by the wise wife?

I will ignore the adverts as I love our Volvo!! My 25 year old is on his second one too. 18 year old car and mint !!

From what you have described there isn’t any woman being “put down” in the advert. The absent mummy figure is described as the source of factual research regarding Volvos and good at financial maths that she has then imparted to her daughter (presumably teaching her girl financial literacy) and then the advert is all about the girl showing off her learning to her dad in the context of let’s buy the Volvo. The dad if anything is being portrayed as too lazy to research and happy to let his wife and daughter make the decisions on how to spend family money.

It’s clearly portrayed as the man having all financial control and therefore the final say. He could just as easily say: “Nah, love, I’m off down the pub with my mistress and then on to the opium den via the bookies, stuff your Volvo.” And mummy and clever daughter would have no chance of obtaining their beloved motor. Of course if women earn their own money they have more chance of buying their own Volvo. And…newsflash…it’s 2023 many women actually do buy their own cars, even Volvos!

Also everyone in that ad is nauseating. Daddy sounds like a Poundshop Hugh Grant, the kid is Verruca Salt and then a sexy Swedish woman comes on at the end to push Volvos to the blokes. Yuk!!!

Highly sexist ad.
The latest Volvo radio ad Jan 2024 indicates a female sitting in a Volvo in Sweden where the temperature is -17. She mentions something about forgetting things at which point a male can be heard knocking on the window pleading to be allowed inside the vehicle due to the cold.
This obviously implies that the male who appears to be her partner has been locked out and that he means nothing to her and had forgotten him and is worthless.
This appears to want to show that the female has a power over the male.
Why do they do this?