To find the new Alexa ad sexist and disturbing

[Sugarleaf]

The premise seems to be: men can’t help their aggression and swearing, but they have to try to rein it in for the sake of the women and children, so Alexa steps in to help.
I googled the man in question and apparently he’s well known, but I had no idea who he was. What I see is a man being aggressive, AI playing music so ‘the cops aren’t called,’ leaving his sister and the children outside while he tries to get his aggression out of his system.

And I really don’t like the way this portrays women as genteel, non-swearing creatures who need protecting from men’s behaviour. Women swear. We don’t need to be cast as the delicate audience for men trying to manage their own behaviour.

Alexa being a female and coaching this poor aggressive man just adds to the weirdness
The whole premise feels pretty patronising

AIBU?

(ps the original post was withdrawn due to a problem with the link!)

Why do you need 2 threads on this?

I think you're deliberately misunderstanding the advert tbh. Perhaps you would be happier all round if you watched Ted Lasso.

Alexa is weird, full stop. She was also a very incompetent contestant on an early series of The Apprentice; I keep thinking of her every time I hear the name "Alexa".

I also think that Alexa is normalising advertising being spoken into your home. Even if this is not a reality yet, it could become so. At the moment, Alexa is voluntary, and nobody is required to have Alexa. But I do foresee all of us being nudged towards having Alexa-like devices, whether we want them or not: we're already being nudged towards having smart meters (2020 brought "nudging" into very sharp focus), with "think of the convenience!". And I think that by stealth, we may have not only advertising, but propaganda spoken at us in our homes, whether we want it or not. You can see it happening with internet advertising: right now, an advert is flashing at the side of my screen, trying to get my attention. I can pay to remove this, but why should I? Using the internet is hardly "voluntary" nowadays: you need it for so many things, the powers that be have made it so, so it is very difficult to escape from internet advertising. I'm sure Tony Blair knew something when he said back in the late 90s "I want every household to have the internet." It's also very difficult not to have a smartphone now: and sooner or later, they may be speaking out loud at us, whether we want it or not. Weren't we all startled out of our skins recently by a loud alarm, accompanied by a finger-wagging message telling us not to use barbecues?

Needless to say, I don't have Alexa. Yes, maybe I am overthinking this. Call me a conspiracy theorist, call me a tinfoil hatter - it's water off a duck's back. Yes, I know that my computer is spying on me all the time. Yes, I know that by using social media (i.e. Mumsnet), I am encouraging this.

I've never even heard of Ted Lasso and yet I understand the advert as a man who's been asked by his sister not to swear in front of the kids.

No aggression, no sexism, just a run-of-the-mill situation where someone has to be reminded to curb their language.

But some posters would see 'dark corners' in a round white room.

I would never get an Alexa im freaked out by my phone listening to me I don't need another device listening in😮

It's lucky Malcolm Tucker was unavailable.

God I love Brett Goldstein, Roy Kent and Ted Lasso. It’s one of the most feel good modern shows I have ever watched!

You’ve completely misunderstood it. As others have said it’s because the actor is known for his sweary characters. Nothing to do with male aggression.

Yes when I first saw it I thought there would be complaints

As soon as it’s on I have to mute this advert. Loud Ring doorbell tone at the end is a nightmare for dog owners.
I have our 2 and our DD’s puppy (when she’s at work) if I don’t mute it all 3 can be asleep after their walk and they all wake up and bark for ages, dashing to the window! So frustrating.

There’s one thread

You shouldn’t need to watch a niche TV show on a low subscribed platform to ‘get’ an ad. Children won’t get it either. It’s just another angry man.

Is this running on TV as I’ve not seen it, but seen the man one an inordinate number of times over the last few days.

ok - I just went and watched it online. It’s a totally different concept. I’m not concerned by implied swearing, I’m concerned by normalisation of women having to help men ‘calm down.’

I'm more worried about the recent "upgrade" to Alexa, I don't like the new voice at all.

It’s not a niche show, it’s hugely popular. If you haven’t heard of it you must be living under a rock. I think you are looking for issues that aren’t there. Your take on things would never occur to me. It’s just a silly advert. Everyone likes to make everything deep now.

I think it’s a pretty horrible advert OP, I gathered the guy was famous but no idea who he was nor have I ever seen Ted Lasso.

My absolute dream man ♥️

As I said upthread, less than 0.7% of the UK population have seen it if you look at the stats. Of course I’ve heard of it, but have never watched it.

So in the time you have spent pondering how to be offended by a sexist robot machine, another few hundred children have died of starvation in Africa, and .a few more acres of rainforest has disappeared .
Time to give yourself a talking to about the really important things in life.

And yet they must have thought most people would recognise the Ted Lasso character when they created the ad.

Malcolm Tucker is an amazing character. As I said before it’s not the swearing I have a problem with.

I get a lot of you don’t get it. But next time a poster talks about their husband shouting and swearing and everyone says, ‘don’t put up with it’ then have a think about what ads like these tell people about what’s normal in a household.

If you know Ted lasso and also the actor then the ad is hilarious. His character is gruff as hell, but at his core is incredibly sweet and loves his niece.

I think it’s a stretch to say this normalizes violence in men. There are plenty of ads that miss the mark, but I just don’t think this is one of them.

Can you pin point the part where he is being ‘calmed down’?