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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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Original poster

That new M&S advert can bugger off

34 replies

GothAnneGeddes · 12/09/2011 23:26

It's the one that starts with the caption "First date". Very attractive women is being indecisive getting dressed, putting on spanx even though she is already thin, trying on umpteen outfits before finally answering the door to a not as attractive man. Then the caption comes up "Guaranteed second date" and I swore at the tv.

Has anyone else seen it?

OP posts:
falasportugues · 12/09/2011 23:28

is that the one where the models all look like they are 14 yrs old?

scarlettsmummy2 · 12/09/2011 23:29

yes, and I thought it was ridiculous- as is the other one with the older woman and the younger man eyeing her up.

piprabbit · 12/09/2011 23:42

I think M&S have lost the plot.
Not sure why they've decided that women (and what they wear) only has relevance in terms of the men who look at them.

LRDTheFeministDragon · 13/09/2011 00:12

That's fucking annoying.

Original poster
GothAnneGeddes · 13/09/2011 00:14

LRD - Yes, that was my thought exactly.

What was wrong with the women having lots of fun while wearing different outfits approach?

OP posts:
LRDTheFeministDragon · 13/09/2011 00:17

It makes me glad we don't own a TV (Iplayer wins every time).

The other thread 'sums it up' is perfect co-reading with this.

KRICRI · 13/09/2011 14:37

Do you have a link to the advert. No TV here, either. It sounds pretty ghastly.

piprabbit · 13/09/2011 14:39

It's on the m&S website - let me look...

Here goes - both crappy ads available here.

TheCrackFox · 13/09/2011 14:42

That advert pissed me off.

The only reason that a 2nd date wouldn't be guaranteed is because either of them decided that, personality wise, it just wasn't going to work.

ScarlettIsWalking · 13/09/2011 14:46

Really dreadful

Chocobo · 13/09/2011 15:15

OP you are not wrong - there are so many adverts on at the moment make me angry. I am driving my husband mad by swearing at the telly each ad break. The worse one is that Boots headache one - Angry

Theala · 13/09/2011 15:26

I have just watched that first M&S one. That man is far too unattractive for that girl. In real life, she would have slammed the door in his face in horror.

snice · 13/09/2011 15:28

I agree-he was really punching above his weight with her!

dittany · 13/09/2011 15:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
GothAnneGeddes · 13/09/2011 16:51

To be clear though, the advert would have still be just as annoying to me if the man was as good looking/better looking then her. It's the whole perpetuation of woman = desperate for a man that annoys me the most. Although it's worth noting that women in adverts are often far more stereotypically physically attractive then their male counterparts.

In contrast, has anyone seen the new advert for Sure Extracool for men? It's the one wear he ice skates through his day and ends up in bed alone (but not in a sad way, in a stretched out and happy way). Yes, not only does he not have a female love interest, there's no obvious heteronormativity in his life, he could be gay, it's left ambiguous. I couldn't believe there was a male product advert that didn't have a "woman as prize" in it.

Compare that with that heinous wearing jingly bells crap advert that Sure inflicts on women Angry

OP posts:
Original poster
GothAnneGeddes · 13/09/2011 16:56

Here's the Sure for men advert I was on about:

OP posts:
SinicalSal · 13/09/2011 17:00

it's nice to see that some men's deodorants won't make my bra fall off. Phew

Chocobo · 13/09/2011 17:06

SinicalSal Grin

Yes GAG - I remember being a bit shocked (in a good way) the first time I saw that Sure advert because I was just expecting it to end up with him in bed with a woman. Found it quite refreshing when he did not.

MmeLindor. · 13/09/2011 17:07

I dislike the M&S ad (second date) one intensely.

The one where the woman goes down for a "date" and it is her same-age husband is cleverer.

And the other one, the Tadaah one - I think it is skin cream - it pisses me right off. The idea is not bad - women who actually have wrinkles and don't look about 14 yo being happy about how they look but it is all reflective in the eyes of men. Being attractive for men. The best bits are where the woman is happy to not be offered a seat on the bus, being happy to look good. For herself, not for a man.

The Sure for Men ad is good.

Chocobo · 13/09/2011 17:12

Can I just mention those WKD adverts too - especially the one where the man's wife phones him when he is in the pub and he pretends to still be in the office aided by the entire pub full of men (because women never go to pubs Hmm ). I always think poor wife - waiting for him to come home, maybe she wants a bit of help with the kids or wants to go out herself (I do have a tendency to overthink things).

I do wonder what sort of customer base they are trying to attract because it appears to be twats.

MmeLindor. · 13/09/2011 17:13

oooh, yes. The WKD ads had me throwing the dog cushions at the TV last week.

Although I guess that it is more aimed at the 20somethings who are not married anyway.

KRICRI · 13/09/2011 17:28

OMFG the M & S Adverts!

I don't have a sound card on the comp I'm using, but I don't think I missed much with just the images.

I'm wary of saying the "date" in the first clip is "out of her league," because well, looks do come down to individual taste. He was more appealing to me because he was cute without the Empire-catalogue-identikit-male-model look of the two actors in the second clip. I do think the male actor in the first clip was cast though because he didn't look "conventionally handsome," in the hopes that Joe Average watching the clip would identify with him.

The message of each was slightly different, but still from the same "stable" that starts from the point that a woman's greatest value, even only value is in her appearance. In the first, it was single, attractive 20-30 something female (so too long on the shelf!) must spend ages perfecting her appearance to stand any chance of getting a man to consider a relationship with her (and if the intention was to cast a non-conventionally handsome man, it underpins that she should be grateful for any man she can get.)

The second seemed to show that a middle age and then some woman must, whatever she does, not let herself go, or her attractive, same-age husband might lose interest in her. There's a nod to "making her husband jealous" as well, by catching the eye of the first man in the clip.

It's all about making yourself "beautiful" to meet some impossible ideal of femininity, to have any worth as a human being and to get and/or keep that all important man in your life.

(I think I want to puke now Angry)

ChristinedePizan · 13/09/2011 17:39

I've only watched the first one - who the fuck are they trying to appeal to? Women who buy their clothes? Well they've just alienated most of their audience. I also hate the bit especially where she pulls the Spanx on. Way to give the nation's women (even greater) anxiety about their weight.

God I'm really bloody angry

MmeLindor. · 13/09/2011 17:58

Yes, hate the spanx thing. She is about a size 6-8 I guess and as much in need of spanx as I am in need of a wonderbra.

Theala · 13/09/2011 18:50

Yes, sorry, I was being very facetious when I commented on his looks. That's obviously got nothing to do with anything.

Skinny woman wearing spanx and being deemed second-date worthy because of it is so fucking atrocious that I can only laugh though. I mean, what the actual fuck? Are the M&S goons on drugs?

I live abroad and don't have a telly anyway, so I am very much out of the "popular culture" loop. But seriously, is that par for the course now? When did it get so bad? Because I'm sure it wasn't quite that awful when I was living there.