Advert which only "activates" for females - WHY?

[SardineQueen]

here

It is for Plan and focuses on the plight of women and girls due to gender discrimination, in certain countries.

Why is this only being shown to females?

People often come onto these boards and on the main site and point out that "womens" issues are actually issues for everybody, and that saying they are for feminists to look out for marginalises them etc... then of course there is the counter argument that if feminists don't raise these issues then they can get overlooked.

That's not really the conversation that I want to have I just find it strange and interesting that they are targeting this ad at females only.

Do you think this is a good idea, or not - does it buy into an idea that womens issues are for women only while issues of other groups are for everybody?

If it was an advert for a charity helping black people and only activated when black people walked past, would that be odd, or fine?

Interested in what people think

"Why is this only being shown to females?"

They explain why in the article you linked. "Males will not get to see the advertisement in order to make them aware about gender discrimination, the charity said."

It's gimmicky, but I can see the reasoning.

But what does that mean, eccles? I didn't understand that at all.

I have the feeling this has gone over my head.

Why don't males need to know about gender discrimination?

By not showing them the advert, they get a taste of being denied things due to their gender.

Or that's the marketing company's idea, anyway.

by not having access to the video because they are males they will experience discrimination.

Huh? Men won't get to see women talking about their lives? Bet they'll be gutted...

They should show a code to allow access to Good Stuff to the women and a "sorry, you'll have to try harder" to the men.

It's a great concept, poorly executed.

But how will they know they haven't seen the video? All they will see is a motionless poster with a website on it which they will probably walk straight past

Also if given the choice between a heart-rending video, while I'm on my way to work, or not, I'll take not, thanks.

So from that POV the men get the better deal - they don't get shown an upsetting video asking for money.

Still

You know what will happen?

Teenaged boys will gyrate and pout in front of it, then rip the piss out of any of their male peers who actually do manage to set it off.

because it is being publicised plus its on a bus stop so they are probably going to stand at the bus stop and read the poster.

So at stations, men get free yorkie bars (it's not for girls) and women get to watch upsetting films to touch their wallets.

My initial understanding of the advert was that they didn't bother showing it to blokes as they wouldn't give any money for this cause, but I dismissed that as surely not being the reason, hence the thread really.

change that makes more sense.

I agree with aye that the women should be getting something that people actually want IYSWIM. Like a yorkie bar or something!

I wouldn't feel I had missed out by not having to watch a sad film asking for money.

Should also mention that since I posted the link it has much more info in it - a picture of what it looks like and the location and stuff. Earlier it was just a couple of lines. Going to have another read

I see your point, yes difinatly agree with that, it is after all just a markating gimick. so it is not oppressing woman, but more so exploiting woman.

This wasn't there earlier

"The interactive advertisement, which will be available for two weeks from Wednesday, cost £30,000 and is activated when the viewer opts to see it."

Which makes more sense. So people have to press it to see the ad, and men will be told no. That makes more sense.

The way the original report read, I thought it would just be setting off or not when people walked past.

I still don't really get it. I get the concept, I don't get the execution.
Gender discrimination is often about reward/opportunity, or deprivation of reward/opportunity. Where's the reward in seeing a video of women and children who have been discriminated against? Surely the reward is being able to continue to not see that this stuff happens?

30k. My word.

Well I would think so too aye.

I think I am missing something. How will telling a man "no, you cannot see this advert because you are a man" make them any more disposed to giving to the charity? Surely it will just annoy them? And how will it teach them a lesson about gender privilege? If it produced a picture of a half naked male telling them to buy some muscle enhancing cream to please the ladies, and somehow got that picture to follow them around for the rest of their lives then I'd be impressed!!

Actually, this has made me a bit angry.

It's a privilege to not see this stuff, let alone not live it.

I was coming on to post about this. It's a clever idea, but almost too clever, being just a poster in a bus stop after all.

I don't think people pay enough attention to bus stop adverts to take that much meaning from it. Perhaps the publicity around it will have more effect.

Spot on, Aye.

I saw a 'normal' poster advert for this charity on the train earlier today, for a campaign against forced marriages. It had a couple of paragraphs about a 12yo girl being forced into marriage and girls dying in childbirth and then said something like "as a woman you will understand". That phrase did make me raise my eyebrows as I thought it could discourage men from donating, but I sent them a donation by text message anyway as I get excess credit on my mobile and use it up by giving text donations whenever I get the chance.

Having read this thread I now wish I hadn't given them anything. 30k spent on a discriminatory advert which must have cost many times more than a standard poster? Crazy.