If it had been women twerking....

[Lorelei76]

i wonder if the money supermarket ads would have generated complaints? My guess is no. To me it's a great piss take of a lot of what is meant to be "sexy" for women, and also we see loads of simpering women in adverts/women laughing alone with salad etc. I could be totally wrong, I just wonder - if women did a "sexy" dance to advertise anything, would there be the same number of complaints?

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/blind-footballers-and-twerking-businessmen-the-most-complained-about-adverts-of-2016-revealed-a3444246.html

We've had this discussion before. I will see if I can find it. I hate those adverts. They are aggressive and ugly. Unfortunately as they are advertising a product I never use I can't boycott it because of the awful advert.

There you go.

Is this advert offensive to women, or am I being overly sensitive? | Mumsnet Discussion
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/2635254-Is-this-advert-offensive-to-women-or-am-I-being-overly-sensitive

the initial concept (I thought) was the office bloke felt so epic about his choice of insurance that he felt like strutting around in Daisy Dukes and high heels.

Then the other dudes joined him, and then more and then the dance off, and now this aggressive woman appears doing a neck snake thing.

I hate it.

But I'm not convinced the advertising team thought it through all that much tbh.

It is sexism turned on its head, I think.

The builder was effectively copying the video that Miley Cyrus did for Wrecking Ball. He did it fully clothed with his jeans, tee shirt and hi-vis jacket. She did it in her knickers, though some shots were of her naked.

And the outrage is about him doing it. Sigh.

It isn't sexism turned on its head.

Sexism would be turned on its head if a whole load of exceptionally attractive young men were twerking in booty shorts.

But the whole point of the ad is that the men are ordinary - accountants and builders. Balding and fat.

And therefore the sexy dancing stuff is not actually designed to be sexy at all - it is designed to be funny. Nobody really fancies Colin or Dave, do they?

It is the incongruity of fat, balding ordinary men doing something that we traditionally see young beautiful women do on TV. That's what makes people sit up and take notice. A lot of people immediately see the 'wrongness' there but they struggle to articulate why it is 'wrong'.

Kidnapped, I think that's it
And people actually complained! I'd be interested to know the nature of the complaints. Maybe I'll ask! I guess it's obvious with Gary but not with the other ones.

It isn't sexism turned on its head

Sexism would be turned on its head if a whole load of exceptionally attractive young men were twerking in booty shorts

I agree almond

I expect there will be a multitude of reasons why people complained. I think it is mocking women and very aggressive.

I don't for one minute see it as subverting the trope that if it were women doing this they would be beautiful.

Why is it funny to mock attractive women dancing?

And how is it turning sexism on its head for men, who have an incredibly low beauty standard applied to them, to yet again be incredibly unattractive and unsexy? How is that amusing?

I hate hate hate these adverts. They are taking the piss out of women. For doing things that they do (generally) to sell records to men / to satisfy the prevailing society and record exec ideas about what they should be doing. They can fuck right off. Hate so much. I am obviously not the target audience

almond that was my first thought when I heard this story...

Why is it funny to mock attractive women dancing?

I know - it's not funny. And yay to your second post too. And Queenofsardine's

I always thought it was a piss take of the Britain's Got Talent act from a year or so ago...