They made it black and red (manleh!), used the word 'zero' instead of 'diet', and even threw in James Bond (who I could have sworn was just promoting the film. I barely realized they were shilling a drink). And still the odd, male targeting of a perfectly regular, low-sugar soda continues. It's amazing the amount of gender-stereotyped, hypermasculine bullshit you can fit into thirty seconds. To wit (possibly NSFW):
So this woman and man have just had sex, which, if you didn't catch it, was the point of the bare ass shot after she got out of bed and said she was going to take a shower - you know, so she can smell like cherry blossoms and marshmallow again. At that moment, her parents arrive. But while the mother (we assume? Since they don't bother to name her) gets a second in the background, only 'The Daddy' is given a title and is focused on in the shot, as he is the keeper of his daughter's sexuality and would apparently blow a gasket if he knew that his 'pumpkin' had had some big, smelly man in her vagina. (The partner also gets a title as 'Our Hero'. We won't bother to name the women. Just call them 'you there'.)
So the big, smelly man escapes SAS-style, but not before tidying her room and securing her admiration. Now, with all traces of sex duly washed away, she's free to greet her father while pretending to be a virgin. Because for women, virginity: good; sex: bad. But if you're a man: sticking around to meet the parents: bleah; sex: rawr; Coke Zero: arooooo.
In the full version below, Daddy is already pissed off for some unknown reason and finally manages to force his way into his daughter's apartment, where he then stands before her threateningly with clenched fists. Because nothing says 'healthy relationship' like a father who appears about to attack his daughter because she just had sex. And notice how many men are - consecutively and uninvited - violating this woman's space: a bunch of strange men in uniform and her own father. That right there is a great message. Seriously. They should show this in schools.
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(Update: I'm editing to include below a comment response in the body of the post. It's my answer to a reader's comment, which you can find in the comments section:
Well, if the message has been sacrificed to the laughs, I accept that responsibility. So let me clarify: the message is that this notion that women's sexuality is owned by the men with whom they interact - by their fathers, husbands, partners, brothers, sons, pastors, strangers - is a destructive one, and shouldn't be celebrated or made light of to sell soft drinks.
It is the same notion responsible for purity balls and the fetishizing and commodification of women's virginity, and further, to the shaming of women for engaging in sex and the inclination to punish them for it, whether by legally removing their reproductive choice or other means. It is the same one that leads to the sexual abuse of girl children by fathers who think it is their rightful place to take their daughters' virginity; to the abuse of sex workers by pimps who appropriate their bodies and pocket the spoils; to honour killings of women who have been raped or who have simply dared to express their sexuality. At the end of the ad, when the woman is left to face her father's wrath, we assume that it will not amount to much. But in reality, it can and does amount to emotional and physical abuse or death.
So that's your serious message.)
Thursday, 23 April 2009
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I know there is a serious message in here somewhere.. but I can't stop laughing LOL. Yes, no need to push, I know where the corner is and I'm going there.
ReplyDeletearrooooo
:'(
Well, if the message has been sacrificed to the laughs, I accept that responsibility. So let me clarify: the message is that this notion that women's sexuality is owned by the men with whom they interact - by their fathers, husbands, partners, brothers, sons, pastors, strangers - is a destructive one, and shouldn't be celebrated or made light of to sell soft drinks.
ReplyDeleteIt is the same notion responsible for purity balls and the fetishizing and commodification of women's virginity, and further, to the shaming of women for engaging in sex and the inclination to punish them for it, whether by legally removing their reproductive choice or other means. It is the same one that leads to the sexual abuse of girl children by fathers who think it is their rightful place to take their daughters' virginity; to the abuse of sex workers by pimps who appropriate their bodies and pocket the spoils; to honour killings of women who have been raped or who have simply dared to express their sexuality. At the end of the ad, when the woman is left to face her father's wrath, we assume that it will mot amount to much. But in reality, it can and does amount to emotional and physical abuse or death.
So that's your serious message.
I actually got the message the first time, but was more bowled over by the interspersed humour. That particular message was not a new entrant to my brain and I suppose like many messages which feminists and women in general fight to have heard, and understood, it may have been glossed over by those who feel within themselves that they do not share that particular view being spoken out against so.. "no need to take stock cuz it ain't us (individual joe the average man) with that problem", or "Sure I recognise it as a serious problem, but as a man who sympathises but is not a soldier in that fight, much can't and should not be expected" (imho anyway). Is this part of the larger problem? I don't know.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is some of these marketing messages are put forward and produced by women. Have you seen my latest blog entry? That ad was sanctioned by a woman, I know her personally. The ad company that did it I think is owned by a man though, so I guess we can lynch him for the concept and.. well, I'd LOVE to hear what your thoughts are on the fact that a woman was the one to give the OK. (This is all assuming you will agree with John Hollingsworth and see the ad as a gross violation of the woman's human rights, which I think is horseshit btw :) ).
Oh.. and another thing. I believe the 'messages' are lost (save for 'yeah thats AWFUL!' or perhaps a more lengthy and thought provoking condemnation from a like minded man or woman put forward) simply because of the social disconnect. For example, I will now have to go and google a purity ball. In my office right this minute are 4 women, I can ask them all and I would bet they have no idea what it is. So although your message is serious, the only persons who will uniquely identify and probably want to march right up to Coca Cola and demand action, are the ones who like you, believe that the same notions portrayed in the ad are responsible for the purity ball.
Disconnected viewers (like me I guess), will see these types of ad, and simply laugh. We will miss the underlying 'you there' type of portrayal of women completely. This is unfortunate, but it's a reality which your hard work will hopefully change.
Right. I tend to treat these things with a light, humorous touch because, well, they're ads, and on the one hand expected to be ridiculous, but on the other potentially reinforcing of some dangerous messages, so I wanted to be a little more explicit about my point in commenting on the ad. You're right that sometimes messages are hidden behind the humour. Your comment made me wonder if it was completely obscured so I was doing a little 'you see...it's funny cause it's' there.
ReplyDeleteAnd just quickly, because you raise some important points that I'd like to get back to, the purity ball was just one of several examples I used. The article linked in reference to men who feel it is their place to take their daughters' virginity is one much closer to home for you. There are men in Barbados who feel that way. The point of the many examples was to show how pervasive this is: in the US, UK, Middle East, Caribbean, everywhere. It might manifest in different ways but no one is exempt.
I did see your post but I was waiting for you to source the picture. I'll have a look again and I think I may comment some more later on what you said, if not here, at your place. Happy weekend.
We may not consciously entrench the notion that women are property and their actions and desires are subject to approval by a male "guardian", however; these ads (trivial as they may be)provide an unending onslaught of soft social messages. Rather than directly stating that this woman is unvirtuous and dirty while the men are crusaders and heroes, it softly sells the social stronghold that sex is a boost to the male status while diminishing a woman's respect. I have never understood this notion. I suppose it springs from that eternal wellspring of hypocrisy, religion. If sex makes a man more respectable, who are they having sex with? Apparently, for a woman to have sex with a man she must be debasing herself. Which is worse? Having sex with the vile and debased whore or the fact that merely engaging in sex with a man makes you a vile and debased whore? What does that say for men?
ReplyDelete