Newsflash - Fathers are spineless numbskulls

Hey, kind reader - have you noticed the disturbing trend in tv advertising? That trend is making adult males (usually dads) look like complete imbeciles. I understand the reason for it, from a pure marketing perspective. Women are responsible for most of the purchasing done these days, apparently. It doesn't make these commercials any less distasteful or insulting. Just in case you haven't actually noticed these ads, here are a few examples:

Lowes - A sissified hubby gets bullied not only by his wife, but by their cute little pre-teen daughter each time he sighs with relief that the house projects are finally finished. The wuss then whips out the wallet to buy whatever the girls demand next.

Cheerios - Poor Steve asks his snotty wife if she's eating Cheerios to lose weight, and winds up sheepishly saying that the cereal box also says, "Shut up, Steve."

Goodyear - the wife angrily says to her husband "You're an idiot!!" after he buys the other brand of tire.

Verizon - a father is trying to help his young daughter with her homework when he is belittled and scolded by his wife, who orders him to "leave her alone!" and go wash the dog.

Yoplait  - Some pathetic numbnut gets abused by his droning girlfriend over luscious yogurt. See a write-up on this commercial here: http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2010/04/yoplait-light-proves-men-can-eat-yogurt-too.html

There are many other examples; these are a few that just popped into my head. Look, you could argue that it's all in good fun, but rest assured that:

1. It is costly advertising that has been specifically designed to produce a calculated end result: Stroke the egos of females and make them feel in control of the purse strings by demeaning the male and reminding him that he is not in control of the purse strings.

2.If the people being portrayed as morons in these commercials happened to belong to some minority group - or if they were women - someone would be suing someone into homelessness.

photo credit: candrews via photopin cc

There is already an epidemic of disrespect in this country, and now we're teaching children that it's okay to make fun of bumbling, fumbling, helpless, hopeless, doofus Dad, if the reason is to bully him into submissively buying more crap that we don't need. I'm not even a father, and I take offense to it, out of sympathy for what the Dads of America have to deal with.

Guys, if you happen to notice these derogatory, demeaning commercials, and you still have some self-respect, take note of the advertisers. Then, buy your stuff from those advertiser's competitors. Or better yet, send an email to the company, and let them know you'll cease doing business with them until they stop disrespecting the American male for the sake of a buck. And women - if you still have any respect left for your boyfriends and hubbies, you can do the same on their behalf. Think about how you'd feel if the ads made all women look like boobs. (That pun was too good to pass up, sorry.) I like a good, hilarious stereotype as much as anybody, but not when it is designed expressly to subconsciously manipulate our purchasing behavior. If we want to see stupid dads behaving like morons, we can watch the Simpsons or Family Guy. At least we'll understand the point of the satire.

On a more positive advertising note - kudos to Travelers Insurance for their brilliant (and entertaining) campaign showing wild animals hanging out with their predators in peaceful harmony. That's creative advertising!