"Men should act like men"

This week, I figured I would critique my favorite Milwaukee's Best Light commercial. This commercial obviously states that men should act in a completely masculine matter. Men that don't act masculine in all of the commercials are immediately taken out of the commercials by having a huge can of beer from the heavens crush them into the ground. Whether by calling his wife during a poker game to check in or by executing an extremely girly jump on a trampoline, these "men" quickly become victims of gravity and what it carries down--a huge can of beer. These commercials are definitely aimed at men. Milwaukee's Best, or "Beast" as it is commonly referred to, is a particularly harsh and manly beer that most women won't touch. It is brewed for men, and this can be seen in the commercials by the lack of women. The only times women appear in the commercial are when they are walking by looking very attractive or when they are emphasizing a "man's" femininity, such as when a man and his wife go to a cookout wearing matching shirts and swinging their arms gleefully. The slogan of "Beast" is that "Men should act like men, and light beer should taste like beer." Not only does this slogan dictate how men should behave, but it also makes the statement that real beer is harsh, and this harshness should be the taste that real, tough men should prefer.

"Eat like a Man!"

The point of this commercial is to get across to men who like to eat real meals that although the Hungry Man meals are convenient and easy to make, they are never lacking in quantity or quality of food. This commercial makes the statement that real men eat a lot, don't care about their weight, and eat what have been designated as manly foods such as beef or chicken. The man eating the Hungry Man meal in the commercial appears proud and confident, two characteristics of what our society would call real men. He also questions the other males' masculinity by calling them ladies. This is for two reasons. He calls them ladies because they are all going to the bathroom even though not all of them have to "go", much as females stereotypically do, and because they are drinking what appear to be small, low-calorie fruit-flavored smoothies, which is a very girly meal when compared to the huge manly amount of food in a Hungry Man meal. Women don't typically eat big meals or manly food because those things can make them gain weight, which is a huge feminine concern. The commercial beckons us to "eat like a man" and to "be full like a man." This tells us that real men indulge into what satisfies them and that they don't worry about such trite issues.

What Are "Real" Women?

So, I decided to critique this Trojan Vibrating Touch commercial since they show it about 50 times after 11PM on Comedy Central and because it applies to the subject matter. First of all, the commercial shows only women, even though one of them claims that the vibrating touch is enjoyable for men as well as for women. No men appear in the commercial to affirm this claim, and the woman sounds very unsure of herself when she says it is pleasurable for men. She slows down her talking and almost seems to stutter and second guess herself. I believe this is the case because the goal of the product is to please the women consumers and that the enjoyment of the male users is an unnecessary added bonus. The premise for the women to buy this product is that their male companions are not pleasing them sufficiently. So the makers of the product don't really care whether it pleases the men, because the problem that is being solved is the satisfaction of the women. This ad also has much to say about the sexual nature of women. The stereotype that stands true in most societies is that women are modest when it comes to sex because of the double standard which is in place. This double standard pretty much says that guys who have a lot of sex are cool and that women who have a lot of sex are easy. This commercial attempts to break that barrier by stating that "real women" are ones that like to be pleased and that aren't afraid to talk about it. The ad also breaks the age barrier regarding sex by including the old woman who tells the younger women where they can purchase the Vibrating Touch. She speaks with complete confidence and no embarrassment, showing she is a "real" woman. I must be skeptical of this commercial and the messages it tries to send. Although the old woman says her part with confidence, the younger women laugh to themselves at the thought of an old woman still getting pleased. Also, during one of the testimonies, one of the women starts laughing uncontrollably while talking about the product. That makes me believe she is just reading off of a script and that what the makers would like her to believe and what the words say are totally ridiculous. I also find one of the main points made in the commercial to be contradicted in the commercial. The makers claim that women won't be afraid to talk about their product, yet the entire commercial advertises discreet shipping and how no one will know you have it. If these "real women" are so confident and unafraid, why don't the makers just send the product as it is?

all tel my circle commercial

It is obvious in this commercial that all the main characters are men. The men represent the cell phone company Alltel and its top competitors. By having men represent the companies, the commercial is making the sexist statement that men own everything. Men are stereotypically the head honchos and CEO's of all major corporate companies, and this ad supports that claim. It also adds another completely different aspect by including the male wizard in the commercial. The wizard has always been a symbol of wisdom and power. By having the male wizard in the ad with all of the male "owners" it all implies that men are all-powerful and all-knowing. The competing cell phone companies are dumbed down to make Alltel look better. The fact that the wizard has my circle in the commercial is sending a syblymonal message that having alltel is the wise thing to do. Slightly off-topic but just as significant is the observation that the "owners" and the wizard are all white and that they have very Caucasian names such as "Chad". The makers of this ad are apparently under the impression that white males are on top of the occupation world.