It's "Look how easy this is, ladies! Anyone can do it!" versus "It will kick! Your! Butt!"
It's "Be strong and build muscle, men!" versus "Get rid of those problem areas, so you can look pretty in clothes!".
But most of all, it's just annoying.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Gendered Marketing Compare and Contrast
I just saw the Shake Weight for Men commercial for the first time, and I was sort of stunned (although not really surprised) by how different it is from the earlier commercial aimed at women. Everything in these ads -- from the background music and narration, to the types of bodies shown -- communicates messages about "proper" masculinity and femininity.
It's "Look how easy this is, ladies! Anyone can do it!" versus "It will kick! Your! Butt!"
It's "Be strong and build muscle, men!" versus "Get rid of those problem areas, so you can look pretty in clothes!".
But most of all, it's just annoying.
It's "Look how easy this is, ladies! Anyone can do it!" versus "It will kick! Your! Butt!"
It's "Be strong and build muscle, men!" versus "Get rid of those problem areas, so you can look pretty in clothes!".
But most of all, it's just annoying.
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6 comments:
And never mind the fact that you just look like a dumbass doing it!
Seriously! There needs to be a Museum of Exercise Equipment That Makes You Look Like a Dumbass where people are behind glass using things like the Shake Weight and the Ab Circle Pro, and everyone can just come and stare and laugh.
Marketing at work!
Is it just me, or does it make them look like they're shaking something else? Geesh.
Can we add the ThighMaster to that list? :)
I couldn't watch the one directed at men. It looked way to much like a jerk off video!
We fast-forwarded this commercial the other day, and Kamran was like, "Oh, yeah, did you see they're making those for men now?" And I told him about this post, and I think he was truly freaked out that none of this had occurred to him. Or that you'd thought to make a point of it. I'm not sure which.
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