A really good summary of the majority of US Super Bowl commercials

[solarbird]

From fengi, here, via nihilistic_kid:

HAVING TO PRETEND THE FUCKHOLE IS HUMAN.

DOESN'T THAT SUCK?

DON'T BE A GIRL, BUY OUR SHIT.

The misogyny really was just laid out there this year. How horrible and emasculating it is not to be a total ass all the time; how if you're forced to choose between your automobile's tires and your wife, if you're a real man, you'll throw your wife out of the car in front of the guys with the guns and take off to save your automobile's tires from theft; how horrible and emasculating it is not to have a TV screen showing sports in your face at literally every moment.

(Which, if you analyse things even momentarily, also means you're not a real man if you're not a braying jackass, a coward who throws companions to the wolves while screaming off to save your own life, and a mindless consumer who spends most of his time staring at a portable television showing sports and sports ads. In other words, if you're not a baby having your whims catered to by the moment.)

This is deeply broken.

It's a shame, really. It was one hell of a championship, if you're into handegg. No, seriously, it was the best game I've seen in a while. It's not just the let's-start-the-second-half-with-an onsides kick call (which was brilliant, as was the cut to the Indianapolis coach literally gaping - spectacular directing work there), no; I really thought the quality of play up and down the field - but particularly of both offensive lines - was just marvellous. You really got to see two impressive coaches and teams at work here. From a game standpoint, that was nice.

Too bad about the pathetic, insulting packaging wrapped around it.

Comments

[gfish.livejournal.com]

Ugh, it's the weaponized hot-media version of the 'Christians are the most repressed minority' meme. I'd love to see some of these redone with racial themes, the same format applies there as well.

[kathrynt.livejournal.com]

you know, this is a great example of how the Patriarchy really does Hurt Men Too. I *desperately* want more guys to start having conversations around what kind of bullshit this is going on here, because this is something we ladies can't really do for them. But most of the post-macho guys I know are just content to be all "Whatever, I'm not like that, I'll just disengage from it instead of challenging it," and that kind of sucks.

It's like when Erik was looking for books on prospective fatherhood, and out of an entire shelf of books, he found TWO that just made him feel mildly queasy instead of outright wanting to throw them across the room. Because virtually ALL of them have this same attitude, "hurr hurr hurr don't tell your wife she's fat and if she bitches about not wanting to have sex or that her feet hurt, pretend that you care." It's awful and heartbreaking, that this is the psychological environment presented to men who are about to become 50% responsible for the raising of another person.

[darksumomo.livejournal.com]

Jezebel has a gallery of these videos here (http://jezebel.com/5466296/woes-of-bros-super-bowl-ads-star-pathetic-men---and-the-women-who-ruined-them/gallery/). They share your opinion of them.

[oh6.livejournal.com]

I did get the impression that it was an above-average superbowl game. I mostly stuck my fingers in my ears and studied the kitchen while the ads were on.

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

Commercials always play on base emotions, biases, and stereotypes. It's why I refuse to watch them if I have a choice, even the creative ones that often air during the Super Bowl.

I do actually enjoy the game of handegg [:-)] in theory. I just don't like the money and cultural bullshit that's wrapped around it, and the central place it holds in our society, given all that bullshit.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

I don't know. If I were an advertiser, I would appeal to the kind of lunk-headed moron who finds such spots appealing.

Why? Because they are far less likely to question the obvious propogandistic appeal the ads proffer?

Why? Because they are lunk-headed morons.

Lunk-heads have money, and don't think too awfully hard about emotional appeals, especially if much beer is being consumed. I understand the damage it does to our society, but these companies have quarterly numbers to make, and (according to court precedent) must do everything possible to enhance their shareholders' value.

[ankh-f-n-khonsu.livejournal.com]

Have you read any Slavoj Zizek?

[kevin-standlee.livejournal.com]

I, like you, loved the game and was irritated by the stupidity of the commercials that said to me, "You're not a real man unless you're an arrgant, selfish, sexist jerk."

Not all of the commercials were bad, but many of them were painful. The Kia stuffies-go-to-Vegas was sort of fun. I was gaping in astonishment over the house ad for Late Night With David Letterman because I had a hard time believing Leno would have been willing to do an ad for his soon-to-be-again direct competition, or that NBC would permit it. (Apparently NBC actually flew Leno out to New York City in the company jet so they could sneak him into the Ed Sullivan Theatre in disguise while Letterman was taping that day's show, and then they snuck Leno and Oprah into a private green room until they could shoot the spot.)

[darkphoenixrisn.livejournal.com]

And yet again, GoDaddy tried to sell internet services with misogyny.

I actually missed most of the ads, because I would switch over to Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl during breaks.

The Super Bowl was a great game. Both teams played hard and were well coached. One great defensive play sealed the win.

The officiating was good, too. Where was that officiating crew when the Seahawks played in the Super Bowl.

[shadesofmauve]

I applaud you, not, honestly, for tearing apart ads which I will probably never see (tho that's cool too), but for introducing me to the term 'handegg'. As a totally-non-team-sports-interested person, I've often referred to it as "that egg-shaped one", and now I feel I have something that flows a bit better.

[foibos.livejournal.com]

When people talk about how feminists are men-haters, I can usually confuse them by stating that I am a feminist, and I don't hate men. To support this, I add that my sister is married to one, and I'm totally OK with that. However, to be honest, sometimes I feel inclined to make exceptions.

For me, its a matter of honor never to let this kind of crap pass without at least a frown.

[ypawtows.livejournal.com]

Handegg.

*snrk* :D