Snickers mocks the idea that men can respect women in Australian ad

[redqueen]

This is one of the most demoralizing ads I’ve seen in a long time. It’s an Australian ad for Snickers in which construction workers on a busy city street yell pro-feminist comments at women, like “I’d like to show you the respect you deserve” and ”You want to hear a filthy word? Gender bias” and “You know what I’d like to see? A society in which the objectification of women makes way for gender neutral interaction free from assumptions and expectations.”

The construction workers are actors, but the women on the street are (or appear to be) real and their reactions authentic. The first thing women do is get uncomfortable, revealing how a lifetime of experience makes them cringe at the prospect of a man yelling at them. But, as women realize what’s going on, they’re obviously delighted. They love the idea of getting support and respect instead of harassment from strange men.

This last woman actually places her hand on her heart and mouths “thank you” to the guys.

And then the commercial ends and it’s all yanked back in the most disgusting way. It ends by claiming that pro-feminist men are clearly unnatural. Men don’t respect women — at least, not this kind of man —they’re just so hungry they can’t think straight.

The twist ending is a genuine “fuck you” to the actual women who happened to walk by and become a part of the commercial. I wonder, when the producers approached them to get their permission to be used on film, did they tell them how the commercial would end? I suspect not. And, if not, I bet seeing the commercial would feel like a betrayal. These women were (likely) given the impression that it was about respecting women, but instead it was about making fun of the idea that women deserve respect.

...

http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2014/03/28/snickers-mocks-the-idea-that-men-can-respect-women/

[BainsBane]

1. A truly bizarre ad

It also ridicules the men by assuming they can't be thoughtful and enlightened in their authentic state.

[redqueen]

5. Nah, if this was about thoughtfulness or enlightenment,

they would have had them discussing philosophy or literature.

They picked 'respectful towards women' as the behavior to mock.

[Violet_Crumble]

13. Have you ever walked past a building site in Australia?

There's a stereotype about tradies that the ad's playing on. I thought a similar stereotype existed in the US? Along with the stereotype that tradies drive like maniacs and when yr waiting for them to turn up to do a job they operate on 'tradies time' which means they'll turn up when they feel like it, not when they tell you they will, many tradies aren't like that. But I worked many years with some tradies, and while many of them weren't anything like that, there were some complete sexist arseholes amongst them (me and the sole female apprentice got banned from the lunchroom after I complained about some posters they'd stuck up in there). And when they're in a group, mob mentality seemed to take over. Even my pretty intelligent and enlightened ex used to get caught up in it and try to justify to me why they treated me different coz I was a woman.

I dunno. I haven't even seen this ad on telly, and it does seem like a storm in a teacup being pushed by mainly foreigners who don't seem to get the stereotype thing. I saw the petition and I thought to myself if you want to complain about an ad, there's this place you go to where they take a serious look at ads to see if they've broken any of the rules. That'd probably make more sense than an online petition, though if Jane Weezyshoes from Arkansas, USA complains to them, I'm not sure how seriously they'd take that...

[BainsBane]

14. Yes, the same stereotype exists here

but the idea that by not acting like sexist assholes, there is something amiss, that is screwed up. It's insulting to construction workers and to gender equality. If eating a Snickers means one is going to revert in terms of treatment of women, best to not eat the candy bar. It doesn't strike me as a message designed to actually sell candy.

[Violet_Crumble]

15. I agree it's insulting to construction workers...

We're a nation of stereotypes though, and I get insulted when people who don't live in Canberra trot out all the stereotypes about public servants doing no work and drinking latte and having meetings for no point other than having meetings. So if I were a tradie, I'd be insulted by the ad. I got the impression from the ad that rather than it being something amiss (many building sites are being run by huge companies with strict rules on harassment and stuff), it's more that it'd be a miracle to hear someone on a building site calling out the cool stuff they were calling out...

I think there's more of a reason to be offended by this ad than the last one that caused a stir online and for which I got my arse kicked at DU for daring to point out that the fried chicken stereotype in the US isn't a stereotype here and not racist...

[redqueen]

16. Ads that treat street harassment like a big joke are offensive to many women.

Whether or not they've "broken any of the rules" is neither here nor there. Street harassment itself isn't against "the rules" almost all over the world, either. And guess what: We "Jane Weezyshoeses" from "Arkansas, USA", other "foreigners" (such interesting wording you choose), as well as many other women, will sign petitions, write blog posts, and otherwise connect on social media to call that out, too.

[TDale313]

2. Very strange and discouraging. n/t

[Gidney N Cloyd]

3. Seen the one where the klansman sees his buddy in a civil rights march and hands him a Snickers?

[redqueen]

4. Are you shitting me?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

7. Of course I am. They'd never do that, even though it's not a huge leap from the one you described.

[redqueen]

8. .

I hate having an issue detecting sarcasm.

Cracks the kids up sometimes though, so... bright side.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

10. As long as the kids don't hold up signs for you...

[redqueen]

11. lol

Not yet, but I truly am that oblivious sometimes.

[seabeyond]

6. gonna have to read cause this is interesting, and was more interesting a week ago when i came up

on this commercial. see, i see a lot of duh, dumpshits, this is not a tough one. i see a mock at men. and for real? we canot simply respect women as human beings. look at their smile. then i did not read the end, that it was a snickers commercial. i did not know. i thought someone was trying something out, in being respectful to a human being. how nice it felt.

i later saw it was a commercial. that bummed me. i think we can be that without a commercial.

so, at that point i thought more about, IF there was an experiment like this PSA more... the interesting it would be. maybe reach some of the GOOD "dumbshits" that are just not seeing the disrespect. you know. men i love, ya ya ya... with ALL my heart. not that they would yell anything not nice, EVER and would say something to any guy that did. but... to see the reaction on the women. guarded. then receptive. i have an oldest that so gets that shit.

but.... i will have to read to see where this article is coming from.

LATER

i am playing. i have been doing lots of play in life, lately

[Gidney N Cloyd]

9. It would have been so easy to turn that ad around and make the...

...respectful behavior the post-snickers, back-to-being-yourself, desirable behavior.

[ismnotwasm]

12. That's just pure asshole.

And not surprising