nation: Australia

Like many ads on this blog, this Australian commercial threatens men with a loss of masculinity if they don’t obey the rules. But this time, instead of punishing men if they are not stereotypically masculine (i.e, men should not know about ballet, hug or sit improperly, drink the wrong drink, go to the bathroom together, smell like flowers, or eat tofu), this ad punishes men when they are stereotypically masculine.  But, at the same time that the ad attempts to redefine masculinity, it maintains the stringency of the rules and the consequences of breaking them.  (Also see here for a postsecret about the pressures of following masculinity rules.)


Thanks to Alicia T. for the submission!

Thanks to Daniel G. for sending this in!

The trouble is… people will answer them.

Found here thanks to commenter Phili-Chan! From an Australian show featuring Charles Firth.


Camilla P. sent us this international sampler of Coke Zero ads. She says all of them that she found use the whole “zero” is manlier than “diet” strategy (see the first two below), except the one in Australia which links a sip of Coke Zero with orgasm (see the third video).

From Britain:

From Brazil (we’d love someone to translate, although we think we get the gist):

From Australia:

If you liked that, see this remarkable Orangina commercial.

This Australian ad for Lipton tea suggests that it’s mind clarifying qualities are so good that it could help even George Bush achieve the feat of naming all 50 states.

 

This Brazilian ad for Rolling Stone, featuring a picture of George W. Bush, reads: “We don’t show naked women to sell more. At the most, we show some asses.”

 

This Chinese Greenpeace ad, portraying Bush’s spin on global warming, reads: “Everyone’s entitled to an opinion. Voice yours at forum.greenpeace.org.”

This Chinese ad for an erasable pen reads: “Everyone makes mistakes.” 

 

In Malaysia, Bush is used to sell Smart cars.  Text: “Still looking for weapons of mass destruction.  Not smart.” 

 

Also in Malaysia, Amnesty International makes fun of Bush in their effort to inspire opposition to Guantanamo Bay.  “Write to him and help stop torture at Guantanamo Bay.  Remember, use simple words.”

This is a Mexican ad for a dog kennel.  “We don’t discriminate any kind of breed.”  (The source says that, in Mexico, like in the U.S., “dog” is a name for a bad person.)

 This ad for a Mexican newspaper reads: “Such a complex world needs a good explanation.”

 

This is an ad for the movie American Psycho in New Zealand.

 

In Portugal, playing war games (paint ball) is advertised as equivalent to playing George W. Bush.

 

This Swiss ad threatens, if you fall off your bicycle without a helmet, you may end up as dumb as George W. Bush.

These and more borrowed from here, found via adfreak.

 

Update: There have been some really nice points in the comments about how, in the process of making fun of Bush, we are also seeing the further stigmatization of “people with developmental disabilities, brain injuries, and psychological diagnoses” (that from Penny in the comments). 

Thanks to Alicia T. for sending us the link!

UPDATE: According to Tim at Ad Freak, the model in this photograph, ex-Miss Universe contestant Erin McNaught, was not pleased with the copy added to her image. Tim wrote:

[She said:] “I wasn’t thrilled with what that line was implying,” she says. The vineyard has stopped short of apologizing, saying it e-mailed all of the campaign’s lines to McNaught—and never heard back. McNaught says she was traveling and didn’t see the e-mails until it was too late. “You know, she is a bit of a cheeky thing,” says a Cockatoo rep. “But we certainly did not want to harm her image or ours.”

See the news story here.

Here’s a strange Australian ad for U, a feminine hygiene product. It shows women hanging out with beavers…the animal type, of course. Men look on approvingly, so I guess the message is if you take appropriate care of your girly bits, men will like you.

Here’s the website.

Might be good for a discussion of hygiene and women’s bodies or the history of feminine hygiene products and the way we think about menstruation.

Thanks, Patrick C.!