Emily sent us this classic Goodyear tire ad. The ad starts out talking about mileage and showing men, but then moves to a segment where a woman is driving and there’s scary music and we’re to presume that she’s maybe being chased or is in danger–and you want to be sure your wife has good tires so she can get away.
NEW! This ad for the VW Bug also plays on the idea that women are terrible drivers:
Text:
Women are soft and gentle, but they hit things.
If your wife hits something in a Volkswagen, it doesn’t hurt you very much.
…
She can jab the hood. Graze the door. Or bump off the bumper.
It may make you furious, but it won’t make you poor.
So when your wife goes window-shopping in a Volkswagen, don’t worry.
You can conveniently replace anything she uses to stop the car.
Even the brakes.
Comments 5
Umlud — May 13, 2008
Oh my god. I don't know which was more humorous:
1. All the road signs flashing up when the "wife's behind the wheel"
2. The stressed-out music while she's driving
3. That she doesn't have to wait in a god-awful line of cars at the terminal, or
4. That she MOVES OVER(!) to let her man drive all the way home (working out all that airplane-induced rage on other drivers)
73man — May 13, 2008
5. That the ad implies that women are such poor drivers that they need really good tyres to get through their stressful day, poor dears.
Duc d'Istortion — May 13, 2008
If there's anything I hate more than letting a woman drive, it's letting her drive on sub-standard tires. Who knows *how* many accidents that causes?
George — March 9, 2009
Lilly Ledbetter vs Goodyear.
When it comes to Goodyear's sexism...I'm not really shocked.
Sociological Images » What We’ve Been Up To Behind Your Back (July 2009) — August 1, 2009
[...] We added a Volkswagen ad to our post on vintage advertising suggesting that women are horrible (horrible!) drivers. See it here. [...]