age/aging

This is an ad for Allstate’s retirement programs; it appeared on the back cover page of The New Yorker. What struck me is that the ad is using the fact that women leave the workforce to care for children as a tactic to scare families into buying their product:

The average woman spends 11 years out of the workforce taking care of family. Leaving her without enough retirement money to take care of herself. Those 11 years are spent doing important work, caring for children or elderly parents. But then can also hurt her ability to retire. Fact is, women are still earning less than men do, and they live longer…Women care for America. It’s time we showed that America cares about their future.

Notice the picture: it’s a woman with a small child and a stroller, all about to fall off into the large crevice in the $20 bill.

I’m really not sure quite what to make of this or what my take on it is.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9KLOYWlarE[/youtube]

This is an image that graces the cover of a new documentary about intersex individuals called Black and White.

In general, though, I think it’s a really powerful image that refuses to accept that women who are not young, with a teenage girl’s body, and a submissive attitude are somehow offensive.

This mortgage company is using sexy retirees to sell mortgages. The gimmick is along these lines: Your relationship with your home loans should age as well as your relationship with your spouse. Here are three pics on the website:

Click here for the website. Make sure to look at the bottom right and find the link to the TV commercial (hint: wet t-shirt).