Posted on 11/10/2004 9:41:03 AM PST by MisterRepublican
Angry parents and grandparents are letting Verizon Communications know they don't like a new Verizon DSL commercial that makes fun of fathers.
Glenn Sacks, a nationally syndicated radio talk show host, urged his listeners to call Verizon, after learning about a TV ad that shows a father trying, but failing, to help his young daughter with her homework.
The daughter, annoyed by her father, looks to her mother for intervention. The mother tells the father to go wash the dog, orders him to leave the daughter alone, and then yells at him when he is slow to comply, Sacks said.
Sacks told listeners that he "doesn't think Verizon means any harm." But he said it appears that the company - like some others -- has developed a "moral blind spot towards disparaging males."
According to Sacks, "Research shows how indispensable fathers are to their children's well-being....it is tremendously damaging to convince kids that their father is an idiot or that fathers are worthless."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Often, those ads show men as dufuses, too.
I don't let my kids listen to it. It IS abuse. I turn it off - all these commercials that mock men. God has put men in control, and the enemy hates it, knows he can destroy it all if he destroys men. Who in their right mind would intentionally listen to the devil or even entertain him for a second for the sake of humor.
Joking. All is well. Thanks for your concern.
We have the same ex??
Is Verizon the phone company that shows the pathetic father who is excited that he's bought the new phone plan so his daughters can call him, and they just roll their eyes and walk off with their mother, leaving him standing there (to pay the bills for the phones, of course). I would never buy from a company that lets some fatherless, man-hating woman write ads like these showing such disrespect for fathers.
LOL!!!....same situation in this red house. i DO get asked for help on homework though....political science and social science help is a hoot at our place.
Verizon's commercials (and service) are very pathetic and ALWAYS show the white male father (or father-figure) as a boob and a fool.
I especially 'like' the commercials from IBM and HP that make their customers look like arrogant jerks or complete morons.
The market fantasies of black-dressed prissies living in Manhattan.
I guess they think I'm an idiot because I can't sit in the same room as them while they are talking to each other. They all talk at the same time so how you supposed to know which one to listen to? HAHA
ROTFLOL. But to be fair, the "chicks" are portrayed as mindless dullards with nothing better to do than sit around a kitchen table complaining about their boyfriends- and at least one of them is even so addled that the mere scent of her male counter-part is enough to keep her in line.
Then it would sound like, if men don't want to be ridiculed in advertising, they should take control of purchase decisions. Seems like a no-brainer to me.
I dunno - I get the snickering when that sort of stuff comes on but when I tell them to fix their own damn computer it tends to stop...
Whenever I see that scorn coming into my life, I basically point out how much the scorner relies on me, and how rough they WILL have it if I decide I won't take it anymore.
Most of the men who come in our store for game room equipment bring their wives with them, or go back home to get them for approval.
Look at commercials run during "male-oriented" programs, notably sports, and you will see a bigger difference.
Anyone who takes depictions like that seriously, remember, does so at their own peril. :-)
An ad that fails to connect with its selected demographic does not sell anything.
These ads began in the late '80's, early '90's, and coincided with Media stories (Lovingly told by the Boston Globe), such as Willow, a Vice President at Digital Equipment, summarily firing all the men, or, in the Fortune 500 in which I worked, being told by a manager with a Hillary hairdo that "All White males need to pay for years of discrimination toward minorities and women".
There was a cultural shift toward man-hate at that time, or beginning then, as the Wellesly College lesbians were emboldened by the Hillary election. This has been subtly reinforced since, and unfortunatley there are enough willing or compliant dolts among the males to feed this agenda forever. Boy-hate Tshirts being worn by girls appeared. Plastic guns were outlawed. Teaching "there is no difference between boys and girls", until, the very manager who spouted the man-hate at me became a parent of a girl and then a boy. Then, she observed, marvelling, that there really IS a difference! Amazing!!
It's demographics, that's all. In most households, women make most of the buying decisions, from groceries to clothing to what cell phone to buy. That's the reality, and most men are quite happy to have them do it.
So, the advertisers go for the female market. For some reason, they seem to think that women think their husbands and boyfriends are useful idiots, so that's why the ads portray them that way.
In markets where men make most buying decisions, like cars, and especially trucks, wide-screen TVs, and other high-end merchandise, you won't find this kind of ad.
I'm waiting for the Beano ad that has hubby tooting in bed then pulling the covers over his wife's head. She laughs, and says, "That trick won't work. I put Beano in your food."
Now, the question is: Do most women think their husbands are useful idiots? If so, then the ads are right on target.
Another one that is a bit lopsided, though much more subtle is for Dentyne or some breath mint product. The young couple is in a night club / lounge, sitting at a table and listening to a band. The guy whips out his breath mints and suddenly everything in the room, including his date, is cloaked in red. The music is better and everyone's mood is heightened. So while his date went from drab colored clothing to radiant red, his apparel is untouched- apparently there was nothing about him that needed to be changed.
You guys are so sensitive. Women have been disparaged for years, decades, millenia. But call a guy a dolt and the world comes to an end. Turnabout is fair play (unless you're a guy).
I agree, this is nothing new, but just because it's become the norm doesn't make it right or something that we have to accept.
I'm tired of the constant bashing of males, well except liberal men who probably deserve it for constantly exposing their spinelessness and "sensitivity". But now that we know the majority of voting men in this country are conservatives, with money AND minds, maybe the media should look a little deeper in their efforts to sell products.
I'm a woman and I will not buy products that bash men! Just as I would not expect real men to buy products that bash women. The liberals aren't content with promoting class warfare and racial warfare, they also want to promote war between the sexes. They sure seem to have a whole lotta hate to spread around. Mrs PD.
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