Sears commercial infantilizing women?

[eplovejoy]

No one cared about this when I brought it up during the summer. But now the same thing is happening in a slightly different way so I thought I'd try again.

Sears is running a television commercial in which a woman is shivering indoors, but can't get the heating system fixed on her own. She has to wait until the man in her life calls Sears to have the problem taken care of. Until then, all she can do is complain to him.

This is almost identical to a Sears spot several months ago in which a woman (a different one) is sweltering but can't get air conditioning installed until her man places the call. All she can do is whine until he does.

Am I the only one who thinks this is sexist rubbish?

And why do advertisers think it is still effective to suggest that women need men to do things for them?

(I was going to invoke Afghanistan in the title to make it more provocative, but even I can maintain some perspective sometimes.)

[sylvanb]

It's been going on for generations, and I'm sorry to be the one to break it to you.

It is sexist. It's how women make men feel useful.

Sylvan, ducking and running.

[Yarborough]

Sylvan is right.

If you had it your way, the woman would be logging a service call with Sears via the internet with her husband scratching his head in bewilderment.

Then what would us guys do? WHAT WOULD WE DO?

[pageclot[$]]

I wonder why someone has to look dumb in these commercials. Wouldn't Sears like to advertise the idea that their customers are uniformly smart and well-tailored, while at the same time, coming from all walks of life?

p

[Dani257]

Is this the 'I'll call today,' 'You'll call NOW' commercial?

[eplovejoy]

Yep, that's the one. Well actually that's them, since there are different versions for summer and winter version.

Peter,
who dreads the inevitable commercial in which a woman can't make her heated or air-conditioned air smell right until her man calls Glade for her

[theeye]

I hardly watch any TV these days, so I haven't seen this commercial, but I'd be just as worked up as you are.

To this day, I won't buy Wisk because of those idiotic "ring around the collar" commercials, which always end with the poor victimized man giving a look to his wife, who committed the sin of using a different detergent to wash his shirts. She then wilts away in abject shame.

[Dani257]

Heh, I took a different view on it. The woman could call, but since the man said he was going to, she was going to make him keep his word. That's what I'd do.

Yep, I might freeze or have a heatstroke, but I've got principles. PRINCIPLES, I tell you!

[amykhar]

It takes a lot of power to make somebody do something for you that you could do for yourself. Imagine this scenario:

Two men, Ralph and Butch are watching a ballgame. Ralph looks up and says, Yo Butch, I'm cold, can you turn down the air conditioner?

Butch looks at Ralph, and his immediate response is :
"are your legs broke? Get off your lazy ..." (you get the idea).

Women have got it down to a science. We can do the I'm cold thing and actually make the man stop what he's doing and handle it for us.

(Note: This is true in theory. Bob gives me a look and then tells me the same thing Butch told Ralph )

Amy

[kurt_messick]

from pageclot:
Wouldn't Sears like to advertise the idea that their customers are uniformly smart and well-tailored,

Wouldn't work if they bought their clothes at Sears...

[evmori]

Is that a real commercial or a Sears commercial?

I love Frank Zappa!

Most TV sucks. I only watch sports, Law & Order, CSI & last night 24. Good show.

[sylvanb]

Originally posted by amykhar
It takes a lot of power to make somebody do something for you that you could do for yourself. Imagine this scenario:

Two men, Ralph and Butch are watching a ballgame. Ralph looks up and says, Yo Butch, I'm cold, can you turn down the air conditioner?

Butch looks at Ralph, and his immediate response is :
"are your legs broke? Get off your lazy ..." (you get the idea).

Women have got it down to a science. We can do the I'm cold thing and actually make the man stop what he's doing and handle it for us.

(Note: This is true in theory. Bob gives me a look and then tells me the same thing Butch told Ralph )

Amy

Well, OTOH, some of us have such deeply ingrained reflexes that the Man can say, without taking his eyes off the TV, "I'm hungry," and within four minutes he has a ham and cheese sandwich, a root beer, and a bowl of cheezits in hand.

[Yarborough]

some of us have such deeply ingrained reflexes ......

Actually, in a successful marriage, each does these little things for the other. But I'll be first to admit that it is at least a 2 to 1 deal for the male, whose mind by design, just does not think in this manner as often as the female.

[tpierzina[$]]

Originally posted by kurt_messick


Wouldn't work if they bought their clothes at Sears...

:reverend: Oh dear. First I become a father, which makes me feel old. Then my favorite Father makes me feel even older.

Am I the only middle class guy who thinks the men's casual clothes at Sears have improved from what they were 10-15 years ago? Maybe I'm just less logo-conscious than I was as a teen/younger adult, but I like their business-casual type clothes quite a bit--the prices are great compared to Eddie Bauer, etc. And they do have quite a bit of Dockers stuff, though it tends to be a bit pricier.

Granted, I'm not sure I would buy a suit or dress clothes there, but khakis, pullover shirts, jeans, etc.?

How close am I to wearing black socks and loafers with my shorts in the summer?

[magenta321]

(Ug, I am a stereotypical female)

Todd, do they sell Polo there? If not, then they have nothing for me. Makes me realize how dumb I am, but I won't change my shopping habits any time soon. Unless I just start buying more of the Lauren line and less of the Polo. I can see that happening I can't see the black socks with boat shoes and white adidas shorts thing that my dad does happening any time soon to me either.

[tpierzina[$]]

Originally posted by magenta321
Todd, do they sell Polo there?

I'm pretty sure they sell Polo mallets and bridles in the sporting goods section (rural locations only), but the closest they have in the clothing section are ToughSkins or RoughRiders.

[hadassahchana[$]]

Peter,

This is annoying/sexist, and yet it happens all the time.

However, it also happens in reverse. I mean, when was the last time you saw a sit-com about a really bumbling woman? Men are usually the acceptable butt of jokes - to the point where I have threatened to ban certain friends from my home unless they leave the 'testosterone poisoning' jokes behind.

I'll stop ranting, before I get us all moved over to the Soapbox. However, the kind of "humour" which depends on gender stereotyping just doesn't work for me, no matter which direction it goes.

Cindy

[eplovejoy]

Dear Cindy,

Thanks for putting things in perspective. Maybe it's actually a good sign that the Sears commercial seems to stick out because it means there isn't a flood of that kind of nonsense for this example to get lost in.

I guess I don't mind the anti-male stuff so much because "we" have the White House and most of the House and Senate.

So, now I'll try to see what does work for me.

Best wishes,
Peter

Originally posted by sylvanb


Well, OTOH, some of us have such deeply ingrained reflexes that the Man can say, without taking his eyes off the TV, "I'm hungry," and within four minutes he has a ham and cheese sandwich, a root beer, and a bowl of cheezits in hand.

Nope, I've been saying "I'm hungry" for quite some time now and my hands are still empty. I wish I had a woman to call Sears for me.

[sylvanb]

Oh, dear, I just dialed them up and they say they don't do sandwiches....Whatever shall I do now?