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I've seen the Norelco ads, and they are MIGHTILY offensive. However, I should also point out that Norelco has run some male-positive ads and does have a male-positive "club" on their Web site. The male-positive ads they run are generally like this:
A man is shown on a crowded subway carrying a stuffed bear that it almost as big as he is. No one's really staring at him, but you can tell he is not at his most comfortable being on this crowded subway with this big bear in his face, but he's not complaining. The tagline: "Doesn't your dad deserve something special this year?"
That said, here's my letter to Norelco about their male-bashing ads. It's similar to the one I sent to Hefty:
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing you to notify you of my disappointment that a company which, in the past, has been very pro-male has decided to run a spate of advertisements bashing men as intellectually inferior to women. As a result of this recent ad campaign, the punchline of which is usually "Guys: They Screw Up Enough," I will never buy your products, and I will make certain that the women in my life know better than to purchase any of your products for me.
I also intend to request that my local Wal-Mart (where I do my shopping for shaving items) refrain from stocking your product to prevent other men from unwittingly supporting the hatred you espouse with those ads.
As a man, your advertisements are offensive on a number of levels:
1. It paints a picture of men as idiots, unable to accomplish even simple tasks. This picture flies in the face of everything that Americans re-learned about men post-Sept. 11. The majority of the people rushing to aid victims and working to find the deceased were (and still are) male.
2. It encourages women to think of men as less-than-human and themselves as perfection;
3. Together with other male bashing ads by other companies and advertising agencies, your ad further polarizes men and women against each other, and fosters greater resentment between the sexes.
In this day and age when fewer men are choosing to marry out of fear of divorce and the destruction of their lives, and more and more women are becoming violent and murderous toward their husbands, boyfriends, and male children, your ad is an unwelcome instigator.
Considering the above, I implore you to take the following action:
1. Remove the offending advertisement and all others like it from the airwaves;
2. Fire your ad agency and marketing people, and demand your money back from the amazing display of social incompetence that created this offensive piece;
3. Reply to my message so that I know you received it and are taking this matter seriously.
I am forwarding this complaint to everyone I can find who may be affiliated with this particular advertisment. I am also posting it to several locations on the Internet which support men's interests, so that others may see my outrage and duplicate my action against it.
I also hope that you do understand my reasons for behaving this way against your company. I have nothing personal against you, nor do I have any complaints about your product. I am simply tired of and frustrated with fighting to prove myself a human being in women's minds every day.
Advertisements like yours make that struggle all the more difficult, and make my life all the less worth living.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Respectfully,
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I didn't actually see the Norelco ad as I finally unplugged my TV set about a week ago. It sounds incredibly insulting and stupid anyway. And the funny thing is, I don't miss the mediocre programming (and that's being kind) interrupted by those overbearing asinine commercials, half of which are anti-male.
Hey, maybe I'm onto something here!
Steve
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I guess if a company takes a balanced approach to their advertising, I have a hard time getting to excited about it. The most memorable commercial that I remember from Norelco is the "Floating Heads" commercial that came out in the sixties what showed some critter sledding down the hill on the shaving heads.
I'm okay with some advertising as men's expense as long as they ae egalitarian about it.
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I'm okay with some advertising as men's expense as long as they ae egalitarian about it.
I maintain that to be egalitarian they need to be bashing women as well, though. And if we let them get away with this campaign without complaint, what's to stop them from dropping the male-positive campaigns altogether?
It *is* important to reinforce male-positive images by these companies, so if you'd like to write them and mention your approval of the father-friendly ads, by all means do.
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nightmist: "I maintain that to be egalitarian they need to be bashing women as well, though."
Yup. That's what gets to me. You simply NEVER see ads any more that show women in even a slightly negative light. The closest thing I can think of are some of the Radio Shack ads with Terri Hatcher and Howie Long, where Hatcher is sort of dizzy and air-headed and Long is the steady, sensible one. But there's nothing really negative about Hatcher's "character." She's quite charming, in fact. (Long's character is fine, too ... these are good ads. Perhaps they're so appealing because Hatcher is so feminine and Long so masculine. Sort of a yin/yang thing they got going there. :-) I wouldn't have any problem at all with ads that poked fun at men as long as women were fair targets, too. But they're not. That's what's so galling about the situation, to me, anyway.
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The only problem I have with the Hatcher-Long ads is the fact that it's acceptable for Hatcher to continually hit Long. That's no big deal apparently. I believe they think it's "cute".
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bledso writes: "The only problem I have with the Hatcher-Long ads is the fact that it's acceptable for Hatcher to continually hit Long. That's no big deal apparently. I believe they think it's "cute"."
That doesn't bother me much per se because it's clearly meant playfully. Long and Hatcher have a lot of on-screen chemistry, and the hitting -- which is never angry or serious -- seems like a believable part of their relationship. It's a very mid-20th-century style -- the cute and lovable but dizzy dame and the long-suffering but loving hunk. I'm actually surprised they haven't been criticized for such a retro approach.
Again, the annoying thing about it is that you will NEVER see a man hit a woman, no matter how playful and non-serious it is. It's this inequity that's annoying.
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by Anonymous User on Thursday December 06, @06:12PM EST (#5)
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Boycott these companies. Don't buy their products and if you get them as a gift politely return them to the store.
How about creating a boycott list?
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Boycotts...hmmm.
I know the Norelco ads that you're talking about. I find them insulting. My wife almost always pats me on the leg when commercials like this come on and nods at me to show me she agrees and feels badly about it. I do the same when I see poor images of women (yes, they are out there, it's just that you can't judge a "poor woman" and "poor man" image by the exact same criteria).
I agree with action. I agree with writing letters and targeting the financial welfare of companies who support sexist views (misogynist OR misandrist). I agree with boycotts IF AND WHEN a company has blantantly refused to acknowledge the complaints of their market.
Writing a letter which states that you are no longer buying their product, boycotting their company, and telling everyone else to do the same is counter-productive. What do they have to lose? They've already lost you regardless of their actions.
Writing a letter which statest that you are CONSIDERING no longer buying their product, boycotting their company, and telling everyone else to do the same IF THEY DON'T CHANGE is, in my opinion, a better tool. At least, as long as you follow through.
If you just berate, insult, and rage at a person/company, you are playing into the stereotype of the brutish, angry and aggressive man. I'm not advocating being a whimp or a pushover. Be strong. Be assertive. But be reasonable. Don't ask or demand that a company do something they can't do.
A company isn't going to up and fire their advertising firm for one flub-up. They're not going to "apologize" by giving money to a particular organization. (BTW, that makes the letter sound like it was political lobbying from that company, not a normal consumer). Making unreasonable demands makes you seem unreasonable, and that isn't how I want a men's movement to be portrayed.
I don't think a boycott of Norelco is an appropriate method of delivering a message....yet. Let's try to change the company, give them consequences to NOT taking action instead of punishing them for a poor judgment. More than that, let us show them that men's activists are reasonable, just, strong, and mature instead of reactionary, brutish and harsh as many would like to think of us.
Just my thoughts
Credendo Vides
(By believing, one sees)
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I just posted a comment to Norelco at their website suggesting that they should pull their male-bashing ad campaign and make a generous corporate donation to the Prostate Cancer Research Institute.
Let's see what happens. I will keep you posted.
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