WP Covers Men in Commercials

I was surprised, pleasantly, by this piece in the Washington Post. I do get the impression that the author is playing both sides of the fence, however. Still, it's a good thing we're seeing it some discussion of it in mainstream press. Excerpt:

Advertisers make fun of men, in part, because they always have, says ad executive Marian Salzman, who points out that the guys have been the butt of the joke in sitcoms and movies for decades. Men don't seem to mind, she says, and what's more, who else is there to make fun of? Women and members of minority groups have long reacted with hostility to similar portrayals. Says Salzman, "The only people [advertisers] are still allowed to offend these days are straight white men with a full head of hair."

But the "doofus" approach is doomed to fail with young men because it underestimates them, says Salzman, a trend-spotter with the giant ad agency J. Walter Thompson and the co-author of "The Future of Men." "[Men] think with a multiplicity of organs, not just the one below the belt. They want to be respected, admired, entertained, to be part of a community," she says. "They don't want to be patronized like they're a bunch of morons."

NOTICE: This story was migrated from the old software that used to run Mensactivism.org. Unfortunately, user comments did not get included in the migration. However, you may view a copy of the original story, with comments, at the following link:

http://news.mensactivism.org/articles/05/12/31/2040231.shtml