This year’s Super Bowl ads revealed a common, and bizarre, theme. More jarring than even any of the GoDaddy.com spots, were the number of ads that portrayed women as controlling, emasculating and domineering. Or did they portray men as weak, pathetic and incompetent? It was hard to tell.
For starters, there was the Dodge Charger ad titled, “Man’s Last Stand.” The ad implied that because of women, men have it tough, real tough. Men (because of the bossy women in their lives) have to walk the dog, eat fruit, shave, clean the sink, take our calls, say yes when we want them to say yes, listen to our opinions and put the toilet seat down. I might have felt sorry for these pathetic creatures portrayed in the ad, if I hadn’t remembered that men do not have to do the majority of the housework, don’t take home .77 cents on the dollar in their checks every week, are occupying the corner office, and Don’t. Give. Birth!
And Flo TV’s ad “Spineless” painted an equally upsetting image of a poor man’s life. In this spot, sportscaster Jim Nantz, whose own marriage suffered when his wife lost interest in his career, informed us that Jason, the star of the spot, had his spine removed by his girlfriend. This rendered Jason incapable of watching football. Hence, the unhappy couple is seen shopping at the mall. Nantz implores Jason to “change out of that skirt.”
Then there was the Dockers, “Wear No Pants” ad. This ad called for men to wear the pants and referred to Dockers recent online “Man-ifesto.” The Man-ifesto lamented the fact that “somewhere along the way, the world decided it no longer needed men.”
Perhaps it is because women are so horrible and overbearing that a man gladly gave away his wife in order to protect his Bridgestone tires in the tire company’s ad titled, “Future Car.” You can view all of this year’s Super Bowl ads here.
So many of the ads sent a specific message – that men are emasculated in their relationships with women and must reclaim some bizarre form of masculinity/independence. Can we blame this theme on the so-called mancession? Are men feeling insecure because they have suffered so many job losses resulting in more women on the national payroll? Are they annoyed by the statistics that show an uptick in the amount of housework men are doing? Are they feeling discomfort because more women are breadwinners? Are they threatened by Maria Shriver’s report claiming it’s a woman’s nation?
Something is fueling a backlash. That was obvious on Sunday. And so I am left wondering: If being in a relationship with women renders so many men impotent, wouldn’t these men have benefitted from CBS airing the Man Crunch ad? After all, shouldn’t we all have freedom of choice?
