I might be looking too far into this, but a series of Stouffer's commercials caught my eye. First up, we have one released this past spring, which ran until June.
In it, teen girl, Katie, is on her cell phone at family dinner, but when she eats Stouffer's lasagna, she puts the phone down.
The message I got initially was "Our food will bring your family together for in-person interactions, get your kid off her phone, and actually talking to you."
Ok, I can get down with that...but then we have this latest installment, which is airing now and made me think a little differently. In this one, another teen girl is shown, this time telling her family a story that "had 30 minutes left." But then the girl takes a bite of Stouffer's Macaroni & Cheese and suddenly forgets the story.
This is what rubs me the wrong way...Now I can't help but wonder...what are they selling here? Not having to listen to your daughter tell a long story? But Stouffer's, I thought you wanted us to talk to our families more?
I know this is by far NOT the most serious gender issue, but I can't help but bristle a little when I see this because it doesn't exist in a vacuum. We live in a society that hates on teen girls, and makes me protective. Media routinely portrays teen and preteen girls as vapid and self-absorbed. It downplays their interests as frivolous and embarrassing. It uses them as an insult (think, "What are you, a 12 year old girl?" said to men.)
In reality, there might be no gender messages here at all, but with the 2 spots together, part of me can't help but see it as Stouffer's selling "how to deal with your annoying teen daughter!"
What do you think?
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Wednesday, October 8, 2014
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I agree with you completely - this girl (a) talks too much, and (b) whatever she says to say is not important - that is the message being conveyed here. Heartbreaking.
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