[Content note: cissexism, death]
I'm a slacker. While in years past, I have dedicated a LOT of time and attention to Super Bowl ads, I barely even watched this year. In fact, for the first quarter I was actually out on a walk and the second quarter I was straightening up around my house. I did catch the Katy Perry halftime show (shrug) and a few ads, however.
I love the Always "Like A Girl" ad (although I had seen it before.)
I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING.
It's pretty damn cool this would air during the Super Bowl, which historically has skewed to being out right hostile to women.
While I do love the overall message of this ad, I know it's an AD and it has to be remembered within that context. As Jilliam Berman wrote at the HuffPo, "The ad may be the first time a [menstrual] care product was advertised during the Super Bowl and is a prominent example of how companies trying to woo women customers are shifting advertising tactics...The idea for the touchy-feely ad campaign came from a common business exercise: analyzing consumer research."
So at the end of the day, it's trying to sell us something. I do support advertisements moving toward this empowering perspective, but we can't ever forget their main motive.
I also caught the pretty horrific "your kid could be DEAD, DEAD I SAY!!!!" spot from Nationwide.
I have a feeling someone was fired over this.
I mean, if their goal was to stir controversy and discussion, they did, but I'm not sure the overwhelming negative response was worth it. It's a pretty classic case study in how treading the line of "in poor taste" can back fire on you.
Otherwise, I didn't really catch any ads that stuck with me. Was there something horribly offensive that I missed?
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