April 4, 2014
In one of its latest ad campaigns, Mars Inc. features a Snickers commercial where male construction workers shout encouraging, pro-women comments at female passersby on sidewalks below. The recipients of this verbal uplift are initially suspicious of being shouted at by construction workers, but they eventually begin to show that they appreciate what is happening. Score one for feminism? No. Not even close. At the end of the advertisement, the rug is pulled out by the narrator: “You’re not you when you’re hungry. Snickers.”
It is difficult to know where to begin when reacting to this.
In this Link of the Day, Lisa Wade, writing on Sociological Images website, calls out this ultimate fail of Mars Inc. by stating the painfully obvious message being broadcast by the manufacturer: Men don’t respect women unless something is wrong with them. When men get hungry, we just can’t think straight and do and say all kinds of stupid things (like speaking out against misogyny and bigotry).
This is enough to make steam come out of my ears and perhaps yell a few things of my own off the balcony. In the meantime, click this link to see the commercial and tweet @SNICKERS to express your own reaction.
posted by Corbin Lambeth
