A Chimpanzee Could Make This Decision

I showed this commercial for Dove Body Wash For Men to my husband, and he said 'even a chimpanzee could make the right decision in this commercial.' I am inclined to agree with him and personally, if I was a guy, I would find this vaguely insulting. He also said that it was a bit like asking a guy whether they would prefer a motorbike or a regular bike and not being sure what the answer was going to be. Hmm.

Dove asks Jay Wright, a head basketball coach whether he would choose a body wash that just cleans or one that cleans and moisturizes after having asked him whether decision making is important in his work. Mr. Wright says that decision making is very important then finds himself having to make a decision that is so mindless that it is hardly worth asking.

These days advertisers seem to be having as much trouble finding the right tone and message to appeal to men as they do to women. Women want to be shown to have more going for them in their lives than housework and grocery shopping and likewise, men want to be shown as not only involved but also evolved. The Dove commercial seems like a brand that is used to talking to women and is making an attempt to appeal to men for the first time. The result is that the protagonist comes across as a man that has never given a day's thought to personal hygiene before and is therefore caught unawares by having to choose a body wash with one benefit vs. two.

I am sure that quite a lot of men not only use body wash these days, but also buy it for themselves and have no trouble evaluating the relative benefits of the different brands that are on offer.

A Positive Step For Gender Roles

I don't know how many of you have seen the Tide commercial with the 'real dad' doing the laundry, but it is very refreshing. Another member of the Glass Compass group pointed out the other day how often men are shown in advertising as complete incompetents and pushing the boundaries of their capabilities to order in a pizza. Thank goodness when mom get's home and saves the day.
Unfortunately, not only is this insulting to women, who no longer want to be seen as having nothing in their lives but housework, but it is also insulting to men who more frequently than not pitch in with household chores these days.
I have often heard the argument that it is still the women who do most of the household shopping which is by and large correct. However, even if they are doing most of the shopping, the women respond positively not negatively to brands that show men getting involved in the running of the household. About one third of households in the US have a woman as the main bread winner, so always showing her cleaning a toilet doesn't seem to be a fair reflection of the world we live in today.
The wonderful thing about this Tide commercial is how comfortable the man is with his role as stay at home dad. He doesn't act awkwardly as if to say 'yes, I am doing this but I am a real man - honestly'. He is just being himself and states in a very straightforward fashion that it is his job to do the laundry. Since my husband is among the many thousands of men who now do the laundry, I love Tide for doing this and 'yes' I am more likely to buy the product because of it.