Male bashing with Rogers commercials?

[Alan13446]

I'm a bit troubled with the new ad campaign Rogers has, that seems to portay men in a negative manner.

Commercial "A" shows a woman holding a DVD disk in her hand, asking if her husband returned the movie...he replies he did, only to add that he took back an empty case. She smiles smugly as he sheepishly indicates he will return the disc as well. Dumb man forgot to look inside the case.

Commercial "B" shows some trendy people standing in line outside some kind of theater. Young toothy mousy voiced girl borrows cell phone from guy to chat with her friend, and when her friend on the other end asks who else is there, she looks at him and says, "Oh him? He's a nobody". .Obviously she is some kind of important princess who does not have a phone of her own.

Commercial "C" shows young people on a bus. A young girl talks to the camera :"They made fun of me when I brought all my devices with me on this trip....but why wouldn't I??" (Definite attitude in her voice).
She prefers to watch her own shows on her tablet instead of the goofy teen movie the bus is playing. Fair enough. But then it shows two young males, obviously not too bright types, howling with laughter at an apparent funny scene in the bus movie. Princess is too smart and snobby to sit through a bus movie.

My point is that with this ad campaign, Rogers, in my opinion, is portarying men as dumb nobodies who are too dim witted, nowhere near the intellectual level of these young princesses. Yeah they are targeting that demographic, but are also alienating a good number of men.

I suppose it's all a numbers game, and there are more young princesses they can oversell their services to than us old guys....oh wait, many of us old guys make corporate level decisions that may impact long term contracts with Rogers.

[Fry1989]

I wasn't really offended, of course, I never really thought that much into it. Very few commercials make me pay attention these days. Sometimes there are a few works of art though.

[Barry N]

I have not seen commercial A, but when I saw B & C ,I had the same feelings as you. The other recent Rogers one is where the guy is so engrossed in his phone that his buddies tell him that he almost missed his bus stop and as he gets off the bus he realizes that his stop is not for another 8 blocks.

[asif9t9]

How about the one where the the slick guy borrows the hot girl's phone and types his number into her cell before taking off. Pretty smart.

[pharsyde]

i generally dislike commercials. period.


commercial A: escapes me.
commercial B: i have viewed. is odd really & strange thing to say. mood changer. kinda takes the fun and excitement out of going to the movie, laughing ..etc. (mental note: never go, umm ..anywhere with "what's her name" again !)
commercial C: in short, i get it. i haven't given it any thought really. commercial B stands out in my mind.

i generally perceive the ad where they jokingly dump their buddy off at the next bus stop, as "horseplay" among guys. i think this ad does have additional emphasis however.

How about the one where the the slick guy borrows the hot girl's phone and types his number into her cell before taking off. Pretty smart.

the ad, on the beach. memorable.

[ScaryBob]

You guys actually watch commercials? That's dumb.

[da1root]

Commercial A - never seen it
Commercial B - my initial response was that the guy needed to grow a set and take his phone back from the princess; I dislike this one as well
Commercial C - just recently seen it for the first time; didn't really see it as a thing at "guys" vs a teen thing and I didn't pay it much attention - but I can see where it's a little off edge

The one with the guy who programs his number into the girls cell phone is great - I think whoever did the Ad on that one is brilliant.

[bbb22]

I actually think, as we've progressed through the year, the Rogers ads have gotten even worse.

The ad with the girl questioning who is smarter, her, or her smart phone? Yeah, because it's cool to be a dumbass. She also ditches one guy in favour of another in this commercial. Is the idiot princess girl their new demographic? (I'm a young woman and so I find this commercial leaves a particularly nasty taste in my mouth.)

The one where the guy is sat on the couch with his girl, playing the PS3 he got when he got himself and his partner smartphones on a shared plan. "She wanted commitment..."
Girl: I love you
Guy: I love you (PS3 offer)
So their demographic here is shallow men who don't respect their women?

I'm not impressed with Rogers at all, and I'm glad to see it's not just myself who has noticed this trend.

[stampeder]

This is not much of an issue when advertising routinely portrays people of any and all groups as idiots. Any supposed controversy over the commercials in question only gives Rogers a bigger advertising bang for the buck than if we'd just ignored those commercials the way they should be ignored. The next time you are offended by a TV commercial just mute it or use a PVR to skip them.

Culture jamming is good for you: http://www.adbusters.org/

[hugh]

If you are selling a niche product with a very specific demographic profile then you can sometimes be offensive to consumers outside your demographic if your demographic finds it an appealing message.

However, companies whose products are aimed at a mass market, don't want their company portrayed as being sexist, misogynistic, rude or distasteful.

The mark of a good company is one that creates advertising that is break through and impactful without resorting to crude stereotypes. Any smart marketer will tell you that.

In Rogers case, I see this simply as being a case of a marketing department staffed with poorly trained weak minded individuals whose only way to create "impactful" advertising is to be offensive.

Generally speaking the Sony Playstation ads have been a bit sexist and play on nerdy stereotypes yet have still managed to be popular because they aren't offensive.

[Proteosome]

I think this is a larger issue than just Rogers. It has become okay to portray men as idiots and Neanderthals in commercials and other media.

I sometimes wonder what the reaction would be if the gender rolls were switched. Often, I think there would be a firestorm of protest.

/end rant.

[hugh]

It has become okay to portray men as idiots and Neanderthals in commercials and other media.

To further okay that, "It has become okay to portray Caucasian males as idiots and Neanderthals"

[TKG26]

The company i work for ran a commercial where they they used a technician dressed in pyjamas and bunny slippers sleeping in the back of his truck ready to install your HVAC equipment the moment you call. Pretty funny commercial...............


Many of us techs where offended by this.. Why did that guy get a bed in the back of his van and we only had tools!!

[CastleRockDays]

Yeah I agree with Alan and others. It's funny because I was actually talking to my friend the other day about Rogers ads, and he too thought the same.

[Dioneo]

Originally Posted by hugh

To further okay that, "It has become okay to portray Caucasian males as idiots and Neanderthals"

Much like Christmas, we white men are under attack! When was the last time a movie or TV show featured a Caucasian male lead who was intelligent, resourceful and heroic?!? Oh, wait...