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I Hate People; They’re The Worst.
By Jeff Fecke | July 24, 2008
I’ve gotta tell you, this might be the suckiest commercial I’ve seen in a long time.
Snickers TV Commercial – Get Some Nuts – video powered by Metacafe
See, it’s funny because a guy out power-walking is insufficiently manly, because he’s…uh…exercising in a way that Mr. T does not approve of. And that’s…bad? I guess?
This ad is suck from start to finish, from its implication that men must exercise in heterosocially-appropriate ways, which include wrestling (no homoeroticism there!) but not power-walking (because…uh…it looks weird), to its use of Mr. T as a paragon of manliness, to the unbelievably awful tagline, “Snickers: Get Some Nuts.”
Really? Really? This is what sells now? Because, you know, I’ve been eating Snickers for 34 years, but I can pretty much assure you that I won’t be after seeing this debacle. It’s homophobic, misogynistic, and misandrist. It sets up a ludicrous standard of masculinity, and ultimately is about discouraging people from exercising in a way they like, and encouraging them to eat candy bars — which is simply mind-bendingly moronic.
Epic fail.
(Via Tracey)
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Topics: Feminism, Media | 8 Comments »
July 24th, 2008 at 7:13 am
Can’t watch the video while at work, but from your write up, this HAS to be a spoof. Right? Right?
Sigh.
Though frankly, I like these example of how ‘insufficiently manly’ men are portrayed. Sexism DOES hurt us all, and these cases make it easier to argue the case.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:37 am
I personally believe our society could use an infusion of manliness and masculinity. But part of manliness is the resolve to make your own solitary decision, despite what everyone else thinks, whether you’re accepted or an outcast. It takes a lot of guts to be different. It bothers me just as much that masculinity is routinely lampooned and vilified, but also in this case the (portrayed) lack of masculinity.
The very phrase “get some nuts” is designed to cow someone into compliance, because the consequences of non-compliance are supposed to be too ominous to be faced. It’s the exact opposite of authentic masculinity that’s being promoted here — in fact, only a caricature. Men are not being served by it.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:14 am
To clarify my comment (last sentence of the first paragraph):
If bothers me just as much that true masculinity is lampooned as it does that a false caricature of it is imposed on seemingly effeminate people.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
If bothers me just as much that true masculinity is lampooned as it does that a false caricature of it is imposed on seemingly effeminate people.
And this is, of course, the other side of the coin. While I tend to think dividing things as masculine/feminine is misleading, the good traits that are considered “masculine” — toughness, self-assurance, courage — are nowhere in evidence here, just a parody of the idea that real men like to break things and hurt people. Which is no more accurate than arguing that real women just want to have all the babies their uterus can handle.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Why does “the resolve to make your own solitary decision” and “the guts to be different” have to be an exclusively masculine characteristic?
July 24th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Why does “the resolve to make your own solitary decision” and “the guts to be different” have to be an exclusively masculine characteristic?
‘Cause girls don’t have free will. Duh. :P
July 24th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
MCR wrote:
I believe that these are precisely masculine qualities — and any woman who does the same is embracing her masculine side. We’re not talking about male-female here (and feminists claim that masculine/feminine are traits not tied to sex anyway).
It is a masculine quality to take a stand for what you believe in, not just in concept, but in action. The converse of masculinity is the impulse to expect or foment social agreement/validation, and only then to act.
September 16th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
Wow….All I have to say is “Who the F*%k is Snickers?” It makes sense for ads like this to be made, more than half of this country is populated by MORONs. And of course what do morons like? stupid shit like this, thats why I don’t even bother watching television anymore.