ads aren’t sweet (too lame?)

My parents are to blame for the looks of confusion and even offense I recieve when watching TV with a person for the first time.  Convinced that comercials don’t need to be watched, my parents are some of the biggest proponents of the mute button.  To get my brother and I to comply with only a modicum of complaint (especially during prime christmas gift searching season) we’d play “What are they selling here?!”

We’d watch the comercial with the sound off, and we’d have to guess the product.  This started out with pretty simple answers – car, shampoo, Pretty Pretty Princess – but eventually became more involved.  Soon we were deciding if the comercial was selling sex appeal, fear of germs, or that parents are stupid.  This one is usually only seen on networks with a high cartoon frequency.

So now that I am programmed to hit the mute button whenever a show goes to comercial.  I usually have a book ready when I’m alone, or I’m prepared to discuss the plot/characters if others are with me.  However, I have found that this behavior is not always appreciated by friends.  According to everyone except my parents, comercials should be left alone.

But yes, the point.  I sometimes do not always reach the mute button.  I have on occasion watched a commercial.  What I’ve been noticing lately that one of the ideas most sold in commercials is that men are dumb.  I love my husband, and believe that he is one of the more intelligent people I know.  So no, I do not believe that this is true, but I’m convinced that the ad agencies of the world do.  Or that at least they are using this idea to sell everything from cleaning supplies to tax help to high fructose corn syrup.

Alternative sweeteners are only the latest to jump on the “men are idiots” band wagon.  Now we can see women condesendenly informing men that they have nothing to fear from non-sugar sweeteners made from corn.  Silly men.  So why are we making fun of men?  Well as we can’t make fun of anyone else, men are the only ones left.  If the roles were reversed and the man acted condesendingly towards the woman, there would be complaints.  Ages are off limits as are races, and this is how it should be.  But why are poor men left out in the cold.  True some might say that as they’ve sort of won the life race over the past few decades, so maybe they can take a few swift kicks in the pants in the ad world.  But still, couldn’t we find a better way (other than the idiot factor) to sell products?