Friday 28 September 2018

No Sexual Innuendo, Please, We're Snowflakes!

...it should come as no surprise that people have been justifiably outraged over a beer mat which was included in “Freshers’ Packs” for newly-enrolled students at the University of Sussex.
The front side showed a woman dribbling toothpaste while on the reverse were the words “spit” and “swallow”.
LOL!
Without going into detail it does not take a rocket scientist to work out what is implied. OK, it is an advertisement for toothpaste, but surely there is a more classy way of getting the message across that they want you to buy their particular brand?
Well, everyone's discussing it. Tell me, 'Argus' opinion editor, what's the point of PR again?
The company behind it, having been challenged over its implied message, has itself branded it as “inappropriate” and “misguided” which it most certainly is.
Of course they have. As they high-fived each other for getting their product in the local paper...
Objectifying women in this way has played a major role in advertising in the past but that has now, thankfully, been eradicated from most sectors of promoting a particular product.
In this case, however, a major misjudgment was made. It was not clever and it is not funny.
'Funny' is in the eye of the beholder, is it not?

4 comments:

PJH said...

"Objectifying women in this way..."

Of course, had it been a bloke with dribbling toothpaste accompanied with "spit or swallow," we'd have the LGBTALPHABET offendotrons up in arms...

as a .sig I have elsewhere says:

"Being easily offended used to be a character flaw...
Now it's a job description."

Kevin said...

There are signs up in dentists' waiting rooms advising patients "Spit don't sluice". What are we to infer from that? The world gets more confusing by the day :(

PJH said...

"What are we to infer from that? "

That you shouldn't gargle, because that's simply showing off?

JuliaM said...

"...as a .sig I have elsewhere says.."

Heh!

"The world gets more confusing by the day :("

Indeed...:(

"That you shouldn't gargle, because that's simply showing off?"

SNORK!