***This post contains vulgar material that appeared on television. Consider yourself warned. No complaints afterward.***
Honestly folks, I’m not a guy who is easily offended. Nope. I even enjoy off color humor from time to time. But what offends me is when my children are exposed to something vulgar when I am not expecting it. However, even if my children didn’t see this, I would still be offended on behalf of all women. This is really saying something.
Last night I saw an ad for a ladies razor, the Schick Quattro for Women, during prime time television and had to quickly change the channel. Actually, I was so upset that I turned the TV off and sent the kids to bed early. What offended me so? Well the ad which can be viewed at the bottom of this post.
I intended to write a post about the degradation of our culture and the totally inappropriate material that is allowed on TV during regular viewing hours. While searching for the ad, I came across the UK version of the ad and I must say that my jaw hit the ground. It was much, much worse than even the US ad about which I was already offended.
I post the ad here, but please consider yourself forewarned. It is vulgar. The ad is called “Mow the lawn.” I kid you not.
The US version of the ad, while slightly less explicit is in the same vain. I saw this ad during prime time on a cable channel. It boggles the mind how any network would accept an ad like this during prime time, or any time for that matter. This one is called “Bushes.”
Women are obviously the target audience for these vulgar and disgusting ads. I highly recommend that if you are currently a Schick customer that you immediately cease purchasing their products and that you let them know why. Ads like this have no place on television. If you see one of these ads, I also suggest that you contact the network responsible and complain.
August 11, 2009 at 4:59 am
Ewwwww. Just the suggestion of those icky women's naughty parts! Yucky! Now I'll never be able to pretend my wife is the highschool quarterback tonight!
August 11, 2009 at 5:01 am
Apparently you haven't come across the Trojan personal vibrator for women ad on cable. That 1 almost makes this seem innocent, almost.
Like you said, they have no place on TV, cable or broadcast.
August 11, 2009 at 5:06 am
Contact Schick:
http://www.schick.com/
I really detest companies that feel the need to be sexually suggestive like that.
August 11, 2009 at 5:06 am
Yeah, I've seen worse.
The second (American) ad was really not that bad, especially compared to other ads (e.g., the average ad for condoms).
August 11, 2009 at 7:17 am
Unfortunately, my kids and I were all exposed during prime time cable of a good show . . . BOTH nasty commercials (the shaver and the vibrator). I'm done with telly. Shock is not funny. That's why we have foul-mouthed kiddies at recess in elementary schools. Parents can't laugh at it ever. My daughter overheard a loudly spoken "shock" conversation of some girls at her school the first day about oral sex. Disgusting. She was very upset about that.
Loose telly leads to loose talk in public where it does not belong.
August 11, 2009 at 9:28 am
We have a long-standing problem. Some years ago a friend of mine, lecturer at the University of Auckland where I work, a man from Iran and a Baha'i, talked to me. He was very upset. He and his wife had come here from Iran, with their two daughters, because Baha'i are (or were) abused in Iran. They had decided to send their children to 'Dio' – the Anglican diocesan girls' school – rather than the public school. Surely a Christian school would be better than a public school!
He was very upset. He said his daughters brought home stories of their Christian classmates talking about oral sex with their boyfriends, and talking quite casually, and similar stuff.
I don't know where he lives now – he doesn't teach at our University any longer. I felt so sorry for him. Is this sort of thing a part, at least, of what Islam has against us? Are they not right to be upset, even if wrong about what they do about it?
jj
August 11, 2009 at 10:49 am
Our "culture" isn't very cultural at all, but crude. Yes, the ads are offensive, and yes, I will steer clear of Schick. For one thing, if it's a quality product, it can be sold without resorting to ads like this. For another, I'm simply tired of vulgarity. And finally, as you say, ads like this have absolutely NO place on prime time. Nor does nasty language or thinly veiled sex on our sitcome.
August 11, 2009 at 11:07 am
I've seen both of these commercials AND the personal vibrator, but none disturbed me as much as the Quizno's "put it in me, Scott" Toasty Torpedo commercial… and the follow-ups…
August 11, 2009 at 11:28 am
Have to add that these ads are only the tip of the iceberg. I work 3rd shift & when I am on break I see the worst of the worst as I flip the channels. Girls Gone Wild ads that are soft porn (Add Guys Gone Wild now). & then there are the MTV series. & lets not forget all the male enhancement ads as well as the new one that gives women a new lease on life. Sadly so many of these ads are stuck in the middle of decent shows.
I could go on & on, but I won't.
I got rid of cable years ago, watch EWTN on streaming video & miss almost nothing on the rest of those channels I no longer get.
August 11, 2009 at 11:32 am
This just reaffirms my decision to not have TV service. And I'm glad I don't use that razor.
August 11, 2009 at 12:21 pm
Solution to television crassness:
1. Unplug TV.
2. Load TV into suitable vehicular conveyance.
3. Drive to mouth of Hell.
4. Drop TV in it.
5. Never look back.
August 11, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Hubby and I don't have cable for the sheer crap that's on it. (That and the idea of paying over $100/month for trash just sets me on edge!)
Get Netflix! You can pick and choose what goes on the list, still get the shows you want (past seasons are available) and monitor what your kids have on the account. Makes it even fun if you sit down as a family and plan the next movies coming in:).
That and the new digital TV for the local news (we really only watch it in the AM for traffic and weather) have made all the difference in decreasing the amount of garbage that is allowed in our house.
August 11, 2009 at 1:53 pm
Ewww! I actually may not have caught onto the American version of the ad until seeing the British one. Makes my stomach churn.
August 11, 2009 at 2:18 pm
"I actually may not have caught onto the American version of the ad until seeing the British one."
That's the idea. The British ad is shown in the UK, and the American ad is shown in the USA. There's a reason. The market research shows what most people would already know, that attitudes about sexuality, including what qualifies as "polite conversation," varies from one part of the world to the next.
To give an example, during WW2, the Brits complained that American GIs were "overpaid, oversexed, and over here." The yanks responded by describing the Brits as "underpaid, undersexed, and under Eisenhower." You get the idea.
Compared to other countries, Americans are seen as having a sort of duality regarding public attitudes toward sex. In one setting, they are depicted as tied to very Puritan attitudes dating to their origins. In another, they are completely out of control. Ask any European survivor of that same war who interacted with their American occupiers. (As a payroll officer with the USAF in Germany, Dad told me what he saw. He was ashamed even to be around his fellow servicemen, even passing on a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit Paris.)
We've been watching ads for feminine hygiene for years. I was having to get up and leave the room for 30 seconds for quite some time now. As to everyone else, what makes an ad like this "acceptable" — notice I didn't say it is — is the time and/or channels when it's shown. There is also some care taken (this example notwithstanding) to resort to euphemisms to convey the message. If it's before 9pm on an open-air broadcast channel, it might cross the line. But even there, a determination is possible that young children might not "get it" anyway. I know I wouldn't have.
But hey, that's just me.
August 11, 2009 at 3:01 pm
What a degraded culture we live in. Unsupervised tv watching is not for kids. This ad from last fall really bothered me because it was aimed at (and starring?) minors.
August 11, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Maybe I'm just an overexposed youngin, but the US version just doesn't bother me. Heck I thought it was a clever way to advertise the razor without being too awful. How else are they supposed to advertise a razor that's only purpose is to trim that area? Say something like "Here's a new razor with a trimmer! See what you can do with it! hope you figure it out and don't cut yourself!"?
UK version is WAY beyond things. They should have just used the same ad for both markets.
August 11, 2009 at 3:59 pm
This is all related to inappropriate material in "children's" movies as well. Shrek, Madagascar 1 & 2, etc. If the children won't "get" the jokes, then they're just fine to include.
I agree with others. Unplug. Then, rent movies so you can be in control of the content.
August 11, 2009 at 3:59 pm
"UK version is WAY beyond things. They should have just used the same ad for both markets."
By their criterion, the USA ad would not have been as effective in the UK. Advertisers don't spend this kind of money on ads that don't sell. I'm sorry to be saying it — in this case, really, REALLY sorry — but this is what drives this sort of thing.
August 11, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Jen:
Please don't confuse my statements with an endorsement. I'm not endorsing anything, but trying to explain how things are justified. You can avoid a lot of temptation just by refusing to get out of bed in the morning. I thought of that myself today, for example. But most of the I listen to music channels. When I watch, it's mostly movies and reruns of stuff like The West Wing and Law and Order, I abhor reality programming and those stupid game shows.
In the years to come, diversity of programming will be such, that families will be able to program what channels they want or don't want. They would have the benefits of the televised medium, without some of its problems. This alone may encourage advertisers to use better judgment as to content.
Until then, don't let me stop anyone from unplugging anything.
August 11, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Neither one bothered me much. But then I don't think a trim is icky.