The Twitter buzz surrounding Sunday’s Super Bowl ads was not flattering. A lot of my personal Tweeple thought the ads were anti-woman. This ad for the Dodge Charger really struck a chord. People wrote that the producer of the ad needed to get divorced. Others wrote that they didn’t realize that Dodge hated women.
And that wasn’t the only ad that triggered a similar response. Any of the GoDaddy.com ads, Snickers, Motorla, some of the Dorito’s ads, and the Dove Men Care ad sparked similar responses. But those responses surprised me.
First of all, a lot of guys watch the Super Bowl. As for the tone the ads took, a lot of guys (and a lot of women) are struggling in today’s economy. Where women may not be as averse to asking for help, for most men, it’s anathema. So guys are feeling down. They’re feeling defeated on some level. These ads that women and some men found offensive, probably boosted the self-esteem of a lot of guys.
I’m not saying that it justifies the tone that the advertising took, but it probably had something to do with what we ended up seeing during the Super Bowl broadcast.
The advertisers run a risk, forgetting who actually makes the purchases in most households, if not influencing the purchasing decisions.
Do you have any thoughts you’d like to share?
