Sexism sells

A side-effect of being disconnected from the internet is that I’ve also temporarily lost access to on-demand TV (thanks again, BT) and have had to watch adverts for the first time in years. I understand that content has to be paid for so I don’t really mind. Unless the ads in question are moronic to the point of being insulting, that is.

Two ads in particular spring to mind; see if you can spot the link.

The first is KFC’s ‘Mum’s Night Off’ ad, which implies that the best thing to do when your domestic mothertron is faulty, lazy or otherwise indisposed to prepare a meal for your family is to buy a ‘Mum’s Night Off’ bucket. This is an assortment of fried chicken, a horrific-sounding thing called popcorn chicken, chips, fizzy drink, and coleslaw, which of course is a perfect substitute for, you know, cooking a meal.

If you’re wondering what effect taking this ad’s advice would have on your family’s collective health, there’s a nutritional chart here.

This ad brings me out in hives, and I don’t even have kids. I did a little googling and found that the ad’s been around for a while, and has a US version depicting the same circumstance. Apparently an earlier version featured the father dressing up as a woman in order to serve up the food. Because taking care of your family is emasculating, naturally.

The only version I can find to link to is here, which isn’t the version I remember but is, if anything, even more heinous than the version I saw – when the mother selfishly and callously decides to read a magazine on the sofa, her six-year-old daughter borrows her handbag and heels, and takes over the hoovering, chastising of messy brother, and serving up of a delicious, nutritious meal giant bucket of fried chicken.

The implication being that men are too gormless to be trusted with such a monumental task, and in any case girls love serving others, from a very early age. It’s in our nature, see?

It’s good to find I’m not the only person who thinks this ad is insulting to both women and men. Some greenies aren’t mad on it, either.

Now for the second offender.

A handful of ads recently have highlighted how long-established some key brands are – Sainsburys and Marks & Spencer are at the top of the list here. All well and good. Persil’s contribution to nostalgia advertising, though, is a different matter. Titled What is a Mum?, it’s a greatest-hits whizz through Persil ads of the last 50-odd years, while a (male) voiceover lauds the endless self-sacrifice, forbearance and Persil-buying that are the characteristics of the ideal mother.

If you’re feeling zen enough to swallow that, you can watch the ad here.

The ad implies that, despite all the social upheaval of the past half-century and the fact that mothers are almost as likely to be working full-time as fathers, dealing with washing (and by extension, the rest of the housework and childcare) is exclusively their domain. Do you know why? Because they fucking love it, the darlings.

That’s right, ladies. You’re not a mother, or even a proper woman, unless you will happily submit to an eternity of domestic drudgery, tolerance and buying Persil in addition to any other ambitions or goals you may have set yourself. I’m not against tolerance per se, but it seems a bit much to be expected to smile lovingly while your vile lout of a son tips washing powder all over the floor because you had the effrontery to ask him to do his own sodding washing, forgetting for a moment that he can’t operate a box. And why is it only mothers who are validated by buying Persil?

As far as I can see both of these ads rest on the stereotype that it’s the mother’s duty – and, in Persil’s case, her pride and joy – to do the housework. All of it. And that makes me simply furious. It’s not an advertiser’s job to change society, but they could certainly do something other than further retrograde stereotypes.

Many, many men cook for their families regularly. Many men do housework. And many women are quite vocal in trying to persuade their partners to take a more equal responsibility for housework. And then advertisers like these ones come out with this outdated fuckwittery.

The Advertising Standards Agency’s code says that: “Marketers may use stereotypes in advertising but should be careful not to cause serious or widespread offence.” I think I’m a little behind the curve to write to them about the Mum’s Night Off ad, but I’m writing to them this evening about the Persil ad.

The complaints form is here, if you’d like to join me.