The advertisement features a weary looking man carrying several milk cartons and reads, "I'm sorry I listened to what you said and not what you meant." According to nutritional findings by the California Milk Processor Board, calcium helps reduce the symptoms of Premenstrual Syndrome, states the article. The ad takes advantage of women by showing young children that women are vicious monsters that men should try to steer clear of at all costs and no matter what you do to please them, you will still be wrong. They even went as far as to create a website that offered "sensors" and "data" on how to tell if a woman is "PMS-ing". Ironically, the website www.everythingidoiswrong.org no longer exists.
Here are some questions to respond to:
How do these types of ads affect children?
How do you think children's parents would respond to these ads?
Do you think that this ad is sexist?
If so, how could this message be conveyed that would not be in a sexist manor?
Do you think the ad imply's that women are monsters, like the article says?
What will a loyal customer of this milk think when he/she sees this ads?
Where else in advertisements can blatant sexism be seen?
Honestly, I didn’t even understand the caption above the picture. Maybe it’s because I’m a woman. But I definitely do not need to drink multiple cartons of milk in order to be appeased of my PMS symptoms. These ads, although probably meant to be funny, are really just the opposite. It is definitely sexist; I mean guys have bad days, too. Should women make men out to be huge bears constantly just for that? I think that if the ads took out the male figure altogether and just stated the facts, or put in a happy looking female figure without the male, it would be less sexist. Then the female would be appeased, seemingly by herself (with the help of milk of course) without the male pointing fingers at her vagina for causing a problem in their relationship. The way it is now, the women are definitely being portrayed as monsters and inevitable home wreckers.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, i thought the add was pretty funny... Having said that, I don't think children would even really understand this add even if they did see it. PMS is not something that a kid would really understand if he was still playing with Barbie Dolls or Legos. I could understand parents being upset with this add, especially if they had a child in their teenage years. I do think this article is being sexist by using a male in the poster, being miserable and saying "it wasn't working." Even if its true that milk helps PMS problems... Can't they find something else to talk about? I think it does portray women as monsters, they were trying to use humor in their advertisement by saying when women are PMS-ing, they get angry at men. They should have realized that a bad response would come out of this I don't think that this will change any loyal costumers opinion on the milk, but the add idea probably wasn't the best idea. Sexism is all over commercials today, mostly to help boost masculine and feminine features. But when our start making fun of the other sex, there will always being a negative reaction to it.
ReplyDeleteThe way this advertisement bashes on woman while on their period is just not fair to woman. They act like when woman are pmsing that they are monsters. A lot of people automatically think that someone on their period is going to be in a bad mood and be mean to everyone. In reality, not many people act like that, only a select few. People can act this way when not on their period and even guys act this way sometimes, it should not just be pointed out when woman are pmsing. Woman already have enough to deal with.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that this advertisement will have any effect on children who see it. Mostly likely they don’t understand the meaning of it. Also, I don’t think milk drinkers will stop drinking milk due to a commercial that they don’t agree on. It would be too hard to substitute it with something else and it gives us nutritional benefits.
I will admit that most people that have viewed this advertisement probably got a good laugh out of it when they first saw it. It’s certainly comical in the way that it is making a joke out of “that time of the month” when women get into nasty moods. There might be legitimate facts about how milk is related to PMS or PMS symptoms, but when it is presented as if it is mocking women about things that they can’t help then it is offensive. Making men out to be innocent bystanders caught in the rage of women is sexist. An advertisement could have been made about the way that milk affects PMS in a way that wasn’t offensive. If they wanted the ad to do any good then legitimate facts should have been presented in a mature manor to show how beneficial milk can be to women, if that’s the way that they were trying to promote it. I don’t think that this ad would be effective in persuading anyone to buy or drink milk that doesn’t already do those things, but it also isn’t distasteful enough dissuading anyone from purchasing milk.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that this ad is very sexist and I'll be the one to admit that sometimes I can be like this, but this is just way to far. It would be one thing to make fun of everybody by making this ad to appeal to everybody's time when they have a bad day, but to directly point it at women who are PMSing is just wrong. Everyone has bad days, men included and although there is no correct term for it doesn't mean that it doesn't happen to us. Imagine what parents have to say if their children were to see this. I remember the Got Milk ads from when I was a kid, so seeing something like this is just weird if I am being honest. This can give kids the wrong ideas about women and their moods. Again, everybody gets like this! When it comes to loyal milk drinkers, I think they will still purchase the product because of the benefit that comes with stronger bones and more calcium in your body. The advertisement is not one which should be used to take milk off the shelves for its sexist views. It is the people running the company who should be blamed, not the final product. People really need to think about what affects the public and what doesn't because this is just beyond blatant and somebody should be held responsible. It would be one thing if this was an article written by a doctor on how to help women who are PMSing, but to make it the corner stone of the ad is just wrong.
ReplyDeleteAs the blog said at the end, “Children consume these ads. They consume these products. And they get the message that women are the equivalent of domestic terrorism.” And I believe that this massage will mislead children who don’t have their own perspectives. If they believed in what was reflected in the advertisement, they would probably prejudge women in some way instead of knowing women themselves. They may possibly think that women are the creature that they should avoid and this is definitely bad for relationship and marriage.
ReplyDeleteIn another way, I think this advertisement is sexist according to the potential influences on modern society. Women’s PMS should be the indication that women need for concerns because of their physical weakness. But through the advertisement, things turn out to be a total different concept. Women’s PMS became a social disaster and all the blames belong to a physical phenomenon that women can not control. This truly is unfair and obviously, sexist.
The ad is slightly sexist, it stereotypes women. i think the blogged linked to it goes a lot further by saying things like this is calling women monsters. The ad does give the impressions that the guy totally doesn't want to deal with the woman but he cared enough to go buy her milk. Hopefully the milk will solve his problem.
ReplyDeleteAbout customers buying milk. I really can't see any guy buying milk for his wife so help her PMS and this ad does portray women negatively and i think that would actually put off women from buying milk.
i agree with what most people have posted about children not understanding the ad, so they're safe.
If you took out the top caption and the picture of the guy then i think the ad would have been far more effective. just the words "Milk can help reduce the symptons of PMS".
I honestly don't think young children would really understand the meaning behind this ad. When you were younger did you really read into ads and try to understand what a milk ad was trying to get across other than drink milk? I always just looked at the mustache and turned the page in the magazine. This ad is definitely sexist though, it's not really appropriate to turn a milk ad into an ad criticizing women making them monsters for having PMS. I don't think reducing PMS symptoms is why anyone typically buys milk, they just want calcium, therefore I don't think this ad will affect customers buying milk because they need it one way or the other, whether it helps with PMS or not.
ReplyDeleteAs a commercial advertisement for a product which is daily consumed by a great population of consumers, the influence of it should be deeply considered before put it into the public. I haven’t quite got the meaning of this advertisement, the relationship between the kind of milk and the menstrual cycle of the women. But if the meaning of this advertisement is the same as the original blog has discussed, the publisher should double check if it is really appropriate to show this advisement to its audience. Because the advertisement is about milk, a daily product that needed by almost everyone, the publisher should take every of its audience into consideration. For the children, not every pieces of information and hints is suitable to known by them, just like we rate the films to different levels to constrict the audience of it to an appropriate group of people. At the same time, when the women see this advertisement in the public, they maybe also feel a little bit uncomfortable with it because not everyone would feel alright when someone else is making fun of his or her sexual organs. The consideration should be well carried before a advertisement is shown to the public.
ReplyDeleteAds in general will affect how a child will develop their personality as they grow up. If they are exposed to more ads hyping sexuality and what it is the social norm to look like than they will grow up trying to fit this image. The ad is sexist in a sense but what I think it was really trying to do is poke fun at PMS while at the same time promote health. I think that they should just stick to their usual commercial such as endorsing how milk strengthen bone growth and so forth it’s just more accurate and fits the company as this was always their theme. I believe that the ad didn’t mean to portray women as monster and like I said before just to make fun of PMS and not women themselves. I believe that the loyal customer of milk will question how the company is portraying itself and if it is a very bad representation most will probably boycott it although for some it is a necessary need so it wouldn’t be that strong of a boycott to a certain extent. Something I notice in most of their commercial and advertisement is that it is usually a men drinking the milk and having the mustache and never really a woman as the center piece of the ad aside from that I do not see that much blatant sexism in the got milk ad and company.
ReplyDeleteThe comments under the article present both sides of the argument pretty strongly. One says, take a joke! The other, this is a sexist argument and teaches children bad stereotypes. One comment on the hilarious side of the argument says it’s no more sexist than the typical man commercial. I say, that’s true, because those commercials are plenty sexist too! Whether it’s a woman being hysterical or crazy because of her period or a man playing the dopey husband the message is still centered on a stereotype. When our media is filled with messages like this, gender roles and stereotypes are perpetuated. The excuse that it’s funny is just a mask. If someone made a racist statement followed by oh that was just a joke, it still wouldn’t make it any less racist. So why do people and in particular, women, continue to defend sexist stereotypes and statements under the pretense that it’s all a joke? Seems like they should realize the jokes really on them.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw this advertisement, I did not get what they where trying to say. After a little more thought, I understood, and I was appalled. Because this ad took thought for me to understand I don't think children would get it at all. Most children don't even know what PMSing is, let alone the symptoms. So I think the problem is not with children seeing it. I think the problem is that it generalizes all women into being irrational and indecisive when experiencing PMS. This is not the case and even if it was, men have their bad days too. The article says that the ad is conveying women as monsters when they are PMSing, I agree with their statement. They make it out to be that when a woman is PMSing, they are a complete emotional wreck, that doesn't know what she wants, how to fix their problems and always blame their significant other for whatever went wrong. This is a definite stereotype that just simply isn't true and I find it very offensive. The man is obviously distraught and confused about his wife's emotions and so the only way that could possibly make her feel better is by bringing her milk. What kind of husband tries to console his wife by bringing her milk? How does the milk industry think we (females) would react to a glass of milk when there is a problem? I know I would just be confused and rather take a Midol. I think that if it had a picture of a woman instead of a confused man and had a less offensive statement, the ad would not be as sexist.
ReplyDeleteJust saying if I was still a 9 year old child I wouldn’t think much of this ad, I don’t think any child would be interested enough to even try to understand this, unless they had prolonged exposure to this one advertisement. As a woman I can laugh this off, because I didn’t even know that milk could help with PMS, that’s cool. And as if I were a parent and I saw my child looking at this, I would just have them look at something else more their age, they would get this ad anyways. Yeah it’s a little sexist but, aren’t most advertisements? As a woman I found this helpful. And yeah we get cranky around that time, but I wouldn’t say we’re monsters, every mature adult should know that, and if we can’t laugh about it, then it just makes it even crappier. I still want milk; this ad does not make me not want to buy milk, because I love milk.
ReplyDeletechildren will probably not get this ad at all, but then again they are not meant to get it because daddy is going to be buying it so the true focus is on the guy paying the bills. If the guy gets a few laughs out of it he is bound to buy the milk. this definitely is sexist, and more than normal too because if this ad was to appeal men only, then that would mean that men are the ones who are going to buy the milk and women will be at homes being worthless. this isnt a big deal though since there are much worse being done nowadays; this could be funny if the child had enough sense to understand that its just an ad. subconsciously i guess the child does see the image of daddy being scared of mommy during a certain period.
ReplyDeleteIs this even true? That drinking milk can help PMS symptoms? Even if it is, there are probably much better ways to treat PMS then milk, people aren't going to buy milk because it helps with their symptoms. They are sending a message to kids that women are monsters that they should be afraid of. Even if it is true, the advertisment company could portray in a much different and better light so that it wouldn't be portrayed as sexist and badly influential to kids. But one of the biggest things that stick out with this ad is their strategy, I just don't see how anybody would buy this milk because of the ad, men don't need help with PMS symptoms and women probably would get offended and not buy it
ReplyDelete