Wow.This Man-ifesto has to be the most politically-incorrect advertising campaign to come from a major corporation in a long time - maybe since Santa was pitching Lucky Strike.
Be sure to check it out now before it is quashed by the gals who don't shave their legs and by the guys who do (no offense to competitive bicyclists and swimmers - you fellas get a pass).
Is this just a shallow curmudgeonly shock-ad looking for some cheap media attention, or is it a barometric indication of a sea-change toward a reclaiming of the masculine and its place in society that even Levi's cannot ignore?
Thanks to Stacy McDonald for passing this along with her fine commentary.
13 comments:
I think that's the best ad I've seen in a long time.
And Dockers is based out of San Francisco. How odd and awesome.
Agreed. This is good stuff. But it asks an important question: if Sarah Palin stopped wearing pant suits, would she suitable for election or would that relegate here to being helped across the street?
It is hilarious that the final exhortation of the ad is to "Shop now." Apparently, wearing the pants means to go shopping.
:)
Maybe we need an ecclesiastical version urging men to "wear the cassock."
Dear Christopher:
It is funny how even in today's unisexual environment where most conservatives fully support women in traditionally male roles (even when these women are mothers with young children), the wearing of pants by female politicians retains its symbolic value.
Isn't that fascinating?
The trousers seem to be Mrs. Clinton's preferred mode of dress in plying her vocation as Secretary of State.
And yet, even in the current climate, I suspect most women (and purely speculating here, including Mrs. Palin), at least secretly, would actually like to have a man hold the door open for her or escort her across the street. Some would be insulted, of course, but my gut feeling is that the offendees would be in the minority.
In spite of the feminist culture's best efforts to break all the barriers between the sexes, there is still meaning conveyed (whether received positively or negatively) when women wear skirts vs. pants - even to the point where Dockers can build a campaign around exhorting men to "wear the pants."
It really is amazing.
Dear VDMA:
I guess the ad's real message is: "Real men go shopping."
Meh.
Even Mrs. H. hates shopping, and she hasn't worn trousers in quite some time.
Christopher:
In Palin you bring up a topic worthy of consideration and discussion, though this post might not be the proper place for it. I noticed that some time ago Fr. Rick Stuckwisch brought up the question of the appropriateness of Palin serving in a national elected office. http://sword-in-hat.blogspot.com/2008/08/am-i-missing-something.html
It was funny because I ended up participating in that discussion without even knowing it, as you will see. Let me just say, at this point, that whatever 'conservatism' means, it must be more than a set of policy ideas. The lives of some conservatives are truly feminist, which is a contradiction, in my view.
I should say, more importantly, that Father Hollywood himself, as well as Fr. Stuckwisch, have real contributions to make in that discussion.
Eh...I don't think this is really the personal opinion of whoever designed the ad, I think this is just meant to inspire controversy for controversy's sake. It's really there for no other reason than to bring more eyeballs to the ad/website and, eventually, to Dockers itself.
A similar thing happened when games industry bloggers found this website: http://www.masswepray.com/ for what appeared to be an interactive Mass video game. Almost every left-leaning blog simutaneously exploded with outrage and mockery, until it turned out that it was really viral marketing for the upcoming Dante's Inferno video game, published by EA Games (I think; don't quote me on that). Other than being loosely religious in origin the video game had nothing to do with the parody website--they just wanted to bring controversy in order to draw in more possible consumers.
Ariel:
The actual opinion or motivation doesn't much matter to me. We ought to take messages of this sort as minor victories as we make our way amidst an unfriendly zeitgeist, quite regardless of the intention of the messenger.
First time I read it through, I got the impression it had the same aire as those beer commercials about the "Real Men of Genious." You know, "So here's to you, mister old-fashioned, chivalrous, khaki-pants-wearing, sexist neanderthal."
In other words, I get the distinct impression that the ad's really just poking fun at the vision of a bygone era of a less enlightened patriarchal society. It's trying to be tongue in cheek, as in making fun of "mutton chops" "mullets" and butterfly collars.
So, I wouldn't expect the feminazi-wymwyn to object to it, nor expect guys to take it as a rallying cry either--it is just an excuse to go shopping.
Maybe dresses/pantsuits do work on the subconscious level on matters of social conservatism/feminism. I just see the practical side, probably because I grew up in the 70's, 80's. Alot of women wear pants because of the cold or the work day neccessitates it. It reminds me of reading mail in English class in college that people thought Concordia-Seward was going to Hades because girls wore jeans instead of dresses. It may be a matter of enticement, but most guys in college would find girls attractive in potato sacks. The women at Concordia were very chaste, almost to the point of being pietistic. I think I may have opened a number of worm cans. Sorry.
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