I've seen some talk online about this ad. Basically a boy is playing at home with his toy Silverado. His blue collar man toy packs it up for the day, saying "good job" to his black skier, asian ninja and robot co-workers. Before heading home he helps a damsel in distress before driving over his dog. Then finally he gets home to his wholesome wife who only happens to dress like a cheap slut.
I'm on the fence on this one. When I first saw it it didn't strike me as unusual. Then again the TV version I saw didn't have the "good job" to co-workers scene and ended with the dad coming out of the car to give his son a hug with a "normal" (RE: boring) dressed wife/mom in the driveway. But when I put my jaded glasses on I can see all the faults. It would have been amazing if the toy wife the dad came home to were another man and the commercial just kept going like nothing was unusual.
Verdict? Sexist? Racist? Accurately portrays a lifestyle that we should aspire to?
I think you are reading too much into it. I see a kid playing with the toys he has on hand. That he is using his imagination. I would have liked to see the dad hug the kid and the normal mom.
ReplyDeleteGood points, SAM. We may think we're reading too much into things and the message isn't really saying anything but wait until we tweak it just a bit and then see the boycotts and protests fly (just ask the Girl Scouts about that...) Maybe the message isn't saying anything until it says something that makes too many really loud people uncomfortable?
ReplyDeleteIf Chevy Man had in fact driven home to another man and said "hi honey" would people dismiss it? If Black Chevy Man or Asian Chevy Man (can we find one without his ninja gear please??) were giving their White underlings a "good job" would it have aired in certain towns? Chevy obviously thinks this particular CM will speak to someone or they wouldn't have put the money into making and airing it. I'm currently living in that scary li'l state above Texas and the commercials here are aimed at a decidedly different demographic than that they were aiming for when I lived in Seattle, LA and DC. So yeah, definitely the message is more than meets the eye.
Thanks for bringing this up, and more importantly, for being willing to put on your "jaded glasses", SAM!