New Roomba Ad: Stupid Or Stupid Sexist?
Could it be true that advertising is nothing more than a big pack of lies, designed to get you to purchase things that often you don't need and perhaps believe things you shouldn't? Advertising copywriter Copyranter brings you instances of advertising lies and the lying liars who sell them.
According to iRobot's new advertising for its adorable little auto-vac, Mom is in charge of cleaning up after her pig children and jackass husband. Literally! But since it's tongue-in-cheeky, we shouldn't get our panties in a bunch, right? Riiight. Until the writer of the commercial says he's specifically targeting "Chief Home Officers." Ding ding ding goes the sexism alarm!
"The Chief Home Officer in our spot realizes that cleaning up after her family is a never-ending chore," said David Bernstein, executive creative director at The Gate, IRobot's agency. "But at least she can delegate it to a robot."
"Delegate it!" See? Moms can be bosses, too! VPs of Sanitation. Char-women of the floorboards.
And so on. Whatever, just watch it!
Aw, her jackass husband is her best friend. Nice save? And dig that campy 1950s, "Leave It To Beaver"-esque music. See, they think by showing us that they know it's a dated setting makes the insulting stereotypes copasetic.
But sexism aside, the commercial just plain yanks, doesn't it? Humans as barnyard animals! Who'd have thunk that craziness up! The ad is from an "edgy" ad agency that claims to be all about killing "sacred cows," naturally.
Whatever. The product's a goddamned high tech robot, built by a company that makes bomb disarming machines currently helping our brave men (and women) in Iraq and Afghanistan! Where's the cool demonstration of its capabilities? If I'm going to let a robot "do the dirty work," I want to know exactly what the drone can do.
Unless of course, the product isn't as efficient as advertised. But MIT roboticists with a lucrative government contract would never mislead the heroic American Mom, would they?