Monday, October 14, 2013

I Can't Fake Anger over This Durex Commercial

I've tried. Believe me, I've tried.

I've tried to join in the very sensible people who have a problem with this commercial. I watched it again and again, trying to get angry, and every time I watch it, I laugh instead.

In an article on PolicyMic, titled, "This Shameless Condom Ad is An Insult to Fatherhood," Marc Peters and Alexa Hassink write that this ad is "hurting current fathers, future fathers, and children everywhere."

That bad? They continue:

This supposedly hilarious ad paints a dystopian view of the future in which diverse fathers have one thing in common: their kids make them miserable. While presenting men as one-dimensional, regretful, and incompetent, and showing children as little destroyers may be funny, it’s not doing anyone any favors.

Apparently, the ad is "especially insulting to the 176,000 men who have left work to raise their children."

Well, count me out. Not insulted. It's an ad for condoms, coming from the "Having kids at this moment is a bad idea" angle. Because they sell condoms. And it's funny commercial, with four groin injuries. And groin injuries are funny. Sorry, I don't make the rules.

Sure, they're right when they talk about involved fatherhood. I agree that we should promote a "multifaceted, caring, and equitable image of what it means to be a man and a father in today’s world." I'm a firm believer in all of this stuff. But I'm also a firm believer that condom ads get a pass.

Judge for yourselves, and let me know if I'm a hypocrite for spending so much time railing against offensive brands while praising this ad just because I can't resist groin-injury humor.





15 comments:

  1. Pretty funny. I find it a little melancholy as a father, because while children are huge pains in the ass, or groins as it were, they also bring so much joy. it doesn't play well to me, because no matter how many times my kids whack me in the frank and beans I couldn't imagine my life without them. Bottom line though, it's not a commercial for me, it's funny and plays well to the intended audience.

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  2. If I were in my low twenties I would have crapped my pants laughing. As it were, I am a father of 3 and in my late thirties so I just laughed, especially at the final scene where the dad closes his eyes for a minute just to be pounced on. I thought the background music fit the scenes well.

    I do have but one complaint and that is I'd prefer if the father's didn't look so completely miserable. To a young man, the actions themselves would have gotten the point across well enough without making dads looks like they hate their lives,

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  3. Sure, the hate-their-lives faces may be wrong, but they also makes the video funnier...

    And about the groin injuries--I know I'm not the only one who can't wait for the TV show they have in the movie Idiocracy!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_4jrMwvZ2A

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  4. I thought it was hilarious. Great piece. I agree 100%.

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  5. Groin injury humor covers a multitude of sins, I think. Like you, I tried to get upset about this commercial, but the comedic timing is perfect. As a father of three kids, I would never, ever, ever look at them and wish my creative juices (can I say that?) had been blocked, though I do know the feeling of being overwhelmed by chaos in a given moment and getting a coup de grace whack to the crotch, whether literal or metaphorical. Those moments pass, though.

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  6. It's like those moments when my wife and I look at a messy room or realize we never go out, and we say to each other, "Whose idea was that to have these kids?" although we never mean it, you know? Sure, it could have been nice to spend time and money on ourselves, but those feelings never last.

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  7. I think the commercial is hilarious! As a dad of five, I can relate to feeling over whelmed. I think we all can, and the videography captures these moments perfectly. Which is one of the things which makes this video pure genius. I have experienced, at some point in time, some variation of each incident filmed, including the shots to the groin. But ultimately the humor faded for me a bit as I considered the ad's intended message. We don't get to see the other side of the coin. A dad who takes the penal punishment, and comes back after icing down with frozen peas to "fight" the over whelming sense of failure with the over powering and unconditional love of a father. At the core the message received from this ad is: children are a burden, destructive, and will interfere with all the things you want to do, so why bother having any? There is some truth in this message though, kids do interfere with a lot of things I would rather be doing at the moment. But what this commercial sees as the greatest curse, I see as the greatest blessing. Children teach us life isn't all about ourselves. When I feel like I don't want to spend time with my kids, or they are hindering something I'm trying to do, I find I usually feel that way because I'm being selfish. And honestly a good kick to the jimmy is sometimes needed to put things in perspective. Some day, I am going to miss all the signs of life (Barbies, dress up clothes, toilet paper confetti, and chewed up action figures) which clutter my living room floor. And when I look back on my life, I don't want to see the time I can't get back because I chose to do what I wanted to do over investing in them. The only thing I won't miss is the crotch crushing and nad annihilation!

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  8. I think the commercial is hilarious! As a dad of five, I can relate to feeling over whelmed. I think we all can, and the videography captures these moments perfectly. Which is one of the things which makes this video pure genius. I have experienced, at some point in time, some variation of each incident filmed, including the shots to the groin. But ultimately the humor faded for me a bit as I considered the ad's intended message. We don't get to see the other side of the coin. A dad who takes the penal punishment, and comes back after icing down with frozen peas to "fight" the over whelming sense of failure with the over powering and unconditional love of a father. At the core, the message received from this ad is: children are a burden, destructive, and will interfere with all the things you want to do, so why bother having any? There is some truth in this message though, kids do interfere with a lot of things I would rather be doing at the moment. But what this commercial sees as the greatest curse, I see as the greatest blessing. Children teach us life isn't all about ourselves. When I feel like I don't want to spend time with my kids, or they are hindering something I'm trying to do, I find I usually feel that way because I'm being selfish. And honestly a good kick to the jimmy is sometimes needed to put things in perspective. Some day, I am going to miss all the signs of life (Barbies, dress up clothes, toilet paper confetti, and chewed up action figures) which clutter my living room floor. And when I look back on my life, I don't want to see the time I can't get back because I chose to do what I wanted to do over investing in them. The only thing I won't miss is the crotch crushing and nad annihilation!

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  9. I agree with everything you say. I still give this ad a pass because it's for Durex, but I do agree with you.

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  10. Not a hypocrite, NOT a hypocrite! Oh, how perfect the Moonlight Sonata is for this commercial. I could pick this apart really easily, and of course, agree with the dose of sadness that others expressed about the portrayal of fatherhood. I could draw parallels about how this is basically the same as a European ad that came out in the last few years - also for condoms - wherein the supermarket was being terrorized by a toddler (with his miserable father in tow) - I think that one won awards. I, too, give this a pass.
    1. It encourages men to value protection/responsibility over momentary pleasure.
    2. It shows fathers understanding that parenting is exhausting.
    3. Groin humor.

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  11. I laughed, and think it's well done. I don't see insults as easily as many people, however, and am not easily offended in any respect or area of my life. I will be sharing this on my FB, now. :)

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  12. I agree with you. The commercial wasn't made for us. It's all a humorous exaggeration. Truth be told, the people they are pushing this commercial for would have the same outcome from spending a night at any of our houses.


    People get too sensitive these days.

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