Let's take a look at what something like that looks like. Beer commercials advertise their product giving a "fresh cold taste." Now, aside from that being impossible, think about how many people continue to confuse cold and hot as tastes instead of feelings? This may not trouble you and seem like a nit picky observation. Another beer advertisement encourages you to "taste greatness." Now, aside from that being impossible, I invite you to look at what kind of advertisement that came from:
Enter: man at crowded bar with young attractive female bar tender.
Man: I'll have a light beer.
Tender: Okay, do you care how it tastes?
Man: No, I don't really care how it tastes.
Bar Tender serves the man.
Tender: Well, when you start caring, put down your purse and I'll give you a [advertised beer].
Man slowly reveals what's at the end of the strap on his far shoulder and looks at it, then turns back to the Tender.
Man: It's a "carry-all."
Tender: No it's not.
Commercial Narrator in deep baritone: Man up...
[commercial ends with man eventually getting the advertised beer, but still ribbed by his friends at his table].
Now, before I get into this, I'll be the first to admit I was amused by this. But, let's see exactly what was funny about this. An attractive woman emasculates a man who prefers no particular beer, and associates masculinity with that product. There is a series of these commercials and they all end the same, the man caves and chooses the advertised beer.
So, not only does the syntax have problems, the humor is a bit of a paradox, as well, isn't it? Is capitulation to female interest masculine? I think what this ad leads us to assume is at least that doing what the pretty woman wants is a good idea, and if her antagonism is what it takes, then that's okay, you can still be a man when you get that beer. And all of this is below the radar during the interaction, the bar scene is a dog-eat-dog environment where whit, insults, and pride are fast currency, so no one seems to pay attention to the raw interaction. The unexpected decisive blow wins, and it seems to be understood. In any other context it would simply seem inappropriate for a woman to bully a man into buying something. Yet, this isn't the result of natural female behavior, this ad blatantly targets men who don't have a sense of masculinity, and reinforces a popular belief that masculinity can be purchased at a bar.
I could go into greater detail with any ad running on TV on nearly any product, but I hope this quick look at ads being run today gives people pause to choose carefully when they purchase things. What I am most concerned about is not whether the target demographic of men buys or doesn't buy that particular beer. I'm concerned that young people, who are forming their understanding about gender roles and communication skills are learning from these subtle and otherwise harmless advertisements.
In other words, take this ad how you will, but there are many more like it, and in a globalized economy, I think it's becoming more and more important to reward companies with solid advertisement, and avoid companies that try to manipulate and distort reality.
