Here is a commercial for Dr. Pepper 10. The advertisement is for a low-calorie soda. Obviously no man wants to admit to watching his weight and drinking a "healthier" soda drink. So what did the oh-so-smart creative team do to make this more appealing to men? They spiced it up with a totally fierce and action-packed stunt scene, said this drink wouldn't appeal to women because it the flavor was too bold and exciting for them to handle. And then of course Dr. Pepper needed the finishing touch and came up with the motto of "Dr. Pepper 10, it's not for women". This just goes to show that violence is considered manly and masculine. Or at least the media is trying to make it's audience believe that this goes hand-in-hand with being a "real man". I personally find this commercial hilarious! I don't even really know why, but I always laugh when I see it!
Maybe because I don't think being a "real man" is synonymous with violence, muscles, or being a cocky jerk. What is regularly being portrayed in the media is not my opinion on what it is to be a man. To me, being a man means being chivalrous, polite, intelligent, humorous, and charismatic. None of which are portrayed in excess anymore; or how they used to be. My vision of a true man would be someone like Frank Sinatra, John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan! These men don't need big muscles or lots of weapons to show the world they gentlemen. I guess that is the perfect word to go with being a "real man". Real man = Gentleman.
I was always raised that the sexiest qualities one could possess are intelligence and being responsible. I am a man, more of a boy actually, but I am well aware of how the media normalizes this violent and dominant behavior. The thing that I find most interesting is that I'd say about 80% of men actually are socialized into believing that they need to act that way, they either are unwilling or aren't intelligent enough to think for themselves what a real man should be. I think the definition of a man is much more fluid than the one depicted in mainstream social media. A man should have the ability to choose the way he should act and a man's self worth is intrinsic to his own personal set of values.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that Dr. Pepper 10 is a load of crap. I thought it was a load of crap the first time I saw the commercial. My sister is a lesbian and I make fun of her for drinking it. (Note: She is totally ok with me making fun of her since we are sisters and all. I am not a homophobe either, just a jerk to my sister.) So I agree halfway with your argument.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't agree with is how you describe "a real man." We, as women, hate when people label us as "real women", i.e. "Real women have curves." It's no one's business to label what a real woman can and cannot be. I believe the same goes here. You cannot label what a real man can and cannot be.
If a man wants to look like Arnold Schwarza-however you spell it, he is still a real man. If he wants to educate himself and be a politician, he is still a real man. If he wants to be a skinny little stoner, he is STILL a real man. See where I am going with this?
I also find this commercial hilarious. They definitely went to great lengths in this commercial to appeal to the male population. From the four-wheeler, to the slogan openly discriminating women from drinking the soda, it is obvious that the commercial was made by men for men to view in their man-world.
ReplyDelete