The Super Bowl is the most watched television event in America – by a long shot. According to the Nielsen Ratings of the top 10 programs of 2011, not only was last February’s game first with 111 million viewers, but in second was the Super Bowl Kick-Off show with 70 million viewers and in third was the Post Game show with 67 million. In comparison, 38 million people watched the Oscars – the highest figure for any non-National Football League related broadcast.
It is no understatement then to say this event and the messages around it have an enormous impact on American culture. The big ratings for the Super Bowl translate into big money for the networks and for advertisers. The average cost of a 30-second ad during the game is $3.5 million. Which begs the question: what are they spending all this money on? What kinds of messages are being promoted here?
The most popular entertainment event in America every year is focused on men displaying athletic skill, strength and aggression. The advertisements mimic and extend these themes by promoting images of “hyper-masculinity.” Women, meanwhile, are often demeaningly sexualized or entirely absent from the screen (save the frequent cuts to cheerleaders on the sidelines during the game).
If an estimated 7 out of 10 Americans are planning on watching the Super Bowl, this means most women, children, lgbt and minority people in this country are probably watching as well. In fact, about 50% of last year’s viewers were women. Yet the programming still feels targeted overwhelmingly to a very specific male demographic.
GoDaddy.com has a history of Super Bowl advertising that demeans women
Even though more women look forward to watching commercials during the Super Bowl than men, more men report enjoying the commercials than women. The troubling thing is that women actually control significantly more household purchasing power than men (85%!). So advertisers are completely ignoring their biggest market during the best chance they have to sell to them!
But of course this isn’t about what’s best for advertiser’s pockets. It’s about demanding respect, standing up to sexism and making sure future generations face less gender stereotypes than we do.
This Sunday, if you’re watching the game, look for differences in the representations of women and men. Point out sexism as it happens and educate those around you by asking questions: who was that commercial directed at? What was the message it sent about gender?
If you’re on Twitter, use #NotBuyingIt with #Superbowl to call out the offensive and sexist ads in real-time. Here’s an example of what to post to Twitter:
Hey @godaddy, your #Superbowl ad was offensive and degrading to women. I’m #notbuyingit!
On Facebook this week change your “Cover Photo” to this, or change your profile pic to this:
The #Superbowl is sure to be the most talked-about topic of the weekend – let’s flood the conversation with critical perspectives on sexism in American culture! Together we can help an entire country move closer to healthy representations of gender.
by Imran Siddiquee
Woooow, can we correct our spelling to say “…YOUR #Superbowl ad…”? Demanding respect for our brains while blatantly giving them a reason to not do so is just wrong.
Thanks Tricia!
Just as long there aren’t any feminine hygiene commercials.
I hope girls don’t buy into that ad
[...] at the MissRepresentation site, there is some great info about the Super Bowl, sexism, and using our consumer power to change what [...]
To make advertisers aware that we are not going to just sit here voiceless and accept the misogyny they contribute to in society. To change their minds that women are weak, voiceless, sex bunnies at men’s disposal, baby-popping machines, dumb, passive, easy to put in our place, butts and boobs and that other place, etc. And for men to also reject these representations of women and to challenge other men’s notions of what a woman “is.” These stereotypes hurt men, too. For anyone to direct the awareness of people to the need to challenge the image of women as sex objects, beauty queens, victims, dumb blondes, and so forth. And to CHANGE social consciousness and through doing so, change what people are willing to put up with, and in doing so, change society through changing gender representations.
Have you seen the new ads from Vanguard that portray a woman who meets a date in alone at night in an isolated area, and he is wearing a mask and gunning a chainsaw and she is totally oblivous to the danger of her situation or the other one with the spys and the sniper focuses on the woman to shoot. They are trying to get away with this by pretending it is a parody of horror films, but the message is clear that the woman is the unobservant and expendable one in each commerical. Clearly they are not marketing their services to women here.
Why this is even more offensive is that recently on Hulu, the very site where I first saw the ads, were comments from male viewers about women in similar roles on Grimm and other programs where the men actually believed that women behaved like this. Male viewers on Hulu on an episode of Grimm left comments like these…” I hate women sometimes. They are so dumb. They deserve what they get.” Obviously many men and young men can’t tell the difference between reality and what an actress was scripted to perform. Proving the entire point of your documentary about the power of media.
I’m from Holland and we don’t have cheerleading over here. I’ve always found the cheerleading very strange and incredibly sexist. I’ve only seen it in movies, so perhaps I am wrong, but it seems the women are there to show their underpants, or create the illusion that they are about to, all the time. They have to be cheerful always, as if they are barbiedolls and they are just there for the men to look at during the break or for the players to have sex with. The only good thing about it is that women are doing SOMETHING, as opposed to not being present at all during a match (in my country women are just not there), however, perhaps it is better to not be there than to enforce stereotypes.
To Louise — no, you are not wrong. It’s just that in Holland you are all more civil and humanely-advanced. L. Palacio — I don’t watch TV and part of the reason is just what you describe — disgusting! Also disgusting are the comments you describe. What is wrong with American culture??? (Redundant question.) That 3.5 million dollars should be donated to the deficit. Or better yet, toward organizations that help primarily women deal with the effects of culturally-enforced misogyny. Effects such as eating disorders, domestic violence, rape, assault, poverty, child support, low self esteem, sexual harassment, etc. Or distribute it directly to “the 1%.” Anything but what they are doing now.
In college sports there are men cheerleaders. I’ve never understood why in the NFL there are not both men and women cheerleaders equally. And, why the women have to be dressed so scantily. It simply is not necessary if the role of the cheerleader is simply to lead the crowd in cheers in support of a team.
[...] Read Miss Representation’s Blog Post “Not Buying It” [...]
So glad you are raising awareness so folks question the message of corporation commercials! Thank you!!
I joined Twitter just to join the protest of sexist SB ads. Now I can’t figure out how and where on Twitter to do this??
And what about all the coverage of the SB party at the Bud Light hotel in Indy. The feature attraction–Playboy bunnies. Mainline sports seems more and more to highlight the objectification of women.
Just saw the KIA commercial airing at the Super Bowl and find it offensive to women. As a woman I will never buy a KIA. Period. It’s sad to see women utilized to seel objects. Very offensive!
[...] creative directors for Super Bowl ads were men. This year, in anticipation of biased advertising, a #werenotbuyingit campaign, as well as a Change.org petition drive, were launched to raise awareness of the out-dated [...]
Today on Facebook they have an ad referencing the over-the-top ad for the Samsung Galaxy Note. If you rank it a “5″, you get entered to win prizes, including an autographed kiss from a supermodel. What kind of prize is that? And what on Earth does it have to do with the product?
[...] Today’s Mother Jones article Twitter Talks Back to Sexist Super Bowl Ads described how this campaign started by Miss Representation is taking [...]
[...] Today’s Mother Jones article Twitter Talks Back to Sexist Super Bowl Ads described how this campaign started by Miss Representation is taking [...]
My post about last night’s Super Bowl commercials: http://elizabethhallmagill.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/whos-buying-it/
[...] clichés. Sexist advertising during the Super Bowl is so expected that MissRepresentation.org, a campaign named after the brilliant documentary film, asked viewers to call out these companies on Twitter [...]
[...] out all the hyper-masculine images and sexually demeaning ads.” Link to this blog post - http://www.missrepresentation.org/advertising/super-bowl-sexism-were-notbuyingit/ “Join Miss Representation and start a movement against sexism during the Super Bowl!” [...]
Ok so GoDaddy is sexist and wrong but H&M David Beckham was ok? I was more uncomfortable with the H&M one than any of the others.
[...] with the hashtag, #notbuyingit. The hashtag was started by Miss Representation (check out their description of the project on their blog). You can check out an archive of some of the tweets, along with the commercials [...]
[...] on lazy and uninspired sexist clichés. This is so expected in fact, that MissRepresentation.org, a campaign named after the brilliant documentary film, asked viewers to call out these companies on Twitter [...]
[...] an average of 111.3 million people watched this Sunday’s game. With so many people watching, “this means most women, children, LGBT” and people of color are watching [...]
[...] Miss Representation: Super Bowl Sexism? We’re #NotBuyingIt [...]
[...] to empower women and girls by challenging their portrayal in the media, created the hashtag #NotBuyingIt for Superbowl viewers to use in tweets critiquing the ads as they aired in real time. One viewer [...]
[...] within the Super Bowl’s commercial culture has led to collective intervention as well. Miss Representation launched a twitter campaign using the hashtag #notbuyingit to express outrage, discontent, and [...]
Frankly none of the car commercials were all that oabmremle. I smiled at the Green Police, but that to me was the epitome of mixed message: you’re commended for being green, but greenness is mocked as PC.Punchbuggy was a snooze, and the Crosstour animation was cool but cripes, buy a minivan if you need to haul a bunch of stuff. Crosstour still homely.Dodge commercial was a variant on the men are oppressed by women, use this product to reassert your manliness theme which is both offensive and tiresome see also Bridgestone, Bud, et al.Hyundai/Kia were OK, but meh.
Wow… Okay I’m not sure if you are aware of this, but the Super Bowl is FOOTBALL played by MEN. It’s not sexist, how many women do you see out on the field playing, huh? Sheesh. Get off your feminist high horses. And I know I’m going to be b*tched out for saying this, because you’re all super-feminist PSYCOS. There’s being proud of being a woman, and then there’s just taking too damn far. Stop trying to prove something that doesn’t need proving. I bet most of these people are sing because they consider themselves so much ‘better’ than men. How about you stop trying to take over the world. You’re fighting for ‘equality’ yet you’re always putting men down and putting yourselves above them. You’re all f*cked.
Super Bowl is football played by men, yes. Some ads shown during the Super Bowl are demeaning to women, yes. Thats the point being raised here. All super-feminist psycho’s … i’d have to disagree there love. More like concerned family, friends, professionals and simply people who care for those they love, who have witnessed and/or experienced the very real damage that this type of ‘demeaning’ culture produces for women, girls, men and boys … when one persons experience is suffered by many, this is a social issue requiring a social response. Since when is caring about an issue ‘being on a high horse’? And because a woman raises her voice about issues affecting a lot of people … does that class her as a feminist? What is a feminist anyway? If being a feminist is about changing the social and political conditions that contribute to domestic or sexualised violence against women, unequal pay & employment opportunities, eating disorders etc … isn’t that a good thing? Um… yes! If it wasn’t for the women’s movements of the past, women would not have gained the right to vote, to get out of a violent marriage, to be educated, to choose when and if she wanted to have children or not and so forth. Also, as for putting men down … the comments i have seen are only targeted at specific media & marketing campaigns that demean women, they are not a ‘put-down’ or being demeaning to men in any way. So thanks for taking the time to comment … its one for the trash-can!
Go ahead. B*tch me out. Prove me right.
You are the only one attacking people. We are concerned and attempting to peacefully protest a serious problem. The way women are portrayed in the media today, as slutty bimbos who only want to have sex all the time is damaging. Young men are seeing this and thinking it true. When is the last time you were treated with dignity and respect by a 20 something or younger male? Even rap music is singing about smacking b**ches, and calling women whores. Men are buying into this, not all of them, but enough that it’s a big problem. While I’m personally not attracted to men I don’t have any problem with them when they treat me like a thinking person. I have 2 brothers and several male friends and they have no problem and even agree with me about the objectifying of women in American culture. If you still insist we’re attacking you, you’re probably trolling for just that, but we’re not going to give you the satisfaction of dropping to that level.
[...] the film, Missrepresentation.org did a #notbuyingit campaign that challenged the rampant sexism in Super Bowl advertising (uh hello, Go Daddy) that was totally [...]
**LETTER I AM SENDING TODAY TO DR PEPPER SNAPPLE RE: “NOT FOR WOMEN” CAMPAIGN
DR Pepper Snapple Co. April 24, 2012
Executive Vice President of Marketing
James R. Trebilcock,
Here is another complaint about your slogan for Dr Pepper TEN, “It’s not for women.” Sexism and gender stereotypes are as unfair to men as women. We do “not buy” this is purely comical and not sexist. This is a stupid slogan and I was surprised to see your companies scripted responses dated January 6 & 14th to your original Dr. Pepper TEN ad;
…When I first saw the tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign and the tagline, my
reaction was, “I’ll be the judge of that.” In other words, no one is going to tell me what I can eat or drink. My Translation- Calm down and think what I think you ugly lonely woman.
… there was a gap in our male audience that was looking for a low-calorie alternative to regular Dr Pepper that lacked the diet imagery. Therefore, we produced Dr Pepper TEN as a great option! My Translation- This commercial was not geared towards you, so don’t worry your pretty little head.
There are currently 4 commercial on your site:
“One of a kind Avengers”
Features 7 men-a threat, a powerhouse, a warrior, a leader, a genius, shopkeeper and an exec. Contrast that to the 2 women- one is a victim of crime the other a pretty order taker.
“Dr. Pepper TEN explosive new commercial”
Male- 11, main character touring the man’s shed recommending that we “keep the gardening and the ladies drinks.” Female-0
“Always one of a kind”
Main character, male, who is “one of a kind” and the first female character we see is a “cougar”. Another portrayal of women is the “control freak” and the “pepper” is his prize at the end. Positive female portrayal- 1 –the rebel?
“I exist”
This commercial features the “Dr. Pepper Guy.” What does the Dr. Pepper lady look like? I have not seen her yet. Is she much younger than the “Dr. Pepper Guy” with breast enhancements no doubt?
Using “Not for Women” perpetuates gender stereotypes. Does your board member who is the former president of Girls Inc, think this is a good message for girls? Do you think girls will get the joke? If we do not assume that Dr. Pepper is sexist because of this “tongue-in-cheek” ad than we instead will take notice that Dr. Pepper Snapple chooses to misrepresent and under represent women in other recent commercials as well. All of the above named commercials are created around men. Dr. Pepper Snapple is not a gender biased sexist company? “I’ll be the judge of that!” Hmm.. Only 1 of 10 of the leadership executives featured on your site is a woman. How do you want to tell me to interpret that?
Sincerely, Julie Gordon
[...] sexist advertising during this year’s Super Bowl, the media organization Miss Representation launched a Twitter campaign with the hashtag #NotBuyingIt where viewers (including yours truly!) called out offensive ads in [...]