What do men and beef have in common? Nothing, except maybe they’re both bad for your health when taken in excess, which makes me wonder at the association made in a fairly new ad between the two disparate elements.
In the ad, young men, who (not so accidentally) are either half Filipino or were born in western countries, play football on a green field against a backdrop of grazing black cattle. At first you’d wonder, are they advertising the cattle’s impending death by football or are they suggesting these chiseled men are bred like cattle? Then you realize, what they’re really saying is that Angus beef is superior to the local variety just as these nearly foreign looking men are superior to the pure native stock.
Oh but wait, who got the Golden Boot for his excellent performance in the Long Teng Cup? Wasn’t that the short, brown, homegrown Chieffy Caligdong? I’d like to see small brown cattle and Chieffy in that ad!
Label alternative: Corny Beef
I'd like to say it's refreshing to have half naked men instead of the usual scantily clad lady with large bazoomas being used to sell a product…but no…this ad..just no. This actually compels me to swear off corned beef for awhile.
-MaryFGR
Haha. Hey you're right Mary. For a change these are half dressed guys instead of scantily clad women. Well that must be the only upside to this ad 😀
-_- y'know I once asked the boys in my gender relations class how they would react if girls gave them cat calls and wolf whistles as they walked down the street. Majority answer: They would be flattered and actually hook up with the women in a snap. I was shocked, but as my gender relations teacher explained, that kind of behavior is only insulting if the receiving party belongs to a gender that's already subordinated. Thus explains why scantily clad men in an ad like this holds different connotations. They aren't being objectified, more like idolized. I'm glad that class opened my eyes to things like these, I just hate the things I see EVERYWHERE I go.
I refer you to this webcomic that describes my situation perfectly: http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4051
-MaryFGR
Just passin' by if you don't mind.
I was on a taxi driving through EDSA when I saw a billboard ad for this. For me, it didn't really make sense.. I mean, half naked men = corned beef, what?
I was, let's say, enlightened with your explanation. But still, I don't understand all the fuss people in our country have for half-something men. I don't think they're special at all.
Cheers!
Kert
Gasp Mary… nightmares I say… gender identity was the topic of my thesis and I still can't sleep when I think of all I had to go through…
Hey Kert, I don't get the fixation Pinoys in general have over half Pinoys too. I bet we of the native stock can do just as well 🙂
ahahahahha. TAMA! (na-miss ko ang mga post mo…)
Hehe. Thanks Japi 🙂
it's not only the concept being bad. ang pangit talaga ng buong commercial!
I absolutely agree scarlet. 😀
They're making us think these guys are "meaty" well I don't see that. They have big builds but not meaty, unless someone else thinks so XD
Hehe. This product so got their ad wrong…
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