someone recently forwarded this message to me - i am going to copy the message verbatim and wanted your opinion as to what you think of the commercial.
I recently viewed a disturbing Old Navy advertisement on TV promotingone of their new lines of jeans called the Flirt. The lyrics to thesong playing in the ad suggest that when a woman "says no, and no again," this is part of the process of flirting. This conveyance isvery disturbing to me as a professional who has spent years working toimprove communication regarding consent in the dating situation.It is imperative that we educate our students & the public, both maleand female, that when a woman says no it means NO. It's not a playfulexchange that is meaningless and can be ignored, but a declaration of her intent that must be honored. This advertisement goes against abelief system that we as sexual assault prevention professionals havebeen working hard to correct. I would encourage anyone who isinterested to send an e-mail to Old Navy expressing similar concerns about this advertising campaign. Although perhaps meant to be cute and"just" flirtatious, the ad has a very damaging message that should notbe promoted.Here's the link to view the ad: www.oldnavy.com
Here's an address to voice your concerns: custserv@oldnavy.com
Anamarie
Chair, Sexual Assault Prevention Team
When you see the ad - do you think the issues raised by Anamarie are justified?
If yes, why? If not, why not?
What was your reaction when you saw the ad towards the product?
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5 comments:
As a consumer, I do not think that I would look at the ad in this way.
As a student and future business owner, I can see where she is coming from. I want to believe that this was not the intent of the Old Navy Marketing executives but who knows what people will do to get a rise out of people.
The way I see it...Old Navy found a cute and clever way to market their new jeans. The song playing in the background refers to the girl flirting with the guy. It is shown in the scene that plays...if this ad was going to be used in a sexual assault case it wouldn't hold any ground. In no way, shape or form does the girl look to be in distress, nor does she appear to be unhappy, on the contrary, she IS flirting,smiling into the mirror at the guy standing behind her. He is not disrespecting her in any way. There are more qualified examples of sexual assault.she shouldn't be wasting her time building a case against an ad that most women connect with and even laugh at.
I agree with her that a women saying no is not flirting however, like katie&lauren said in the commercial the girl is flirting. I think more people will just pay attention to what's going on in the scene then actually analyzing what the lyrics are saying.
I asked my husband to watch the ad this morning and said nothing more about it. Of course, he knew something was up that I asked him to watch it. But he did say immediately that he completely got the message that women are just "teases" and, I'm paraphrasing, that no doesn't always mean no.
Poor judgement on Old Navy's part - they could have achieved a similar ad with a different song.
melanie, i completely agree with you and your husband. i think the ad and the music's underlying message comes across as - these jeans will make you so irresistable that the guy won't be able to resist you. and that coupled with the line, she says no and no again.....just sends the wrong message out.
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