I have a feeling this ad is not going to please Lebanese women. It is definitely not as bad as the Ministry of Tourism’s Lebanon Blues but it is still demeaning to all women and Lebanese women specifically.
Speaking of such ads, this reminded me of some vintage ads I saw once at darkroastedblend [Link]. Seems to me some Lebanese still have the same mentality.
First, Happy Mother’s day to all mothers out there…
second, I’d like to remind you that a lot of mothers do just that, are mothers and house wives, it might sound archaic and out of fashion to some, but it’s still out there.
and getting them something that makes their life that much easier is quite appropriate i think…
Ronman,
A lot more are no longer doing it in my opinion but that’s no reason to target women as being only housewifes.
Had they put the washing machine without the “Cross your mother’s mind”, it would have better but they presumed only mothers have this on their mind.
lets look at it in a different way guys…
im for one against this wave of sexism especially with the ministry of tourism ads…
but this one.. i mean come on.. ur taking this a step too far
they want to market a washing machine and the event is mothers day… enno 3ade…
this is turning into mass hysteria in my opinion. law kenet di3ayet shoes w 7ato “cross ur mother’s mind” ma ken 7ada lakasha…
mesh kell shi ne2lebo sexism and discrimination…
Don’t you think it’s “surprising” to see that in 50 years ads targeting women haven’t changed???
They are still portrayed as housewives who spend their days cooking and cleaning.
Here we might not consider it sexism because the notion of women’s rights and positive discrimination is virtually non-existent. But anywhere else in the civilized world, this ad would have provoked a scandal.
The image of coupling women with house appliances so wrong? Will they advertise their new dishwashers on Father Day? Anyway those are household items and I do not thing a washing machine is appropriate for mothers day nor a huge plasma screen appropriate for father day…The gift has to be personal, maybe flowers/cloth/personal items/ Jewelery or Watches/ or vacation tickets and packages…that is just me though…
“The really incentive ad would be getting your Mom a new improved maid from a better nationality ;)” How horrible is Lebanon?
Samer,
No one said someone’s messing with women rights here but portraying Lebanese women as housewifes is first and foremost incorrect and demeaning in a way.
How many mothers do u know who still clean and take care of their houses?
As Devin said, they have their own “Sinkaras” now.
Devin,
I loved your idea of an ad lol, I think am gonna try to draw it somehow as a campaign against abusing foreign maids.
I agree with Devin, but also with Samer. I don’t see it as derogatory, as for your notion of most of them don’t do it Najib, you are so wrong, you have to remember something, Lebanon is not the coast, Ashrafieh, Gemayze and Beirut’s suburbs. you also have other area in Bekaa, the north and the south where women (the majority and i dont mean women that are made not to work, I’m totally against that) are still doing the housewife job with all the pride they have, they are mothers above all, and have pleasure in taking care and nurturing a family.
i dont think there is anything wrong with a family where the mother is the one that handles the household. Have you ever tried to run a house Najib?
I’m happily married and have a system with my wife where we both share the workload as she takes care of our daughter full time, it’s a hell of a job, back breaking too… and if you run a stat now, you will find that washing machines and Dishwashers are the realm of the Woman, not the man, as there are a lot of my switched-on friends that still ask their mums to do their laundry and ironing (regardless of Sinkara’s presence) because one, they don’t know how to operate the washing machine, two, they don’t trust Sinkara with an Iron, 3- they are goddamn lazy, and will buy their mum a state of the art washing machine because they think the one they have is a handful and nightmare to operate…
this has nothing to do with sexism just plain old tradition…i agree linking the two is a bit of an old way of doing things but it’s definitely not wrong.
by the way saw the Lebanon blues ad last night on CNN? WTF? are they serious? forget that it’s sexist, the whole production sucks…I’ve seen ads in my radio and TV production 101 class that are done much better than that…
I don’t get how this ad is demeaning. My mom would be happy if I got her a new washer. It doesn’t mean it’s demeaning. Not sure how you got the idea that this ad is portraying ALL Lebanese women as housewives or how it’s really insulting.
Ronman,
Even in the Bekaa and in the distant villages, women get maid to do their job, so its not just Achrafieh that I am talking about. Anyway we cannot really come up with a conclusion on the matter as you need a study to do so. We just have contrasting subjective points of views.
There’s nothing shameful about a woman handling the household but there’s nothing wrong about a man handling it as well. I wouldnt mind handling the washing machine or dishwasher instead of my wife if she happens to be working late. I am against the thought that those stuff are for women only and I believe lots of Lebanese women and men agree with me.
So advertising about a dishwasher as the perfect gift for a mother on Mother’s day is sending out a message that a mother has on its job description a task to fulfill which is dishwashing which I find demeaning.
Patrick,
Sometimes I get the impression u just like to disagree with me:-)
Well there’s nothing wrong with us having different views on something. In this case, I just think you’re connecting two things that aren’t being connected together.
Those old school ads, are sexist. Outright and obvious. The washing machine ad, for the special offer isn’t. It’s not even trying to imply that it has a sexist message, most mothers in Lebanon would love a brand new Samsung washing machine.
Nowhere on the ad does it say this is the “perfect” gift for a mother, or the only gift you should get her.
At the end of the day, we live in a sexist world. It’s not just Lebanon’s problem, but when it comes down to this specific ad, it’s really not offensive.
“At the end of the day, we live in a sexist world” doesnt mean that we have to comply to it nor advocate its imperfections (in this case..sexism)..i think that its our duty to at least try to make a change in the way common people think. they take the fact that women work at home for granted( and at many occasions as something obligatory)..which is in my opinion quite perposterous.
From a marketers point of view:
If the women aren’t the ones doing the washing, they generally still are the ones who choose these appliances, if not solely, then with some help BUT they are almost always involved in picking out the right washing machine, dishwasher, etc.
The event is mother’s day, hence targeting women. This washing machine needs some promotion, let’s promote it on mother’s day!
I agree that this ad isn’t as bad as the older ones. Those are purely disgusting.
The marketing team behind this advertisement is not being sexist. For them to release this ad they must have checked their database on who their clientele are for this product.
Would I buy my mom a washing machine on Mother’s Day? Nope! because I feel like that even if she wold be the one using it, it’s an appliance for the house and not for her. I would take her on a shopping/spa spree instead. Spoil her and give her a day off from the washing.
Regardless of my previous comment, the offer is cool, i always prefer vacuuming over doing the laundry, so i would have bought my mom the new washing machine, just so i get a new vacuum cleaner to play with…LOL
p.s: having different opinion is the norm…just thrusting one’s opinion in the face of another and trying to argue that the other is wrong and you’re right is a problem