A call to boycott Slim-Jim and ConAgra Foods

[ace_of_something]

Also, on a note about the practicality of such a boycott, it's very likely that they own a great deal more than just those three products. If you really looked, I bet they have stakes in just about everything, most corporations do these days. Hell, kraft foods and Marboro(I think, i know it's a cigarette company) along with 3 or 4 dozen other big brand names are all owned by the same corporation.

i agree with your reasoning, but i don't buy their products in the first place so I can't really boycott them any more than I have been.

If you live in the US the odds that you don't buy any conagra foods is pretty slim. Or use any of their products.
edit: My bad. Here's a list [a herf=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ConAgra_brands]Of some of their brands.[/a] I know it's not complete.
I swore they had some link to Berkshire Hathaway. Can't recall.

Anyway, It would be retarded of me to boycott them since I own shares in ConAgra.

OT: No, they're just goofy commercials playing on what society deems as appropriate behavior. It's called humor.

 

[Hatter]

Congratulations, people like you are the reason we have whole swathes of the populations turning into whiny, celery eating girlymen because they don't have the sense god gave a potato and have skin as thin as a piece of notebook paper after it was used to soak up hamburger grease.

Grow a pair.

alternatively, stop trolling.

protip: The freedom of expression applies to advertisements, and said freedom does not come screeching to a halt because someone is offended.

Thank you, I've been trying to find out a way to say this for some time now.

Seeing/hearing things like what the OP said makes me go bannanas.

 

[darkcalling]

Are they a little sexist? Maybe, but nowhere near bad enough for a boycott. Honestly the only boycott I even considered being a conscious part of was when Fox tried to stop Watchmen from being released.

 

[KeyMaster45]

Lighten up dude, it's a commercial for beef jerky. This isn't some kind of affront to men everywhere it's a commercial for beef jerky. It's meant to be over the top, I mean ffs have you seen some of Slim Jim's other commercials? They're practically built on the idea that logic does not exist in the world that is the Slim Jim universe. I think their last campaign was the "Messin' with Sasquatch" one. Do you honestly believe that they're serious about men needing to have such over the top machismo and ego? It's meant to be funny and entertaining so you'll remember their product and, pro tip, by running to the internet to proclaim how much you now hate said product only fuels its advertisement.

I don't normally eat beef jerky, but this topic has filled me with a mean craving for some. I think I'll go out tomorrow and buy some Slim Jim.

 

[WeAreStevo]

I think we should boycott Slim Jim simply for slathering their advertisements at the beginning of EVERY video on here...

I can't sit down and watch some Zero Punctuation without being bombarded by the same "Duke Nukem" style humor of a slim jim commercial...

They should do us all a favor and just bring back the Randy Savage ads. I mean, he prevented the rapture and all....

 

[lokiduck]

The commercials have anoyed me too but... really?

If you don't like them, then don't buy.

The Ironing the jeans and the expectation that manly men have to be manly does annoy me because it's like they want girls to be in their respective roles... but...

Showing up at your ex's engagement party is NOT okay.

Obviously the woman is fine with her new future husband so obviously he needs to except it and go and find his soulmate.

If a woman did the same things she would also be carted away just because really you don't do that unless it's some romantic comedy and the ex really still loves you... but obviously she isn't.

 

[Tselis]

I thought the commercials were cute the first few times I saw them. Seeing them fifty billion times more has somewhat lessened my enthusiasm for them. Besides, my husband actually thought it was pretty 'manly' for the guy to ride behind his chick. He said if that was him, when the manbulance pulled up he would have just reached up and grabbed a handful of my rack with one hand while flipping them off with the other. I had to laugh at that.

 

[Dense_Electric]

I agree completely. They may not be the root cause of these problems in our society, but the mindset such ads promote is, and we should squash it out whenever it crops up.

And to all of you laughing, I just want to instill you with the knowledge that I'm talking about you directly. You are the ones that allow the problem to persist by condoning such ads. You say it's merely a commercial, but I ask you, if I made a commercial promoting slavery of certain races would you condone that as well? It may not have the same legal precedent, but the social problem is just as real, and in that sense it's not terribly different.

 

[Yoshemo]

Do what I did. Stop watching tv

 

[Kenbo Slice]

Yep those ads are evil and stuff.

/sarcasm

I swear you people need to get a fucking sense of humor. Now if y'all wanna see something really offensive I'll direct you right to it. I know some girls who have seen these Slim Jim ads and thought they were funny. Damn people, lighten up.

 

[Canus]

The commercial is both misogynist and misandrist? Is that possible that they are sexist against both women and men? Or is it more likely that you're wrong and those commercials are funny. The message is about getting more "spice in your life". One commercial features "The Center for Male Spice Loss". It's about boring. Manliness has nothing to do with it. Ironing jeans is boring, minivans are far more boring than sports cars, riding on the back of a scooter (not even a motorcycle as your mistakenly state) is boooooring. It featres men because men are the target group for Slim Jims, accounting for a strong majority of sales.

Slim Jims are crap, but you misinterpreting their commercials (because you are boring) is the wrong reason to boycott them.

 

[Dense_Electric]

It's about boring. Manliness has nothing to do with it.

Bullshit.

It has everything to do with "manliness," or the alleged lack thereof.

I'd like to refine my previous statement. It isn't your condoning of such commercials per se that allows these social problems to continue, it's your almost militaristic refusal to take them seriously just because they appear in the form of a "joke" (and I use that term generously).

Let me pose you this more relevant scenario: if I made a humorous commercial insinuating that a woman riding a Harley with a black leather jacket, or fixing a car, or playing football, or whatever, was "un-womanly," and she needed to be "fixed" by taking her to a hospital where we'd feed her salad and make her ride on the back of a scooter wearing a pink helmet, would you find that funny? Oh, okay, you might say you would (and you might not even be lying), but there would nonetheless be a huge public outcry. And rightfully fucking so. But why are these ads acceptable, "funny" even, when the one I proposed is hugely offensive? Is it not exactly the same scenario reversed?

 

[ADDLibrarian]

I understand where you're coming from, I do, but I don't think these are the worst out there. I'm a woman...do you know how objectified WE still are in commercials? You don't think those Axe commercials get under our skin, where we turn into salivated sex nymphos just because a guy sprayed on some body spray? Or on the flip side of that motorcycle commercial- we're "emasculating" a man by being the driver? Or those stupid Snickers commercials where the guy is caught coming in late, and the woman is dumb enough to believe him when he says he was just getting up? Or how 99% of women in advertising are skinny, perfect looking, and perfectly dressed? Then again, this is the world of advertising-it's an image they're trying to promote for their product. Not realistic people. It's like the world of porn really- porn stars have certain ahem, anatomical traits to promote a fantasy image. Not all girls have double D cups, but that's not what the world of porn says. Same thing for guys; not all of them are well endowed, but that's the fantasy image they want to project.
Wow, I got really off topic, didn't I?
Try to avoid the ads if they bother you, but people need to be media conscious- people need to know that the world of media is very different from real life.

 

[Kenbo Slice]

It's about boring. Manliness has nothing to do with it.

Bullshit.

It has everything to do with "manliness," or the alleged lack thereof.

I'd like to refine my previous statement. It isn't your condoning of such commercials per se that allows these social problems to continue, it's your almost militaristic refusal to take them seriously just because they appear in the form of a "joke" (and I use that term generously).

Let me pose you this more relevant scenario: if I made a humorous commercial insinuating that a woman riding a Harley with a black leather jacket, or fixing a car, or playing football, or whatever, was "un-womanly," and she needed to be "fixed" by taking her to a hospital where we'd feed her salad and make her ride on the back of a scooter wearing a pink helmet, would you find that funny? Oh, okay, you might say you do (and you might not even be lying), but there would nonetheless be a huge public outcry. Why are these ads acceptable, "funny" even, when the one I proposed is not?

Me thinks that you're taking these commercials a tad too seriously.

 

[Racecarlock]

Are you really insecure enough that you think a damn commercial is trying to personally insult you? I mean, G4, I think, insults me every day but I don't take it personally because I know they are in fact aiming for a much dumber crowd than me. I wish they'd actually aim for me, but I also remember making a rant on bustice on here a while back and it turns out that people knew that I was really just insecure. And no, I'm not boycotting con agra because of one damn ad. Just like I'm not boycotting EA for their stupid ads. I might boycott EA because of all of that creepy shit origin sounds like it does, and still could take your money after two years and not let you access your games, but I don't play EA games on PC anyways. I'm mainly a console gamer. Over the years, I've learned that I shouldn't let small things get to me, otherwise I'm just as bad as the people who try to censor comedians and/or complain about their insults being too shocking. Instead, just take solace in the good things you still have in life while you still have those things and your life. Otherwise, you'll die a sad man.

 

[Dense_Electric]

I understand where you're coming from, I do, but I don't think these are the worst out there. I'm a woman...do you know how objectified WE still are in commercials? You don't think those Axe commercials get under our skin, where we turn into salivated sex nymphos just because a guy sprayed on some body spray? Or on the flip side of that motorcycle commercial- we're "emasculating" a man by being the driver? Or those stupid Snickers commercials where the guy is caught coming in late, and the woman is dumb enough to believe him when he says he was just getting up? Or how 99% of women in advertising are skinny, perfect looking, and perfectly dressed? Then again, this is the world of advertising-it's an image they're trying to promote for their product. Not realistic people. It's like the world of porn really- porn stars have certain ahem, anatomical traits to promote a fantasy image. Not all girls have double D cups, but that's not what the world of porn says. Same thing for guys; not all of them are well endowed, but that's the fantasy image they want to project.

Oh, absolutely. And you can and should be offended by those things. I am, and I'm male (especially the Axe ads, the idea that I'm some sort of douchbag bicep fetishist (to paraphrase MovieBob) who can't get women on his own virtues is frankly insulting).

But therein lies my point - the fact that such media is not the direct cause of the problem doesn't mean it should be ignored. If we focused more on stamping it out, rather than taking the "ignore it" standpoint, society would eventually get the idea that such insinuations are wrong. Did we tell the slaves to "ignore it?" Did we tell women seeking the right to vote to "ignore it?" Problems don't go away just because you don't acknowledge them, and I say everyone should stand up and fight the problem whenever it arises.

It's about boring. Manliness has nothing to do with it.

Bullshit.

It has everything to do with "manliness," or the alleged lack thereof.

I'd like to refine my previous statement. It isn't your condoning of such commercials per se that allows these social problems to continue, it's your almost militaristic refusal to take them seriously just because they appear in the form of a "joke" (and I use that term generously).

Let me pose you this more relevant scenario: if I made a humorous commercial insinuating that a woman riding a Harley with a black leather jacket, or fixing a car, or playing football, or whatever, was "un-womanly," and she needed to be "fixed" by taking her to a hospital where we'd feed her salad and make her ride on the back of a scooter wearing a pink helmet, would you find that funny? Oh, okay, you might say you do (and you might not even be lying), but there would nonetheless be a huge public outcry. Why are these ads acceptable, "funny" even, when the one I proposed is not?

Me thinks that you're taking these commercials a tad too seriously.

Me thinks that you're not taking these commercials seriously enough.

I'm just going to quote myself since you made no argument refuting mine:

I'd like to refine my previous statement. It isn't your condoning of such commercials per se that allows these social problems to continue, it's your almost militaristic refusal to take them seriously just because they appear in the form of a "joke" (and I use that term generously).

 

[Canus]

It's about boring. Manliness has nothing to do with it.

Bullshit.

It has everything to do with "manliness," or the alleged lack thereof.

I love how you back up your argument. Go to the Slim Jim site and take the spice loss quiz. It's full of sexist questions like "what is the best weapon to use in a zombie attack". Or "what is mankind's greatest invention" (answer: duct tape). Clearly it's all about men being better than women, or women being better than men or whatever you're projecting onto the commercial.

 

[neurohazzard]

You know, every time I actually sit down and watch tv, I get the feeling that ads (all of them) are just flat out making fun of the intelligence of the rest of the human race. Anybody else get that impression?

 

[PlagueRat]

Honestly, I think you're taking commercials far too seriously. So you're a guy who's married and you're having to give up your fast car for a minivan to get your children around. That shouldn't make a difference. I am a gay man and 99% of commercials and games pander to straight guys. By your logic I should boycott almost all beer, all meat and the like and practically all soda that isn't diet. Not to mention a ton of games and vehicles. No, I am very happy being me and no stupid commercial's going to make me boycott anyone because they're not directly pandering (because all commercials are pandering in one way or another) to me unless the commercial or company comes out and says I'm a bad person.

 

[Fbuh]

Congratulations, people like you are the reason we have whole swathes of the populations turning into whiny, celery eating girlymen because they don't have the sense god gave a potato and have skin as thin as a piece of notebook paper after it was used to soak up hamburger grease.

Grow a pair.

alternatively, stop trolling.

protip: The freedom of expression applies to advertisements, and said freedom does not come screeching to a halt because someone is offended.

Celery is actually quite good for you, as it requires more calories to process it than it gives in return.

Also, OP, yeah the ads suck, but when haven't ads for anything ever not sucked?