Gamestation Defends "Sexist" Ad

[Valanthe]

This reminds me of the sex shop that used to be on my route to work, They used to put ads out like this all the time.

"Pitch-a-tent sale, all mags 50% off"
"Toys 25% off, cheaper than a date!"

This is the same marketting, it's childish and slightly immature, but you know what, I giggled when I saw it, and it's a -hell- of a lot better than "Your mom will hate it."

 

[BlumiereBleck]

Well my gf's are not cheap....

 

[Harrowdown]

Not only is it sexist, it doesn't really finction on any humourous level at all. It's just a random cheap shot at an entire gender, completely unrelated to the game or the companies advertising strategy. You might as well sell it as 'cheaper than a Jew' for all the comic relevence this supposedly 'edgy' advertisement has. You'd have precisely the same effect.

 

[Firesti Keralimah]

Right, and there's never any ads that show women being smarter/more competent than men, right? Sexism is a one-way street, everybody knows that!

Of course, I don't mean to imply that my sarcasm says that I'm offended by the opposite happening. I don't get offended by man/woman bashing because I'm not a little baby-man.

you are however on the gender that hasn't had to fight, and still fight for equal rights for centuries now, are you?

...You do realize that women in western culture, as a whole, have never actually been oppressed, right?

Here in the US, treatment of the Women Suffragists was sometimes quite brutal. Women HAVE been oppressed, either by being denied rights that males have or by being pigeon-holed into 'homemaker.'

Perhaps I am uninformed on the subject, but during all my history classes I never once heard about women's suffragists being treated "brutally." As for the second point, I would say that, yes, women lacked some of the rights of men, but one should easily be able to see that those same women were never expected to shoulder the same load of responsibilities that the men of their era were expected to.

I agree with most of the rest of your post, however.

 

[AWDMANOUT]

Stupid girl, taking the meaning of the ad wrong. That's all this is, really.

 

[Serenegoose]

Clearly not targetting the 'core male' demographic at all, who stereotypically couldn't get a girlfriend if they tried, what with being spotty, 15, and prone to yelling BOOM, HEADSHOT, PWN3D N00B at random. What the advert should make references to is that getting a game there will provide you with (a maximum of) 2 more nights of distraction before the crushing emptiness of your life devours you utterly. Talk about misunderstanding your demographic, edgy gamestation guy.


Beyond that, the comments thread of this article makes me think of this [http://www.gabbysplayhouse.com/wp-content/doodles/sexism-all.jpg].


Wonder why?

 

[kmarx772]

I like how there are innumerable tv commercials geared toward women that portray men as blundering idiots who would not be able to survive if not for a wife/girlfriend/mother, yet god forbid you say something humorous about women. In this case the ad didn't even mock women.(in my opinion)

 

[DocBalance]

It's actually kinda funny, even to me.

Of course, the whiner brigade shows up and tries to ruin everyone's fun.

God I hate our species.

Yeah, sexism is fun right!




Urg....

Yes, actually, it is, when it's just for harmless fun and jokes. Life's tough, grab a helmet.

 

[Foxbat Flyer]

Lol, that is an awesome ad. It would make me buy a game! (Sorry to all women this offends)

 

[Venereus]

Stupid girl, taking the meaning of the ad wrong. That's all this is, really.

Oh no! You forgot to say men can be stupid too! Someone might get offended, and then offend us by saying we should care.

 

[mirasiel]

And gamers wonder why the rest of society looks down on them as barely acceptable over-grown manchildren....

 

[jovack22]

I think they're talking about cheaper than taking her out on a date or something of that nature.

Our society is way too sensitive and loves to overreact.

 

[Panda Mania]

Huh. It depends on what the joke means-that girlfriends are cheap (and these games cheaper), that their value is quantifiable by a specific amount of (not that much) money, OR that having a girlfriend is expensive since it usually entails buying gifts for her.

Meaning #1, degrading. Meaning #2, often true, for better or worse, and thus not offensive.

 

[AWDMANOUT]

Stupid girl, taking the meaning of the ad wrong. That's all this is, really.

Oh no! You forgot to say men can be stupid too! Someone might get offended, and then offend us by saying we should care.

Very true.

Stupidity:
It's like a vicious circle that's consuming the human race bit by bit, excluding none and punishing all without discrimination.

Like AIDS.

But worse.

 

[mirasiel]

Huh. It depends on what the joke means-that girlfriends are cheap (and these games cheaper), that their value is quantifiable by a specific amount of (not that much) money, OR that having a girlfriend is expensive since it usually entails buying gifts for her.

Meaning #1, degrading. Meaning #2, often true, for better or worse, and thus not offensive.

or #3 that gamers have to pay for girlfriends to stay with them....degrading to both parties no?

Also who the fuck are you poor bastards in relationships with that you have to pay them to be with you? I feel sorry for you guys that all you can find are leeches, thats kind of sad really.

 

[Dooly95]

This company must be some big-shot company in the UK, no?

With lawyers and publicists?

So, by all means, they would have thought out whatever this person said, and their responses carefully.

I think the person's overreacting. Half of this thread seems to agree.

We've come so careful nowadays with political correctness that no one can say anything, unless they want to get bombarded with labels and insults. No one can take a joke.

 

[Psycho Cat Industries]

Eh,considering the guys I know that play CoD,that ain't far off

 

[Altorin]

honestly, this advert makes little sense, but it seems to me that men should be more offended by it then women. Since when has calling a guy's girlfriend cheap been acceptable? What does that even mean? what's it supposed to mean? Cheap with money? Cheap with their bodies? WHAT ARE YOU TELLING ME ADVERTISEMENT!?

Maybe it's something that's lost in translation.