It seems that there’s a never-ending stream of offensive, sexist and manipulative ads out there, each targeted at a specific type of person, for whom it is meant to appear as informative and eye-opening, even though sometimes is the exact opposite…
It wasn’t that long ago (at all) that we posted a Maserati Ghibli ad, which painted the picture for the perfect (always-male) buyer that the company was looking for. Its goal was to flatter the ego of prospective buyers, and trick them into thinking they are the person in the ad when they drive the car.
Now, while the previously mentioned ad was not blatantly obvious in its politically incorrect message, the one that actually makes up the topic of this piece is. TrueCar.com “helps” buyers choose their car, and takes the strain out of going to the dealership, and doing so unprepared, as this ad claims. We don’t even have to explain it, because the message is so blatantly obvious, and you can check it out for yourself after the virtual jump.
Responding to criticism about portraying helpless women who turn to TrueCar for help, the company’s PR firm PGCCampbell sent Adweek the following response:
“Regardless of race or gender, being a more informed car buyer benefits consumers. TrueCar supplies a hassle-free experience for both men and women by providing car-buying information the public can’t get elsewhere. This particular ad is pro-consumer and pro-women. It was developed by our creative director, who is a woman, and it addresses a real consumer issue in the marketplace.”
If you ask me, ad agencies never seem to stop, churning out such commercials and then denying it via sugar-coated responses which always avoid the subject and try and distract attention or move the problem someplace else. The implications on this matter are far deeper than it would seem at first, and you will be able to spot toned down versions of the same message as below in pretty much any ad you see.
By Andrei Nedelea
VIDEO