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Photo from dockers.com
It’s no secret that the economy has hit the apparel industry hard.
In an attempt to gain consumers, Dockers has put out an ad campaign that is flirting with sexist ideas.
They’re asking their male consumers to be men and “Wear the Pants”. On their website they have a “MAN-IFESTO” which outlines why they need to man-up.
Their man motto states among many things ” … somewhere along the way the world decided it no longer needed men. Disco by disco latte by foamy non-fat latte men were stripped of their khakis and left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny…”.
I don’t know if insulting men is going to drive them to hit the stores and shop for a manly pair of khakis but if attention is what Dockers wanted then they will definitely get that with this ad campaign.
I wonder what kind of research went into deciding khaki’s were the quintessential man pant. No offense to Dockers and their khakis, but personally, I have always thought denim had a more rugged appeal than a soft khaki pant.
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Who the HECK where’s Dockers…my grandpa?! Welcome to the Modern world my friends! Get over yourself DOCKERS! ;P
I think its funny and any man that takes offense is probably the obnoxious man that skipped me at starbucks this morning and proceeded to order two skinny lattes (no foam) and then look at me with the stare of death because my wet umbrella accidentally brushed up against his suit…
If ads are reminding these men and making them uncomfortable that yes, they should contain qualities that make them MEN then oh well. I dont get offended when every pillsbury, better crocker, stoeffers commercials feature all women doing their womanly duties. When is the last time you saw a Mr. Clean commercial with DAD mopping the floor!
I don’t think it is the men who should be offended by this ad so much as the women. “Cities crumble…children misbehave” because men are more androgynous(woman-like)? This is telling us that the world is falling apart because men are less barbaric and more domestically responsible than the historical norm. And the slogan “wear the pants” is based on the idea that men are traditionally in control and wear, you guessed it, pants. As an adult with a sense of humor, I find the ad a little funny. As a responsible adult, I find it terribly offensive because I know that the world isn’t falling apart because men gave up some of their control, but there are a LOT of impressionable youths who will read or see the ad and NOT realize it.
I totally agree with Kate, men are not the ones being attacked in this ad. Femininity is being attacked. Being feminine is the negative thing, which is the basis for all sexism and gender discrimination. I also think the ad is slightly funny but it’s still offensive and ridiculous. the world is falling apart because men are more androgynous? Really? Femininity of men is what causes all of the problems of the world. That TOTALLY makes sense. Telling men to “man up” or be more manly is saying that to be feminine is a negative thing and that is NOT ok. being “feminine” has just as many strengths as being “masculine.”
You know it’s funny I thought that the ad was kind of corky and I also don’t appreciate narrow definitions of manhood like the one described therein. But what I did like was that it was refreshing to see that somebody somewhere made an ad that espoused some semblance of manhood other than the kind of dorky demeaning crap that you see in Ambicrome and Fitch, Bud Light, and Trojan Condom ads.
right,what kind of “MAN” wears dockers???…sooo lame.
I actually find this ad refreshing and amusing! I can’t stand that our culture tries to pretend like there aren’t differences between genders besides anatomy. A strong Manyly Man should set examples of taking responsibility for his actions, doing hard work (yes! physical labor! take out the trash and be the one to mow the lawn!) and generally doing the things weaker men don’t want to do. That’s the man deserving of respect! If this ad makes us rethink our gender perceptions, then fine! I’m grateful that I married a “Manly Man”!
THANK YOU. There ARE differences in gender, and each gender should be honored for the things that they do best. And this ad is FUNNY and TRUE. Some people are just offended by the truth I guess…
yea, just like there are differences in the races!
let’s think about what we say before we say it.
Preach on sister, I couldn’t agree more. All you people that find this add offensive need to realize that men and women are different, and men do need to “Man Up”. this world is going to hell in a hand bag, maybe thats because too many “men” are carrying them.
Dont get your panties in an uproar
Whew. what a relief. Was afraid I was the only one who thought this ad was funny until I saw the comments. I think people need to lighten up.
nothing wrong with wearing dockers
Best casual clothing
sorry posters but of you most need to get a life.
check you closet
I think it’s funny. And maybe a little bit true. No matter how much “I can do it myself!” a woman possesses, she still appreciates a “Manly Man.” Possibly better stated: The more self-reliant the woman, the less tolerant she is of a “girlie man.” So, yeah, man up, dudes — and gals — as long as that still includes being respectful of the other gender.
Hummer tried this approach about 3 years ago. A wimpy looking man was in the grocery store buying organic green foods and tofu while the “manly” guy in front of him was buying pounds and pounds of beef. So next thing you know is the wimpy vegetarian hops into his Hummer and the graphics say “Restore your Manhood”. After an uproar, Hummer changed the commercial to say “Restore the Balance”.
I say “AMEN!” to the Dockers ad. It may have been meant to be a funny marketing tool, but there is some serious truth in it. I miss the generation of manly men! “Men” these days have no respect. Most are as bad as a little high school teenage girl. I love the ad!
This ad HAD to be written for my brother…
How true… ” The more self-reliant the woman, the less tolerant she is of a “girlie man”.
However, I think khaki’s are kind of dorky, the sort of thing worn by suburban daddies running weekend errands in the mini van. Give me a well built man filling out some classic button Levis, any day.
Thank you, Michelle, for bringing this up, as it is one of the most pressing issues in our country today. Being a manly man myself (no, they have not gone away like this ad suggests), I am offended to the point of tears by this ad. However, your article gives me hope that my mission to bring Dockers to justice is not over!
God Bless
The leaders of the feminist movement are all old, ugly bitties that no one would want to mate with anyway.
Its a keeper!
thank you lord for dockers and manly men.
I agree 100% with Go Dockers! I don’t think manly men will be insulted they’ll probably think it’s high time their strengths are recognized.
Young or old – it’s men who wear dockers. I love the ad because it’s 100% true. Men aren’t men anymore. (not all men) We drink low-fat lattes, light beer, eat tofu and other similar shiit, we are afraid of what people think of us, we’re afraid of women and what they might say or think of us, we drive Hybrids etc. etc. etc.
What we need to do – as men – is get on our Harleys, or into our muscle-car, grow our beards, grow back our nuts, head over to the nearest steak-house and discuss this Dockers ad with other men.
We will still respect our mothers, sisters, wives – and stay rugged at the same time.
I think the ad is compeltely true. Men don’t behave like my dad did. We “castrate the gelding and bid him be fruitful”. Men are naturally “hunters” but we’ve taken that away from them. And really what woman in her right mind doesn’t like to be pursued. Mostly I think it’s the women who need to get a grip and let men be men. And I don’t think treating a woman like a lady is demeaning to her. I am one and I love it. I love the ad.
I think this add is great! I myself wear khakis,and yes, I am under 30 years old. Its part of a casual business attire, for those of us who can’t wear shorts and sandals to work, because we went to college. However, I think this add would almost be better for Dunkin Donuts, or maybe a sandwich shop. Because a man doesn’t drive a hybrod, doesn’t drink starbucks, and they don’t eat salads for lunch. Eat healthy, YES, eat tofu and sunflower seed sprinkled salads, NOOOOOOO
I love the ad. I’m going to buy Dockers for my husband and 2 sons for Christmas.
I think this is fantastic. I will support what “Dockers” said because it’s true. As a woman, I love it when my husband opens the door for me and treats me like the woman that I am. I support this because men need to stand up and be men. But women also have the responsibility to allow men to be real men. I think the word “funny” should be removed from the voting. It’s not funny.
I am a man and hate it when I see a young man not open the door for an elderly woman (or elderly man). To me, I feel more like a man when I can help people. Our family loves this ad. We are planning on purchasing Dockers for our entire family for Christmas. We don’t care if it’s a way for the company to make more money. Who cares. They still have a GREAT MESSAGE! We will support it.
AMEN to Dockers for nailing it right on the head! I don’t even wear dockers, but I’d go buy some just to hand them out, in support of this motto!
I love the advertisement! I only wear skirt and love my femininity! We need men to be men across all Races and Nationalities in America. We have become and adrogynous society.
I’d like to think I’m a MAN and I love this ad! It’s nice to see something like this in this world we live in…. We need more Clint Eastwood’s!!! I’ll go buy a pair just to support these guys for having balls, this politically correct nation is making me sick.
Why is it to be a man a man has to abuse his health, abuse the planet, and be subservient to women? To be a man is to be responsible, to do what is fair and what is right, and not let women have their cake and eat yours too. The Docker’s campaign is wrong on this one; if women can enjoy their lattes, fine chocolates, expensive foreign travel, there is no reason men cannot.
As for driving a Hammer, eating beef, drinking hard liquor, if a man does this, this makes him nothing but a brute. Driving a Hammer transfers your money to foreign oil rich dictators, eating beef increases your risk of cancer and is bad for you for many other reasons, and drinking hard liquor is a sign that a man needs to drug himself to bear through the day and is hardly a sign of strength.
Yes, the world is falling apart when men are disrespected. Just look where the society is heading in the US. It is getting trashier, more materialistic, and more narcissistic. That’s what happens when women dictate. With seriously biased family laws driven by feminists, out of wedlock birth rate is higher than ever, and the young generation is more psychologically unstable and otherwise damaged then ever.
What are you talking about, “when women dictate?” Do you not realize that that vast majority of power positions in the USA are held by men? So who is dictating here when women don’t even have an equal say? When everytime a woman does get into power, the press spends all of their energy trying to make her look ridiculous? Some family laws are biased towards women but keep in mind that until very recently, they were 95% slanted towards men, yet women just had to deal with that and be content when divorce left her destitute and childless because the man who refused to let her work outside of the home decided he wanted to keep her children and property just to spite her and the law was on his side just because he was a man. Don’t believe me? Pop open a history book. Androgyny means that women and men are supposed to be more the same. So if men become a little more nurturing and women become a little more confident, then I don’t see how that is a bad thing. Women have as much right to self-fulfillment as men do, no more and certaintly no less. The problem isn’t even that women have more control now, it is that men do not want to give up any of theirs. So now it’s “sure Honey, go back to work, just make sure you are home in time to still make dinner, do the laundry, help the kids with homework, bathe them, put them to sleep, clean the house, and then still have some energy to be intimate with me.”
Here is what I mean by women dictate:
Women form the majority of the electorate. Not only there are more women of voting age than men, women are more involved in politics and champion their causes much more vigorously than men. This along with the gender feminist misandrist campaign leads many if not majority of men to vote against their and children’s best interests. So, despite man forming the majority of the representatives in the House and the Senate, it is women’s agenda that wins the day. This is compounded by the media that is significantly biased in favor of women because women spend more time in front of the TV and have much greater purchase decision making power than men (advertisements and TV shows are mostly tailored to the female consumer).
Women decide at least 80% of household spending. Men decide the remaining 10 to 20%.
Women control 60% of the wealth in the United States.
It comes as a surprise to most that women really dictate and shape what is happening far more than men, but it is true, and it is men who have been getting the short end of the stick for too long.
Historically speaking, women have always gotten the “short end of the stick.” The problem isn’t so much that women have too much power (because they still have less than men), it is that men are loathe to give up any of theirs, despite the fact that they have held the dominant social position for a very, VERY long time. And as for women controling household spending, women still take care of the majority of domestic tasks, including housework and child rearing on top of their career responsibilites. Yes, more men help out but even when both partners participate, studies have shown that women still carry much more than half of the responsibility. Also, yeah there may be some uber-feminists who go a little far but you need to remember that this freedom and these rights we have as woman are relatively new to women yet they are things that men take for granted because they are born with them. It hasn’t even been a hundred years since we earned the right to vote (and more women are of voting age because there are slightly more women than men in the world yet…we still have to fight for equality). Men get the short end of the stick? We have never had a female president, Congress is full of men, and all of the top careers are dominated by men (doctors, lawyers, etc.). We need to work together and realize that most of the progress towards equality has happened only recently (within the last century) and there is a lot to work out still.