Loutish men! Sexist Samsung TV ad takes a caning from the critics
This new ad for Samsung television targeting loutish, lazy (and fart-prone men) has caused sexism uproar across America. It touts the so-called Evolution Kit, which turns any Samsung television into a smart TV.
As Adweek describes it, "A young wife saddled with a sorry spouse decides he needs a similar upgrade, and plugs the kit into his back. Suddenly the dude's cooking, cleaning and styling her hair with a vacuum."
Sample complaint from Reddit: "I find this advert quite sexist. The idea of an 'evolved man' is basically making him the stereotype of a woman. This isn't evolution rather than devolution.
"If this advert had the women being attached to some machine to make her better equipped to clean/cook/look after children/make her loving to her spouse/partner, there would be an outcry from feminists about equality."
The clip is nearing 10 million YouTube views in just a week, "and generating gobs of attention for the product," says Adweek, declining to call it a total stinker.
"Evolution Kit," which turns any Samsung TV into a smart TV was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas,. It goes on sale this month for $299, including a smart remote that allows swiping of apps across the screen. Animation from Ecole Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques .
Just two of 1100 comments on You Tube:
"I stopped watching this about :20 seconds in...Am tired of Men being depicted as non functioning idiots to which drooling is a higher brain function. That are humans (barely) able to breath without being shown/told how and when to do so in "modern" society."
"I have 6 sons. So hopefully Samsung will understand why any product they make is now permanently off my purchase consideration list."
Comments on the AdAge website:
"That's probably one of the most vile adverts I've ever seen. This isn't the normal IV drip of laughing at men; this is simply mainlining outright contempt."
"The husband is lobotomized throughout the whole advert. 'Evolution' just makes his idiocy useful to someone else."
FOOTNOTE So what does this Evolution kit do? By simply adding an Evolution kit to your TV, you can enjoy the latest Samsung Smart TV. You can upgrade your TV’s features without having to buy a new TV.
It will let users talk to and interact with their Smart TV in a natural way ; it will add hardware enhancements to the Smart TV, for general processing and graphics processing. It will give users faster speeds when web browsing or when using apps. So nothing about doing the wife's hair then?