We continue to get email reacting not just to Wednesday’s piece by Kate McMahon about an ad campaign developed by the “Got Milk?” folks that positioned milk as a way to temper the effects of pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), but also to the emails posted yesterday that criticized Kate and others for not finding the humor in the campaign.
One MNB user wrote:
Suggesting that a woman who is upset about something is simply PMSing is basically saying that she has no grounds for being upset in the first place. It invalidates whatever she’s saying. It also reinforces the notion that women are -- by nature -- irrational, hysterical and shouldn’t be taken seriously. That’s the issue, in my opinion. The point was poetically proven by the people who suggesting that Kate herself was PMSing when she wrote the piece. See how that invalidates her point? Sexist jokes are no funnier than racist jokes, but they’re still socially acceptable in 2011.
And another MNB user wrote:
Kate—I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE with you. Bashing women for crap like this seems to be the last bastion of sanctioned open prejudice. Let’s see how “funny” black people would find it if a commercial for, say, malt liquor were aired in prime time with full-on stereotyping. To echo Kate’s exasperation, COME ON!! I personally am so stinkin’ SICK of this BS passing for acceptable advertising to the hordes of blank-staring consumers with very low standards for humor. I will ALWAYS flip channels the instant some dumb, chirpy bath tissue commercial comes on (“Let’s get real with what goes on in the bathroom”—no, let’s not), and will do the same thing if some creepy ED promo starts.
My best defense is streaming videos and TV series, which right now I can only do downstairs (vs bedroom TV w/basic cable only). I heart Netflix but when the price hike kicks in this Sept I’ll be switching to Amazon Prime for free shipping AND free streaming!
BTW, I’m a female, have 3 kids, love performance cars, do kickboxing, and am an early adopter with a Boxee streaming device I had upstairs until our older LCD TV crapped out. I use it to watch great internet-based content FREE. No commercials to deal with in any way whatsoever. So take THAT Madison Ave—maybe you should get your cliché ridden heads out of your rear ends and look around at the real world once in a while. Because there’s a whole generation of viewers who are rapidly turning to the internet (and not just HULU either) who do not see mainstream TV as their 1st choice. Deal with it!!
Thanks—and keep on telling the truth the way you do so eloquently! The mindless masses need to be challenged to think once in a while.
Wow. Now that’s what I call a spirited defense.
And, continued email about Michael Sansolo’s column about aging baseball stadiums and their lack of amenities, and mine about lessons that can be learned from minor league baseball teams.
One MNB user wrote:
Putting together the baseball stadium electronic media ideas with in-store electronic media would definitely help sell the individual store or chain. Can you imagine 15 or 20 inch TV screens above the Produce bins, the Cheese sections, the Bakery gondolas, even meats SELLING what was in the bin? Giving its’ features, benefits, and uses would work. Using the screens as a revenue source is possible but could ruin the intent to create and sell the individualism of the store or chain. Bet sales volumes would increase particularly with the electronic savvy demographic that is used to getting information from this media. It would also work great for the impulse buyer. Isn’t that the kind of transference of and use of media that you and Michael were getting at?
And MNB user Craig Espelien wrote:
Good morning – love the discussion about minor league ball vs. major league ball. The commentary is right on. I am, however, not sure you took the analogy far enough today (FaceTime). If you look at minor league ball, as Kevin stated, the need is to build the “brand” – the team, the stadium, the experience, and the collective offering of “products” rather than individual products. This is where most retailers miss out as they become too much about the things inside the four walls rather than the entire experience of the four walls. If we go even further, private brands are sort of like those minor league players that get called up two or three times a year – some people know their names but most folks just see another “body” (or product) that is part of the team.
Savvy retailers will elevate their stores – and their products – to superstar status by celebrating the interconnectivity of all of the pieces. In effect, they would celebrate the team – not each individual player (or brand) as those players (brands) may become famous somewhere else (as a long time Minnesota Twins fan, there are lots of ex-Twins who went on to superstardom elsewhere when the Twins were a glorified minor league club) and the only way to create longevity is to build the overall brand – and those fringe players who will always be part of the home team!!
Play ball.
One MNB user wrote:
Suggesting that a woman who is upset about something is simply PMSing is basically saying that she has no grounds for being upset in the first place. It invalidates whatever she’s saying. It also reinforces the notion that women are -- by nature -- irrational, hysterical and shouldn’t be taken seriously. That’s the issue, in my opinion. The point was poetically proven by the people who suggesting that Kate herself was PMSing when she wrote the piece. See how that invalidates her point? Sexist jokes are no funnier than racist jokes, but they’re still socially acceptable in 2011.
And another MNB user wrote:
Kate—I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE with you. Bashing women for crap like this seems to be the last bastion of sanctioned open prejudice. Let’s see how “funny” black people would find it if a commercial for, say, malt liquor were aired in prime time with full-on stereotyping. To echo Kate’s exasperation, COME ON!! I personally am so stinkin’ SICK of this BS passing for acceptable advertising to the hordes of blank-staring consumers with very low standards for humor. I will ALWAYS flip channels the instant some dumb, chirpy bath tissue commercial comes on (“Let’s get real with what goes on in the bathroom”—no, let’s not), and will do the same thing if some creepy ED promo starts.
My best defense is streaming videos and TV series, which right now I can only do downstairs (vs bedroom TV w/basic cable only). I heart Netflix but when the price hike kicks in this Sept I’ll be switching to Amazon Prime for free shipping AND free streaming!
BTW, I’m a female, have 3 kids, love performance cars, do kickboxing, and am an early adopter with a Boxee streaming device I had upstairs until our older LCD TV crapped out. I use it to watch great internet-based content FREE. No commercials to deal with in any way whatsoever. So take THAT Madison Ave—maybe you should get your cliché ridden heads out of your rear ends and look around at the real world once in a while. Because there’s a whole generation of viewers who are rapidly turning to the internet (and not just HULU either) who do not see mainstream TV as their 1st choice. Deal with it!!
Thanks—and keep on telling the truth the way you do so eloquently! The mindless masses need to be challenged to think once in a while.
Wow. Now that’s what I call a spirited defense.
And, continued email about Michael Sansolo’s column about aging baseball stadiums and their lack of amenities, and mine about lessons that can be learned from minor league baseball teams.
One MNB user wrote:
Putting together the baseball stadium electronic media ideas with in-store electronic media would definitely help sell the individual store or chain. Can you imagine 15 or 20 inch TV screens above the Produce bins, the Cheese sections, the Bakery gondolas, even meats SELLING what was in the bin? Giving its’ features, benefits, and uses would work. Using the screens as a revenue source is possible but could ruin the intent to create and sell the individualism of the store or chain. Bet sales volumes would increase particularly with the electronic savvy demographic that is used to getting information from this media. It would also work great for the impulse buyer. Isn’t that the kind of transference of and use of media that you and Michael were getting at?
And MNB user Craig Espelien wrote:
Good morning – love the discussion about minor league ball vs. major league ball. The commentary is right on. I am, however, not sure you took the analogy far enough today (FaceTime). If you look at minor league ball, as Kevin stated, the need is to build the “brand” – the team, the stadium, the experience, and the collective offering of “products” rather than individual products. This is where most retailers miss out as they become too much about the things inside the four walls rather than the entire experience of the four walls. If we go even further, private brands are sort of like those minor league players that get called up two or three times a year – some people know their names but most folks just see another “body” (or product) that is part of the team.
Savvy retailers will elevate their stores – and their products – to superstar status by celebrating the interconnectivity of all of the pieces. In effect, they would celebrate the team – not each individual player (or brand) as those players (brands) may become famous somewhere else (as a long time Minnesota Twins fan, there are lots of ex-Twins who went on to superstardom elsewhere when the Twins were a glorified minor league club) and the only way to create longevity is to build the overall brand – and those fringe players who will always be part of the home team!!
Play ball.
- KC's View:
