Only The Hottest Sexist Ads From The Last 20 Years
So much insulting FIRE.
Thank you, India and South Korea, for showing the world that Ad Sexism and even Misogyny are still HOTT. #LeanIn…and show your TITS!
1. Army (UK)
BE THE BEST at applying makeup. I guess Be All You Can Be ain’t good enough anymore. Chicks. How do you get chicks to wanna be in the Man-Army. We punch them in their cakey faces with an amazingly insulting print ad featuring a disturbing-looking and especially pathetic art direction attempt at racial inclusion. From January, 2020. Ad agency: Karmarama, London.
2. Duncan Quinn (USA)
Yes, this is a real print ad. I scanned it from City Magazine in July, 2008. Fashion Advertising and Misogyny have of course been comfortable bedmates forever. I’ve seen most of the examples from this Century. And, this is the worst one. Men’s suits seller Duncan Quinn’s tagline was: “Savile Row meets Rock 'n Roll”. Blindfolding and strangling a woman in lingerie? ROCK ‘N ROLL.
3. Dcash Hair Dye For Men (Thailand)
COPY: Your wife: one of the gray hair planters. Dye!
Yep. There she is, literally planting gray hairs in your scalp. Look at her angry bitchy face. DIE! From April, 2013. Ad agency: Creative Juice, Bangkok.
4. Emami Pain Balm (UAE)
Headaches are a BITCH. Keeping with the same theme as above. She could, literally, chew his ear off (heh). From May, 2009. Ad agency: Percept Gulf FZ, Dubai.
5. Essex County (UK)
Boys are SMART. Girls are PRETTY. From September, 2015. No further commentary. An Essex Council spokesman dug his own grave:
"The choice of wording on the display material was not intended to apply exclusively to the gender of the accompanying models (Oh Really) … All our campaigns are based on research into littering and littering behaviors ... The research divides the public into different segments, based on certain characteristics. It is a technique widely used (dude, you’re six feet down) by commercial businesses to identify consumer groups to better target communications."
6. Fiat Spider (USA)
TITS or ASS? Please note that this ad was placed in Playboy. BUTT, that’s not the only place it ran. AND it’s from September, 2016 not 1966. Ad agency: FCB, Chicago.
7. Kitadol (Chile)
Copy on the medal: YOUR WAR IS OVER. KITADOL MENSTRUAL RELIEF.
Got it, ladies? Us men deserve a fucking MEDAL (or at least a commendation) for every one of your on-the-rag cycles WE make it through. This ad won a Silver Press Lion at Cannes in 2011. I wonder if any menstruating women were on the judges panel (no). Ad agency: Prolam Y&R, Santiago.
8. Fernet Stock (Czech Republic)
Czechs mix Fernet, an herbal spirit, with tonic which they then call Bavarian beer. So, this is basically a beer ad—an especially misogynistic beer ad. Husband and Wife at lake beach. Wife is complaining too much for Husband. Husband lets air of out his sex doll Wife. She deflates. He rolls her up. And scene. To the V/O:
“In an ideal world, you could roll up your spouse. In the real world, you’ll just have to wind down yourself. Fernet Stock.”
From 2007. Ad agency: Y&R, Prague.
9. Bacardi (Israel)
Bacardi wanted to target young Israeli women with their girly fruity pre-mix drinks. So! In June, 2009, they started this “Ugly Girlfriend” promo, the “hotness-boosting” Summer accessory. The backlash was so fast and furious they told Tel Aviv agency McCann Digital to pull the plug after less than a week.
Brilliantly horrendous.