The original advertisement:
google drive link in case the photo above is unclear: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IlGqy7oXzZLBIne-1rZPful0Qxe3Cpzm/view?usp=sharing
Response:
The problem I will be tackling with this jamming is the overwhelmingly misogynist nature of this advertisement. The advertisement has multiple problematic statements regarding the “manliness” of the watch it is trying to sell and is peppered with words such as tough, power, heavy-duty. Firstly, the title of the ad is “How to tell time like a Man.” My question regarding this would be: How do men tell time different than women? I thought telling time was straightforward and not conditional on being a man. This advertisement is trying to market a watch to men only by appealing to their manliness and the aspects stereotypically associated with manliness.
The advertisement suggests that this watch is a perfect addition to the life of a working man and would fit well into a tool box. It encourages a rhetoric of female weakness by encouraging single gendered superiority. An example of this is when the ad says “It should look and feel like a power tool, not a piece of bling”. In this quote, it is clear that the ad is referring to jewelry or “bling” stereotypically associated with femininity. Females are equally able to work in fields of construction, handiwork or any other professions that require a toolbox. Another problematic quote from this ad reads “A real man’s timepiece needs to be ready for anything”. This insinuates that only “real men” need to be ready for anything. This advertisement is an example of a misogynist rationale that does not consider the validity of any other sex, gender, or gender identities.
Culture Jammed Advertisement:
Google drive link in case the photo above is unclear: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fx2UPD3q9SwP8XF5_faAg_RfQ68f8R4G/view?usp=sharing
Response:
The original advertisement hid behind phrases like “in my opinion”, attempting to equate its misogynistic nature with the supposed selling points of this watch. My goal in recreating this advertisement was to maintain the same sort of layout but replace the bulk of the text with phrases that captured the full extent of the misogynist rhetoric it displayed. I also kept the same goal of the advertisement, to appeal to working class men, but made it very clear that was its sole goal – to appeal to men. The original advertisement had its own level of absurdity, but with this culture jam I wanted to take out anything extra and show the ad for how the product was truly attempted to be marketed.
The original headline was “How to tell time like a man” and I kept that on the advertisement, but opted for the new headline to be “A watch for real men only”. I felt that more fully captured the message of this advertisement. I also kept certain aspects of the real ad such as the point about it being an asset to a man’s toolbox and the point about it being for “tough” and “heavy-duty men”. The point about construction really bothered me because I know there are plenty of women working in that industry. As a matter of fact, in an article written by Bill Ferreira, he reports that women account for at least 12% of construction workers. Women being a minority in construction does not mean that they should not be represented or should be marginalized in the way this advertisement does. While I was culture jamming this advertisement, I’m not going to lie, as a woman, I was upset. I wanted to really underline the ridiculousness of marketing a watch to only men. Women are just as tough as men.
If you want to look at statistics for women in construction (which I did as writing this response): Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0023-01 Labour force characteristics by industry, annual (x 1,000)
The article by Bill Ferreira: http://www.careersandeducation.ca/industry-insight/women-in-construction-the-rising-trend-of-women-in-the-construction-industryhttp://www.careersandeducation.ca/industry-insight/women-in-construction-the-rising-trend-of-women-in-the-construction-industry