There is much cheering in the feminist blogosphere this weekend, for good reason, as Summer’s Eve has removed three offensive vagina puppet videos from their “Hail to the V” website and their YouTube page. My co-blogger, Laura Wershler, will have a lot more to say about the Hail to the V campaign next week and I don’t want to steal her thunder, but I can’t help feeling a little cranky about the response of the Richards Group (the ad agency responsible for these ads). For more than a week, many feminist critics have written eloquently and angrily about how these videos are offensive on several levels, and the company continued to defend them. But a finally, a dude mocked them, and Stan Richards decided the ladies have a point.
Yes, Stephen Colbert’s satire was great, and I’m a fan — but if I had a nickel for every time a feminist critic said something about it would be obvious how ridiculous these ads (and these products) are if we saw comparable products marketed to men, well, I’d have a lot of nickels. I’m just sayin’.
This reminds me of the Wisconsin strikes. The protests really acquired ‘muscle’ when the allies from ‘male’ professions arrived to show their solidarity. Once the firefighters chimed in, the teachers’ issues were taken more seriously.
But having said that, I’m also very happy to have such strong male allies in Colbert and John Stewart, who both gleefully dive into the fray when this kind of b.s. rears its ugly head.
It really is true, but sad, that it takes seeing a comparable ad for a male product to realize how ludicrous the Summer’s Eve campaign and the products being marketed are. I kept thinking as I watched the Colbert spoof “Soap, ladies and gentleman, soap. That’s all it takes.”
Solution is simple: Just give Samantha Bee her own show. Or, maybe Margaret Cho can use her role on Drop Dead Diva as leverage, to get her own political comedy show.
Just need someone a little more stand-up-comedy-ish than Rachel Maddow (whom I can’t wait to see on Aug 1 or Aug 2 re: debt ceiling). Although Melissa Harris-Perry has done some great shows this past week too (hey thanks for talking about Detroit, we appreciate it) (I’d be happy to see Harris have her own show too).
I love The Daily Show’s Kristen Schaal, their ‘Women’s Issues Commentator.”
https://www.thedailyshow.com/videos/tag/Kristen%20Schaal
BWHWHAAHAAAAA!!!! That was hilarious! Well done Mr. Colbert.