I am apparently a rare creature—a beer-drinking book club member. While my fellow book clubbers are sipping Chardonnay, I’m happily chugging down a cold beer, preferably a Bud Light (my beer of choice).
So imagine my surprise at the outcry that’s greeted the Super Bowl commercial in which a Bud-loving guy crashes an all-female book club meeting. Who can blame the guy, after all? He spots a bowl of ice-cold Bud on a table and decides to join the group with scintillating discussion questions like this one: “So, what’s the story?”
Ed Champion, among others, is outraged, describing the spot as “Madison Avenue Misogyny.” He finds the ad sexist, anti-reading and way too sexually suggestive. To which I can only reply: c’mon, lighten up! The commercial was meant to be funny, and to me at least, it was. Also, as some commentators have pointed out, the ladies at the book club were the ones who set out the bottles of Bud (go girls!). They were ready to kick back with a beer and a good book and enjoy a conversation with friends. Not a bad idea from my perspective, and a not a bad way to portray books and reading. It’s the guy who comes off as an dim-witted lout who can’t follow the discussion.
Now if I could just get my own book club to change its name from “Wine, Women & Words” to something that’s more inclusive for beer drinkers like me.
The commercial may have been funny but was inappropriate and sexist. The guy was there for only one thing-to have a beer and pick up a girl not read a book. The comments the women made had nothing to do with a book club.
I really enjoyed the commercial–in fact, I laughed out loud. I’m a guy who runs my own book club, and I’m not insulted by the stereotype that guys are all about sports and beer and hitting on women. I enjoy all of those things. But I also enjoy reading and talking about books.
I never saw this commercial and I watched all of the commercials… hmmm.
Most Superbowl ads are sexist in some way. I’ve come to expect it. Sad, I know.
I’ve heard the outcry, but I’m on your side with this one – I thought it was hilarious! Not to say that the guys in the commercial were to be admired in any way (they were completely clueless and interested only in their beers and oogling the women) but still, i thought the commercial was great.
Lynn, I thought it was hilarious, too. And I’d much rather have a beer than a glass of wine (although Bud’s usually not my choice!).
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