So I'm watching TV (a rare moment of relaxation), and this commercial comes on. I've never seen it before; I don't know what the ad is about yet. But the content of it appears to be a father and a little girl building a treehouse together. Seriously - together. He's showing her how to use the tools, read the plans, and in general be involved in an actual construction project. And I think, "This is great!" The ad blatantly defies the gender stereotypes of mainstream advertising by showing a) a father interacting with his child in a competent, supportive, and non-discriminatory way, and b) a girl learning skills all too often considered "proper" for only the male segment of society.
I am thrilled.
I am elated.
I am vindicated to the point of joyful gasping.
This lasts approximately ten seconds.
The reason for the short lifespan of my joy, you ask? Once the establishing shots of the ad run by, the girl springs up and declares, much to her father's confusion, that she will be right back.
And then she runs off and makes him a sammich.
I cry out in pain and dismay. I seethe with loathing for the cruel advertisers who have taunted me with their pretense of progressiveness. And as the elitist and until-recently-sexist tagline reaches my ears: "Choosy moms - and dads! - choose Jif!"... I am no longer surprised.
The Jif advertisers have been a philosophical thorn in my side for many an ad, and had I known they were behind this one, I might have been more guarded - but alas, they have managed to hit me where it hurts.
You win this one, Jif. But I'll be back.
(For the sake of illustration, I'd include a link to the ad here, but I could only find the 15-second version, which lacks the longer buildup and sharper backstab of the full 30-second version.)
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I've always hated the Jif ads, and think the whole "choosy moms and dads" thing is a huge joke. Choosy moms and dads choose something without hydrogenated oil in it, and that ain't Jif.
first off, how is this elitist? at the Walmart where i do most of my shopping, Jif is usually the cheapest peanut butter they have...
and secondly...
ok seriously, what the hell? you felt stabbed in the back because... a little girl, grateful that her daddy made her an awesome treehouse, decides to make him a sandwich? OH NOOOOOES, SHE HAZ GOOD MANNURZ! and even worse, she doesn't dissolve into a helpless puddle of quivering jelly the second she enters a kitchen! THE DEATH OF FEMINISM HAS ARRIVED!
i don't have a daughter, but if i did, i would hope for her to feel equally at home out in the yard working with power tools, and in the kitchen handily whipping up yummy food. both sets of skills are valuable to have. looks to me like the dad in this commercial has done a pretty good job raising his kid.
The "choosy" part was what I meant as elitist, but that was hyperbole, and entirely beside the point.
I don't object to having multiple skill sets. People need to eat, which means people need to prepare food. No problem.
I understand what the ad was going for, too - gestures of love, yada yada yada. It's fairly obvious, and had it happened on its own without so much previous sexist advertising to back it up (some from the same company, I might add), I would have thought nothing of it. Might have even thought it was cute.
It was the sudden contrast that got me - from hopefulness at a change in longstanding viewpoints to resounding echoes of "woman, go make me a sammich!" in a split second - and if you can't consider that coming from my somewhat less than serious perspective without resorting to rudeness, there's nothing I can do to help you understand.
I wonder if they would have shown a little boy running to the kitchen to make a PBJ sammich....seriously doubt it.
I was curious so I googled "jif commercial boy making a sandwich" and found some people talking about a jif commercial where a mom is working and seems stressed out and her young son makes her a peanut butter sandwich just in case she needs a break.
Now that one, I have not seen - but I'm glad to know it exists. Thank you. I guess there's hope for Jif yet.