Canadian Mom Bloggers Parodied on This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Sunday, March 31, 2013 
Long time no post, eh? Sorry about that. I've been heavy on the work end of that work-life-blog balance thing. What I'm going to post about today won't be news to most of the Canadian blogging community, but may be to some of my readers who are outside of the social media community or beyond Canada's borders.
Using bloggers in promotion campaigns has been increasing in the past few years. Usually that means having bloggers help get the message out about products or companies, but sometimes it also means including the bloggers in mainstream media commercials (like this Cool Whip one that I wrote about a while back).
Recently in Canada, a couple of moms (Sharon and Emma) were chosen to be part of a new series of television commercials called "Edible Conversations" for one of Canada's largest supermarket chains. Here's an example of one of the commercials (these are literally running during every commercial break on some networks).
Normally this wouldn't be something I would write about on the blog (unless I had something critical to say, which in this case....well, let's just say there is lots I like about President's Choice, even if they are far from perfect, and leave it at that). But then I was working at my computer one night and my partner called me over to the television and said "your friends are on This Hour has 22 Minutes!". For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a satirical comedy, parodying news, politics, culture and current events in Canada.
Watch this...(yes, you're forced to watch a commercial about Quebec Engineering first, but well worth the wait!). If the video doesn't show up, you can also view it here.
Canadian bloggers thought we'd made it when we were featured on CBC's The Sunday Edition, but being parodied by an institution like This Hour Has 22 Minutes brings it to another level altogether.
That's it for today...just a bit of fun. Now that work has slowed down, I'll be catching up on reading some books, which are sure to provide some blog fodder too. Look forward to many engaging conversations in the near future.
Reader Comments (6)
Awesome! That's all I've got to say about that.
I love "this hour" and I love that they made fun of those commercials! They drive me crazy! They don't even make sense...totally cool that your friends were featured but the commercial are terrible.
There is plenty good about President's Choice, but I am very frustrated by Loblaw's refusal to address their violation of the WHO/UNICEF Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, Bottles and Teats. Their Real Canadian Superstore in Kitchener, Ontario has included a Code-violating banner over their baby department. All emails and requests for conversation and Code-compliance have been met with steely silence. Sad. They have such a great opportunity to be industry leaders.
It is unfortunate that in 2013 we still have marketing companies and the media portraying women as the only caregivers to children and that men are nothing more than creepy, irresponsible and single minded idiots and generally "bad parents" to children.
Why is it ok for the media to portray men in such a light? When are we truly going to have equality in our society? As a humanist and lesbian I am always disappointed to see how many women support this continued portrayal of men in this manner and they support and even find it "funny".
I for one do not find the advertising from these organizations appropriate nor are they reflective of the society I hope we will one day all live in.
I for one will not be purchasing Presidents Choice products until such time they represent all genders, sexual orientations, races and religions equally and fairly in their advertising. This includes male heterosexual and gay men. They are parents too, who shop for and cook meals for their children and in our society today do it just as much as women do.
Sexism in Media:
I received the "casting call" e-mail for this President's Choice campaign. The production company specifically said that they were looking for mothers. In my reply, I said that I wasn't interested, but also said "If I can make a suggestion, it would be fabulous to see Galen Weston interacting with dads and their families (versus always focusing on the mom in that role)." So I certainly agree with you that we need to show more men as caregivers. That said, I'm not sure where you got your thoughts with regards to this campaign's portrayal of men (other than them being absent). I didn't see a negative portrayal of men here (other than in the parody, which was...a parody), just a void.
Hi Annie,
With regards to your comments I may be possibly miss attributing the concern to President's Choice directly and may be better targeted at the satirical skit resulting from their add campaign.
Here we have an example of a satirical skit from a Canadian comedy troop in which the following statements were made only by the male actor:
Male Actor: "I see. Tell me all the times you are home alone." (Note tone of voice. - Creepy)
Female Actor: "Oh, well that seems kind of personal."
... Continue dialog...
Male Actor touches female actor...
They all end up in bed in a threesome.
Now, we cannot ignore the incredibly negative satirical implications of the two women, but, there are many organizations (of which I belong to) that have long lobbied and advocate against this kind of inappropriate gender stereotype.
What is lacking in media (and advocacy) is an equal observation and equal weighted argument against the stereotypes in media that project that men are wimps, perverts, and idiots. Especially in family sitcoms and direct product marketing of "family products".
Observations in other studies:
“With Father’s Day and the prospect of a new pair of socks on the horizon, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to dads, specifically, TV dads . . . . I recently read a shocking statistic: According to a 2005 study by the National Fatherhood Initiative, 24 million children in this country do not live with their biological father in the same house. That means that an amazing number of kids are growing up with TV dads as their primary image of what fathers are all about” (Lynch, 2006, p. 12).
“Think about the so called sit-coms aired from 7 to 10 in the evening. Almost every one of them depicts fathers as dolts, dunderheads, blockheads, nincompoops, and clods who can’t fathom the simplest adolescent or teenage conundrum; who can’t come up with a calm rational solution if their La-Z-Boy lives depended on it” (Cooper, 2003, p. 23).
“I can happily say that fatherhood is the greatest fortune I’ve ever experienced. It’s too bad that that sounds so cliché, because it’s true. It’s amazing how that such a deep, emotional connection can be reduced to the most banal of statements and the most banal of images on television” (Lynch, 2006, p. 12).
“Today instead of being bombarded with unrealistic images of fatherly perfection, we too often suffer from the ‘sitcom dad’ epidemic: the buffoonish father who forgets birthdays and causes his kids to fail their school projects because his help is so misguided . . . . Here is the stunning reality: Dad’s are people too. In real life, dads are flawed, well rounded, sometimes wise, sometimes goofy, mostly somewhere in the middle, full of shades of gray. These are the dads we should see on television” (Lynch, 2003, p. 12).
“In an article entitled ‘Better Dead than Wed,’ Pollner (1982) discusses the negative portrayal of married men as compared to single men on television. Married men were seen as vulnerable and trapped, relying on wives to tell them what to do. Single men were portrayed positively as being free, happy, and leading exciting lives. The implication for young boys was clear; be like the bachelors” (Kaufman, 1999, p. 440).
Lynch, T. (2006). Honest TV portrayals are the best way to honor fathers. Television Week. 25. (24), 12.
Cooper, J. H. (2003). Modern movie spin gives dads bad name. National Law Journal. 25(43), 23.
Kaufman, G. (1999). The portrayal of men's family roles in television commercials. Sex Roles. 41(5/6), 439-458.
Just my thoughts as a lesbian whom shares joint custody and equal access of a minor child with a gay father. Don't get me started on the media's portrayal of "gay" or transgendered fathers.