You're beautiful. You know from girl things. Like cooking. And sewing. And smelling nice.

You're beautiful. You know from girl things. Like cooking. And sewing. And smelling nice. And looking in mirrors. But football? So, all day Sunday, he takes his six-pack, plants his highness in fornt of the TV and watches those overgrown goots run into each other. And you've got nothing to do but talk to the other football widows on the phone.



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At a really passionate moment, call her "Mommy"

Say that your mother, the interior decorator, must live with you.
Insist that she walk three paces behind you.
Ask her if she minds your spending one evening a week with your first wife.
Make a pass at her mother. Her father?



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How to warm a calculating woman's heart

How to warm a calculating woman's heart: give her Monroe's fast-printing calculator with 15 digit capacity.



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The Best Men Can Be

"Thirty years ago, we launched our The Best A Man Can Get tagline.
Since then, it has been an aspirational statement, reflecting standards that many men strive to achieve.
But turn on the news today and it’s easy to believe that men are not at their best. Many find themselves at a crossroads, caught between the past and a new era of masculinity. While it is clear that changes are needed, where and how we can start to effect that change is less obvious for many. And when the changes needed seem so monumental, it can feel daunting to begin. So, let’s do it together.



It’s time we acknowledge that brands, like ours, play a role in influencing culture. And as a company that encourages men to be their best, we have a responsibility to make sure we are promoting positive, attainable, inclusive and healthy versions of what it means to be a man. With that in mind, we have spent the last few months taking a hard look at our past and coming communication and reflecting on the types of men and behaviors we want to celebrate. We’re inviting all men along this journey with us – to strive to be better, to make us better, and to help each other be better.
From today on, we pledge to actively challenge the stereotypes and expectations of what it means to be a man everywhere you see Gillette. In the ads we run, the images we publish to social media, the words we choose, and so much more.
As part of The Best Men Can Be campaign, Gillette is committing to donate $1 million per year for the next three years to non-profit organizations executing programs in the United States designed to inspire, educate and help men of all ages achieve their personal “best” and become role models for the next generation.
Our tagline needs to continue to inspire us all to be better every day, and to help create a new standard for boys to admire and for men to achieve… Because the boys of today are the men of tomorrow.
We’ve all got work to do. And it starts today."
Gillette

"It is no longer enough for brands to simply sell a product, customers are demanding that they have a purpose – that they stand for something. Masculinity is a huge part of Gillette’s brand, and there is a recognition in this ad that the new generation is reworking that concept of masculinity, and it is no longer the cliche is once was." Mark Borkowski

In its latest advertising campaign, Gillette replaced the tagline "The best men can get" with "The best men can be". The new narrative about a different type of masculinity went viral, the company was bombarded with praise, abuse and calls for boycott (via).

She who has BALLS shall conquer the world.

There was a time when it took a heavy dose of spunk for a women (sic) to stand up and be counted. Joan of Arc hid her gams in a suit of armor to defend Louis's honor. Amelia Earhart donned a sexless jumpsuit to fly into the wild blue yonder. Madame Curie wore whites and gazed longingly at test tubes.
These days, women have finally come into their own - with pants and permanents, muscles and makeup. But there still are a couple of things we can't lay claim to right?
Not any more, Mary. Now we've got BALLS.



BALLS is the new candy sensation that lets you conquer the world. Just pop a few BALLS into your mouth and you'll be ready for anything - a battle with the boss at the office (he can't give you the shaft!); a tough game of tennis with Bob (the score'll be forty/love). ...
And now, wear BALLS on your chest, this attractive, 100 percent cotton yummy yellow T-shirt is available with three tempting teasers:
"You need BALLS to conquer the world."
"She who has BALLS shall conquer the world."
"BALLS candy gives you courage."

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image (1978) via

Cold Power Cleaning

"Every guy should be lucky enough to have a wife get his clothes clean at the utility company's expense."



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We don't make a "woman's car"

"Women only drive automatic transmissions."



Some car manufacturers actually believe women buy cars for different reasons than men do.
So they build "a woman's car." Oversized, hopelessly automatic and dull.
At Honda we designed just one thing. A lean, spunky economy car with so much pizzazz it handles like a sports car.
If you're bored with cars designed only to get you from point A to point B, without responding to you the driver, maybe you ought to take the Honda Civic for a spin.
We've got a stick shift with an astonishing amount of zip. Enough to surprise you. We promise.
Or, if you prefer, Hondamatic. It's a semi-automatic transmission that gives you convenience, but doesn't rob you of involvment.
Neither one is a woman's car.
Honda Civic.
We don't make "a woman's car".

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Women are soft and gentle, but they hit things.

Sooner or later, your wife will drive home one of the best reasons for owning a Volkswagen.



Women are soft and gentle, but they hit things.
If your wife hits something in a Volkswagen, it doesn't hurt you very much.
VW parts are easy to replace. And cheap. A fender comes of without dismantling half the car. A new one goes on with just ten bol. For $ 24.95*, plus labor.
And a VW dealer always has the kind of fender you need. Because that's the one kind he has.
Most other VW parts are interchangeable too. Inside and out. Which means your wife isn't limited to fender smashing.
She can jab the hood. Graze the door. Or bump off the bumper.
It may make you furious, but it won't make you poor.
So when your wife goes window-shopping in a Volkswagen, don't worry.
You can conveniently replace anything she uses to stop the car.
Even the brakes.

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image (1964) via

Hot Pink with Black Tiger Stripes

"Between your faith and my Glock nine millimeter, I'll take the Glock." 
Arnold Schwarzengger as Jericho Cane in End of Days (1999)



"That punk pulled a Glock 7 on me. You know what that is? I's a porcelain gun made in Germany. Doesn't show up on your airport X-ray machines, here, and it cost more than you make in a month."
Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard 2 (1990)



Glock produces more than two dozen models of handguns which are used by law enforcement agencies and military organisations worldwide (via). Originally desigend for the Austrian Army (via), the Austrian weapons manufacturer produces "the" firearm brand which has become "America's gun". Two thirds of US-American police departments, the FBI (via) and a great many civilians use it. One author refers to it as "a pop-culture symbol"(via), slogans such as "In Glock we trust" are more or less widely known (via). A few weeks ago, the company sent out a survey and asked its customers which frame colour they would choose if they "were to purchase a pistol as a gift for a female family member or friend"; the collection included a Glock 19 Gen 3 in hot pink with black tiger stripes, in Tiffany Blue and Sniper Grey (via and via).
It is not the first time that weapons manufacturers apply gender marketing by offering pink guns for women. Since pink, yellow or orange guns could be mistaken for toys, in 1992, a law was passed to ensure that the line between toy weapons and real weapons was not blurred. Apart from concerns about weapons in general, there are concerns about gender stereotypes. Weapons marketed to women are presented as neat lifestyle products (via) and pretty accessories using the pink gender cliché ... pink Glock, pink Taser. The evening checklist? "(L)ipstick, wallet, keys. Taser." (via). And 50.000 volt.



photographs of Doris Day as Calamity Jane (1953) via and via and via

You've come a long way, baby

"You've come a long way, baby 
To get where you've got to today 
You've got your own cigarette now, baby 
You've come a long, long way"

"We make Virginia Slims expecially for women because they are biologically superior to men", 1971, via


Virginia Slims were introduced by Philip Morris in 1968 and "marketed as a female-oriented spinoff to their Benson and Hedges brand". The slogans "You've come a long way" and later "It's a woman thing" and "Find your voice" were supposed to link smoking with "women's freedom, emancipation, and empowerment" (via). It was not the first product to speak to women "in the language of liberation" but it was the first one that interpreted feminism as something that could sell (Zeisler, 2008).

"Rosemary for president. Someday. Meanwhile you've got Virginia Slims. The taste for today's woman.", via; 1968, via


Philip Morris continued this strategy and in 2008 launched a campaign targeting women and girls. The "purse pack" - repackaged, compact, pink Virginia Slims - implies that smoking is both feminine and fashionable. "Super slim" communicates the association between smoking and weight loss (via). John T. Landry, former Philip Morris marketing chief: "I knew thinness was a quality worth talking about. It's an American obsession." (via).

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This gender marketing strategy changed statistics encouraging girls to start smoking. "Six years after the introduction of Virginia Slims, the rate of smoking initiation for 12-year-old girls had increased 110 percent." (via). In fact, apart from social factors, marketing strategies are considered to be one reason for the rise of smoking among women. Smoking as a symbol of emancipation was the core of the campaign. In 1991, an internal industry document describes the strategy targeting only women as follows: "To convince fashionable, modern, independent and self-confident women aged 20-34 that by smoking VSLM, they are making better/more complete expression of their independence." (Hitchman & Fong, 2011). The market share grew from 0.24% bo 3.16% (Toll & Ling, 2005).

LIFE, 13 August, 1971, via


In the 1980s, the number of cigarettes sold declined dramatically. Women were "a saving grace" who just had to be convinced that a woman "needs her very own cigarette as absolutely as she needs ther own underwear" (via). To women, smoking Virginia Slims meant "independence, slimness, glamour, and liberation". Despite the equality progresses the commercials showed since the early twentieth century, "the only equality this campaign ended up supporting involved lung cancer. Today, women and men die at similar rates from the diseases." (via).

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The campaign was developed by the Leo Burnett Agency and was launched on 22 July 1968. It was a huge success and the slogan more or less became "a national catch-phrase". According to a 1986 corporate study, the so-called brand personality was the key to its success (via).

Images via, via, via, via, 15 November,1968, via; 30 June, 1972, via


Slogan, catch-phrase and song:

- Virginia Slims commercial from 1970s watch

In 1978, the US-American country music singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn was in the charts with the song "We've come a long way, baby". "The title song was a top ten hit for Lynn, playing on the famous Virginia Slims slogan of the day, You've Come a Long Way Baby" (via).
- Loretta Lynn We've come a long way, baby watch

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Hitchman, S. C. & Fong, T. G. (2011) Gender empowerment and female-to-male smoking prevalence ratios. Bulletin of the World Health Organization; via
New York Times (1986) Why They Stretched The Slims via
Toll, B. A. & Ling, P. M. (2005) The Virginia Slims identity crisis: an inside look at tobacco industry marketing to women. Tobacco Control, 14, 172-180
Zeislere, A. (2008) Feminism and Pop Culture. Berkeley: Seal Press