The Cad Fad
I’m quite offended by this new Sprite ad. A lot of ads seem to be offending me these days…no, it isn’t because ads have suddenly become offensive, it’s because I’m watching more TV. And being increasingly appalled by what popular culture is shoving down our gullets.
But to come back to the baki-sab-bakwaas drink, the ad features a guy telling his lady love that he must leave. When she asks Juliet-like why he has to go so early, he replies,
I’ve a date with my other girlfriend.
*Giggle giggle at boyfriend’s mischieviousness*
Cut to boyfriend sliding into seat facing girlfriend no.2 who inquires pettishly, why he’s late. And he drawls,
Had a date with my other girlfriend.
*Giggle giggle at boyfriend’s mischieviousness*
Underline the “At least I’m honest!!” line along with the standard all-else-is-crap funda. Ting tong.
Tell me again why it’s cool to be a cad? Of course I’m peeved by the sexism in that played up by popular culture. Anybody remember an Indipop song a few years ago featuring Lara Dutta double-dating two guys? The song was quite tellingly titled,
Tu chaalu hai re…
And then let me tell you what pisses you off the most. Having to have the following conversation with a close girlfriend:
She: Why on earth do we fall for men like this??
Me: Simple. Lousy taste.
It’s not a crime to be a cad…but it should be. Just recently I was called on to testify in one such case (if we may look at things in that light). It’s hard to tell whether my testimony would have swayed the verdict but the evidence certainly was damning. And yet, the culprit walked off scot-free. Damn him, damn his ilk. Don’t bother telling me that men aren’t all the same, please. One rotten creep is enough to ruin the entire barrel of trust. So, how you ask, did I speak? I didn’t. Like I said, I doubt my testimony would have changed much.
Lousy taste is something we’re all guilty of and I suppose we should be in handcuffs for it, in the same moment that the cads hang.
@ Alazyguy: I don’t recollect any ad that made a man look bad and was perceived as good. And no, my post is about the Cad Fad. Some men are cads and if the media is a reflection of society’s thinking, then it makes it perfectly permissible for them to be so. Not, in my opinion. And by the way, I never claimed to be a feminist.
@ FullMoonOnEarth: Sab bakwaas I agree.
Haven’t almost all the Sprite ads been pathetic?? I always thought so. That is why this ad din’ strike me as it has the rest of the womenfolk here.
Oh common, what sells is a man made to look bad – but when a woman does so, it is dealt by moral police.
So you agree that the heading was more on a popular note – since you agree it should have been more like “Poor ad”, or “Sprite Vs Gone with the wind” or something like that!!??
So, this proves again beyond doubt that this blog is more “anti-male” than actually trying to be a “feminist”.
@ meetu: To be honest, I’m not sure. Hypocrisy is human. 😛
@ S: Gawdawful, isn’t it?
@ Alazyguy, VoiceofProcess: Point taken. See my reply to meetu above. However don’t you think there are more men who behave like cads than women (I don’t know the female form for the word, either). Also, society seems to be far more forgiving of a man than a woman for the same crime and popular culture like media content and advertisements just reflect that.
@ Amodini: It puts me off it as well. And I’m probably going to re-think any guy who wants to drink Sprite as well.
Oh, goody – I’m not the only one then. The Sprite people must be majorly running out of ideas to stoop so low. If that doesn’t put me off Sprite I don’t know what will. And then I have to hear all these silly people asking me to “cool it” . . .
By the way, is there a feminine form of cad? If not, perhaps girls should invent one.
Women should also “parallel-process” men although you should see how the men’s faces drop when they find out they are not the “only” ones 😉
How do I know it works? That is exactly what I did in college and I was in college in the late 1980s!
PS: I read your blog often but am going to use a false handle for this one.
Scarlett O Hara. Supposed to be the life of a great novel. But never high on the morals list (in fact, never ever was on the list).
But are we guys cribbing? Or are we saying all women are the same.
Quite a few men would dislike the ad, but I have not found a single woman who has ever disliked the novel. It is more of an inspiration for them.
So, who needs to be less rotten????
Aptly said Ideasmithy! I was, in fact, thinking of talking to you about this ad….
Though it made me giggle, I was offended by the ad too! I was wondering whether it would offend me if the genders were exchanged? Hmmmm…i think so…