Yes, I get that it's a joke. But a) it's not funny b) its not COMPLETELY a joke. It's one of those "this is over the top but you get the point" kind of jokes where we're not supposed to think they are serious yet not sarcastic, either. They are exaggerating (at least, I hope that they don't believe lattes and disco are causing cities to crumble).
Most of all, they are hoping to touch the heart strings of a group of men disconnected from the wide-shouldered working class that populates the cities of the 1900's in our minds. Did these men exist except for in movies? Was there a time when this definition of "man" meant door opening, competence, black coffee drinking and didn't also mean poverty, irrational violence, exhaustion, and emotional stagnation? Is there a way to obtain this "manhood" without being an oppressor to both yourself and to those around you or without preferring pretense to authenticity? I doubt it, but my vote on these particulars doesn't matter. The point is that this is manipulative, regressive, and potentially dangerous. Furthermore, I can imagine a great deal of women reading this would immediately feel marginalized and condescended to (after all, apparently women are not grown ups and cannot properly discipline children. Interestingly, notice the "shop women" button right at the end of the rant. What were they thinking?) None of this is okay. Pretending that men are better than women, joking or no, is not okay, either.
I reject the idea that stuff can get sold to me this way. I reject that there is something wrong with trying to build a genderless society (one which is far, far off, regardless of the insecurities embedded in this add). I reject that there is any rational reason not to eat a salad. Therefore, I am not going to be wearing any Dockers pants. And I am going to complain here. Hope you do, too.
UPDATE: Talk about controversial commercials during the Super Bowl! As if the anti-abortion, Focus on the (way we say it should be) Family advocacy ad, we just got blind-sided by an even more oppressive Dockers "man" ad! Okay, maybe not.
OMG Second UPDATE!: Dodge Charger is "man's last stand?" I liked that car, too.
