“Just watched the @Asda Xmas advert - ffs, what the hell?! Can’t decide if it’s more insulting to women or men.”
This was just one of many tweets condemning Asda’s ‘Behind every great Christmas, there’s mum’ ad, in which a ‘busy mum’ almost single-handedly sorts out the decorations, presents and food, with a lot of help from her favourite supermarket - and not much from her dopey husband.
Elsewhere, the ad was described as “sexist drivel” and “unbelievably outdated”. People complained that it reinforced negative gender stereotypes about men (hapless, demanding) and women (principally fulfilled by domesticity), and even that it was insensitive to those families without mums. Many highlighted its presence to the Everyday Sexism project, including Jane Garvey, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.
Fathers 4 Justice even threatened a ‘turkey sit-in’ (whatever that is) at Asda stores if the ads weren’t pulled, encouraging members to report it to the relevant authority. Thirty-three complaints have been registered at the ASA so far, though it has not yet decided whether to investigate.
Asda must be wondering what it’s done wrong. Iceland famously targeted mums for years with a famous strapline, and when P&G declared itself ‘The Proud Sponsor of Mums’ earlier this year, few bothered to point out the support dads gave, too.
And to be fair, plenty of people like Asda’s ad - the retailer highlighted the 22,000 likes it has received on its Facebook page as a response. And in the inevitable Grocer office debate, while one or two highlighted the “frustrating, clichéd” characterisation and felt big companies had a responsibility to take a lead on equality in ad campaigns, most thought the accusations of sexism nonsense: “Does anyone really expect them to be targeting dads when mums are the huge majority of shoppers at Asda?” pointed out one reporter. “I don’t watch an ad for Wickes and expect them to show mums buying timber.”
Fair point. The advert has, after all, a mere 60 seconds to establish its characters, and it’s hardly the only one to use gender stereotypes to do so. You could even argue that it’s simply reflecting a patriarchal society. Until the world changes, then, Asda is stuck with some unpleasant publicity - and perhaps a thought about what it might do next year.
Here at The Grocer, we’ve engaged a panel of advertising experts to analyse the big grocers’ festive offerings so far, including Asda’s. Check out the magazine this weekend to see what they think.
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