Holiday Gift Ads

Just a little rant here about how much I loathe most of the holiday gift ads that crop up on TV every year around this time... You know the ones I'm talking about, where the woman only wants jewelry and the man only wants a car. And of course only straight couples or "traditional" families engage in these holiday gift exchanges - no same-gender couples or single folks out there at all, right?

For example, let's take a moment to analyze that ad I saw the other evening for Jared Galleria of Jewelry. It goes something like this: A couple enters a home and joins some other guests (young couple & old couple) in the living room. The woman in the new couple exclaims, "He went to Jared!" in a delighted tone of voice. The woman from the other young couple glares at her man (oh who are we kidding here - of course he's supposed to be her husband) and says accusingly, "He went to Jared!" with the implication that her man did not do so and is thus both inferior and contemptible. The husband says forlonly, "He went to Jared," in a tone of deep regret, indicating that he made a mistake in judgement by neglecting this oh-so-important part of the holiday ritual. The ad then cuts to images of gemstones and jewelry with a voiceover extolling the virtues of Jared. Finally we return to the living room where the old gentlemen praises the "good" husband by saying reverently, "You went to Jared!", to which the blessed husband proudly responds, "I went to Jared." as his wife looks on admiringly.

Ick!

So many things are wrong with this image and this message that I don't even know where to begin, so I'll be brief and focus on the most obvious trio. First of all, the ad assumes that all women want jewelry as a gift (not!). Then the ad suggests that not just any jewelry will do but that said jewelry must come from Jared as no other store is worthy. Finally, the ad implies that the mark of a good man/husband is to know how to spend money and where to spend money and that any man who doesn't do so appropriately must be disdained and mocked. Hmm. Now that's a message that's just full of peace, love, and holiday cheer, don't you think?

Personally, I much prefer the mutual gift of a couples massage package that E & I will be sharing a day or so after the big Giftmas (props to LNJ for that term). So much better to spend some quality relaxation time together than to waste money on shiny metal and sparkly rocks...