The Rise Of The Man-Hating Beer Ad

1:35 pm, April 6th | by Amy Tennery

Here at The Jane Dough, we’ve made offensive ad spotting into a kind of spectator sport. Or drinking game. Your call.

But while most of our advert concerns are of the “Why Doesn’t That Lady Have Any Clothes?” variety, we couldn’t help but notice a weird and pervasive new trend that’s targeting guys.

We’ll call it the “Are You Sure You’re A Dude?” phenomenon.

“Are You Sure You’re A Dude?” ads (or, AYSYADs… or rusureyeradoods?) prescribe a specific set of rules for what does and doesn’t make you a guy — and you’d better live up to those rules. In this world being a dude is something that can be revoked.

Nowhere is this better displayed than in the evolution of beer ads, which have gone from “You’re a guy!” to “… Are you sure you’re a guy?”

Wait — a beer ad that insults guys? Yes, believe it. Take, for instance, the infernal Miller Lite “Maaaaaan UP” ads, which I’d blow off more, were it not for the fact that (shortly after their debut) a show titled (yep) “Man Up” premiered:

Are You Sure You’re A Dude?!

Compare Miller Lite’s recent effort to this 1984 Old Milwaukee ad:

In all fairness, Old Milwaukee has a multi-decade tradition of terrific ads. But you see my point.

The fantastic Current TV series “Modern Lady” also noticed the start of these AYSYADs — while pointing out that these included more than a little bit of ladyhate. When your manhood is questioned by a company with the creative faculties common to a pack of magpies, it makes you a bit testy (heh):

Of course, basing a sociological study on beer ads is a little weird. But we’re hardly the first to recognize them as a barometer for modern masculinity. And, truth be told, it’s not just the beer ads that have started following this trend in the last couple years. As Cracked noted in its list of the worst male-geared advertising offenders, a recent Ford ad points out that your current, non-Ford vehicle lacks cojones (and, by extension, you do too):

And now the AYSYAD mentality has seeped into the medical community.

Take, for instance, the new “Is It LowT?” (Are You Sure You’re A Dude?) campaign from Abbott Laboratories. The campaign, which Dr. Craig Bowron covered for Slate, is bent on instilling a sense of paranoia among men over their possible lack of testosterone — “a hormone so sacred that it cannot be named,” Bowron jokes.

Abbott’s site for “LowT” presents a baffling quiz of vague questions to determine whether you’re lacking in the “T” department.

Questions like “are you sad or grumpy” or “have you noticed a recent deterioration in your ability to play sports” are enough cause for concern, according to Abbott’s standards — of course, as Bowron notes, these are also normal occurrences for men as they age. Even more disturbing, Bowron argues, is that the treatment for “Low T” “has unproven benefits and real safety concerns.” Suddenly, ASYSAD isn’t so funny anymore.

But is “LowT” the latest manifestation of a overarching cultural trend or just a pharma company inducing a little medical fear to make a buck? The Jane Dough turned to Bowron for answers. And, interestingly enough, he said the testosterone crisis comes back to the economy — and jobs.

“WIth the Agrarian Age behind us, where manual labor defined a ‘man’s job,’ it’s no longer clear what constitutes a manly man in the Age of the Desk Job,” Bowron told us, adding that it’s “no surprise” that “marketers are more than willing to exploit” the ever-lasting quest to retain “sexy” masculinity. So beer companies have the chance to redefine what it means to be a guy.

And it’s not difficult to see why this would be a problem for women, too. Not to get too heavy here, but prescribed binary gender roles don’t work out well for anyone.

The solution, however, is clear: We all need to drink more Old Milwaukee. Problem solved.

TAGS: beer ads | miller lite man up | offensive ads

Anonymous

This crap needs to stop. Gender roles hurts everybody.
Henry Wood

If you’re buying a product because you’re worried that some advertising dude told you that you might not be a dude if you don’t buy it, then you’re not really a dude.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PKEQSTA4WOBYU5Z7QNSBUR2LXI MASSMURDERMEDIA

i welcome this trend as a long overdue backlash against what george carlin once described as the “pussification” of america…
noverum

I revoke this woman’s licence to lecture men on masculinity.
noverum

You’re confusing gender role with gender identity. The former is oppressive; the latter is empowering.
Anonymous

Nope. I’m not.
Anonymous

Dang, good thing that low T thing was clarified. Being a little wonky I thought for the longest time that meant low thyroid. Couldn’t figure out for the life of me why any dude would be spazzing out over his thyroid.
noverum

I’m glad I’ve gotten through to you.
SHT

But we sure as FUCK get to ceaselessly pontificate on the femininity of the ladies, amirite bro?
Anonymous

That Ford ad made me want to buy a Chevy Volt.
Anonymous

Milwakee’s best should start commercials like this. That’s a beer that’ll put hair on your chest, and by hair I mean a sense of revulsion that will stay with you for like three days.
SHT

It takes a real man to tame the Beast™.
Anonymous

I’m not terribly proud of this, but I once convinced a kid to drink all the beast in a fridge before everyone else could drink it. He got mad.
noverum

No, you’re not.
1. Don’t presume without evidence.
2. If anything upsets feminists more, it’s men giving them advice on either the role of a woman or her notion of femininity. Hypocrisy is quite evidently intrinsic in feminist ideology.
SHT

Did that kid grow up to be Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, by any chance? Because that’s a hard-ass man, right there.
SHT

Dude, I’m totally with you. You’d think that those feminists would have been burdened with some kind of disadvantaged status in society, as though the entirety of their culture were somehow designed to define their roles as subservient to privileged males, the way they act.

^5 bro!
SHT

Dude, I’m totally with you. You’d think that those feminists would have been burdened with some kind of disadvantaged status in society, as though the entirety of their culture were somehow designed to define their roles as subservient to privileged males, the way they act.

^5 bro!
noverum

Thanks for reiterating some of the narcissistic hypocrisy of feminist rhetoric.
What you’ve just done is attempt to rationalise the advocacy for institutionalised prejudice against men. Intellectualising a discriminatory sense of entitlement does nothing but poison ideology and corrupt the integrity and credibility of a philosophy.

Keep up the irony and sarcasm; it’s easier to ignore dissidence and opposing voices if you trivialise and demean their arguments – and we all have to sleep somehow.
SHT

You’re so right. I can’t tell you how incredibly disadvantaged I am as a man, because of the overwhelming prejudice I face from nearly every institution. From being more likely to be given a loan to start a business or buy a home to being paid more for the same work than my female coworkers, well let me tell you I have had it up to here! And the constant focus by the media on men’s body image, the feeling that I’m always under a microscope, being judged on my appearance rather than the quality of my character and works… well it’s enough to make a dude want to drink himself to oblivion with some ice cold Miller Lite.

As for the irony and sarcasm, I find it’s also quite effective at trivializing and demeaning such dissident views as “Bigfoot is real!” and “OMG GHOSTS!”. YMMV.
noverum

Fighting prejudice with prejudice. Great logic.
SHT

Please. Are you telling me your status as a male has ever disadvantaged you because of institutional prejudice? What, did you try to get a job waiting tables at Hooter’s or something?

As a man to a man, I feel like I can give you some advice on your notion of masculinity: UR DOIN IT RONG.

Man the fuck up and stop crying because some feminist hurt your poor wittle feewings.
noverum

On the contrary; I’m the one addressing illogic and double-standard. You’re quite clearly letting emotion cloud your judgement.

You’ve just illustrated another example of feminist hypocrisy. It’s problematic for men to bully other men into subscribing to a specific notion of masculinity when it demeans femininity; but the moment masculinity gets in the way of feminism, you’re all too happy to use the exact same form of subjugation.
How often do you hear women being told to “woman up”?

Hypocrisy is the bane of legitimacy, thus why feminism cannot be taken seriously as a guide to equality and individual liberty.
SHT

“Woman up” isn’t a recognized idiom precisely because of the submissive role women are assigned in society. I’m sorry the irony keeps sailing over your head, so I’ll speak in terms which are gender neutral:

STOP WHINING. Being a person of your gender has far more privileges attendant to it than any amount of prejudice, institutional or otherwise, could have ever come anywhere near negating in your entire life. Playing the victim game when your life is a never-ending series of pre-opened doors is pathetic and sad. Every day you should thank fate or whatever deity you pray to that you’ve got the gear between your legs that’s there, and if it’s white you should sacrifice a fucking calf.
noverum

So you openly admit to exercising discriminatory rhetoric with intent to correct discrimination?

You’re so caught up in a storm of perceived injustices that you fail to comprehend the point I’m trying to illustrate to you with any clarity.
http://twitter.com/delynnsunn delynn sunn

ALRIGHT! YOU THERE, SO-CALLED FEMINIST! NOVERUM?!? NOTHIN BETTER THAN A REAL MAN. NOT A PUSSED DOWN CHICKIFIED WOOZIE. YUK! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A REAL WOMAN IS! AT YOUR AGE WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT SUBMISIVENESS, OR CHOICES OF HOW IT WAS “BACK IN THE DAY?” TO LOOK AT ME, YOU WOULD THINK I WAS A WELL KEPT SUBURBAN HOUSE WIFE. YOU WOULD BE TOTALLY WRONG. I HAVE WORKED TILL MY HANDS BLED TO BE PROMOTED TO SUPERINTENDENT’S APPRENTICE, OVER A COUPLE A THOUSAND MEN. I HAVE MANY TIMES BEEN THE FIRST AND ONLY WOMAN AT DIFFERENT JOBS. I DID’NT HAVE TO BE A FEMINAZI BALL BUSTING MANEATER TO GET, NOR KEEP MY JOBS! I WAS A LADY, IN ALL THE RIGHT WAYS, AND FUN TO BE AROUND. I ACTED LIKE A REAL WOMAN AND I HAD THE MEN’S ULTIMATE RESPECT. MOST OF ALL I DID MY JOB VERY WELL. WOMEN FROM MY ERA PAVED THE WAY FOR WOMEN TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS, NOT TO BECOME SOMEONE LIKE YOU. YOU ARE AN EMBARRASSMENT TO US WHO PIONEERED WOMEN INTO PREDOMINATELY MALE PROFESSIONS. I WAS ALWAYS PAYED THE SAME AS THE MEN, NO PROBLEM. IF A MAN GOT OUTA LINE W/ME I KNEW HOW TO PUT HIM IN CHECK, NOT AS A MANHATER, BUT AS WOMAN AND A CO-WORKER THAT DID NOT DESERVE TO BE DISRESPECTED.I’VE HAD MGMT POSITIONS,NIGHT CLUB MGR, LEAD WOODWORKER, CARPENTER,OFFICER IN FFA AND 4-H,FLOOR SUPERVISOR OVER THE OTHER WAITRESSES ETC.. I JUST BELIEVED THAT I COULD, THAT’S ALL! GET OVER YOURSELF! AT 52 I KNOW A HELL OF ALOT MORE THAN YOU GIRL. GROW UP,STOP BEING SO UPTIGHT. THAT ICE IN YOUR VEINS WILL GET YOU NO WHERE. FIND A REAL MAN, AND ONCE YOU FEEL HIS TOUCH, IT WILL MELT YOUR COLD,COLD HEART. THERE IS A NATURAL ORDER. WHEN YOU GET YOUR OWN PLANET, YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN RULES, UNTIL THEN YOU’RE GONNA HAVE TO LEARN HOW TO SWIM WITH THE SCHOOL. GOOD LUCK.
SHT

Right, I fail to see your point clearly. Or maybe I think it’s ridiculously trivial. As far as I can tell it’s “b-b-b-but, men get made fun of sometimes! For being MEN! How DARE they attempt to define how masculinity should be perceived!” You know what, I’ll take it. In exchange for all the other bullshit I don’t have to swallow, getting an occasional comeuppance is a burden I’m willing to bear. That it causes you such distress is, well, we both know it doesn’t, so cut the shit. You’re just looking for some A-HA NOW UR HANGIN BY UR OWN PETARD FEMINAZIS moment. Nobody sane gives a fuck. Goodnight.
Anonymous

It’s just codespeak ─ adwriters advertise their campness in this way . . .
Anonymous

it certainly put the aforementioned hair on his chest.
wwm31962

PAYED = PAID
wwm31962

Judgment = Judgment
Anonymous

http://iairmaxshoes.com
wolfgar

Please, Women don’t know what they want, much less what they want from men at any particular moment.
noverum

I don’t understand how philosophical integrity can be considered trivial; but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.

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