Normally, I consider myself immune from the effects of advertising. But the new ad campaign by Dockers—”Man-ifesto“—makes me want to wrestle a bear, smack the eyeliner off some emo dude, and then go out and buy some pants:
Once upon a time, men wore the pants, and wore them well. Women rarely had to open doors and little old ladies never crossed the street alone. Men took charge because that’s what they did. But somewhere along the way, the world decided it no longer needed men. Disco by disco, latte by foamy non-fat latte, men were stripped of their khaki’s and left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny. But today, there are questions our genderless society has no answers for. The world sits idly by and cities crumble, children misbehave and those little old ladies remain on one side of the street. For the first time since bad guys, we need heroes. We need grown-ups. We need men to put down the plastic fork, step away from the salad bar and untie the world from the tracks of complacency. It’s time to get your hands dirty. It’s time to answer the call of manhood. It’s time to wear the pants.
What does it say about our culture that one of the most clear, concise clarion calls for men to be men comes in an ad campaign for khakis?
(Via: Boundless Line)
December 18th, 2009 | 8:41 am
Since the Navy made me an officer in ’78, I’ve always worn khaki. Though since I left in ’84 (I started as a blue jacket), I’ve bought them at L.L.Bean and I now wear “relaxed fit”. I hope that doesn’t make me too “preppy” or “emo”.
December 18th, 2009 | 10:07 am
That ad says what a lot of people of both sexes think, but are too intimidated by PC to say.
December 18th, 2009 | 10:24 am
[...] go buy a pair of Dockers today. (Via Joe Carter at First Thoughts) addthis_url = [...]
December 18th, 2009 | 10:58 am
[...] Whoa, wait a minute Joe. I think there’s a lot more going on in the Dockers ad that marketers trying to bring back trouser creases. [...]
December 18th, 2009 | 11:27 am
Well said, Dockers! In fairness to men, however, women would do well to reevaluate their goals of achieving “equality” with men as primary through competition with them in every arena. If we, as women, would embrace our gender and recapture the lost qualities of modesty and true femininity, perhaps, then, we will once again earn the respect and concern of the opposite sex that we deserve.
December 18th, 2009 | 12:27 pm
[...] in the day men knew how to look like men: heroes wore khakis and the bad guys wore six-on-one double-breasted suits with jetted pockets and a pocket square. [...]
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