Grounds for Divorce: Sexist Vintage Folger's Coffee Commercial

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Grounds for Divorce: Sexist Vintage Folger's Coffee Commercial

Posted by Adam Kuban, April 16, 2008 at 2:15 PM

This vintage sexist coffee commercial for Folger's instant coffee ... I don't know what to say. I can't believe they ever made ad spots like this. After the jump, the patriarchal percolations.

[via Boing Boing]

14 Comments | Tags: coffee, commercials, Folger's, sexism, videos, vintage

14 Comments:

Wow. It looks like Josh from this season of "Hell's Kitchen" totally missed his era. The 1950s: Misogynism At Its Finest!

sheeats at 3:01PM on 04/16/08

I think it's the length and lack of cuts that shocked me more than the sexism. When was the last time you saw a commercial like that? Whereas any old Super Bowl commercial is as misogynistic as this.

BeccaMJ at 3:40PM on 04/16/08

Yes, astonishing how times have changed. No longer solely in the purview of marriage, this behavior is played out daily with sure self-righteousness by (some) foodies.

There was another TV ad around that time that just about covers the underlying taunt inherent in the ad posted above et al et al: (Sing along, those who know it!)

My dog's better than your dog
My dog's better than yours
My dog's better 'cause
He eats Kennel Ration *
My dog's better than yours

Substitute "home cooked gourmet meal from scratch" here for the right tonality . . .

Karen Resta at 3:45PM on 04/16/08

I kept waiting for her to sucker punch the SOB!

huney_bumper at 4:01PM on 04/16/08

Actually, with only a few exceptions, most ads these days:

- portray men as ignorant, annoying husbands or fathers
- show men getting kicked in the groin, slapped, or yelled at by women

Yet, somehow that is okay and is even supposed to be funny.

(And, no, I am not a man.)

GumbeauxGal at 4:10PM on 04/16/08

Now, that guy would be sleeping on the couch or worse for his birthday..

eatorama at 4:20PM on 04/16/08

That was back when the world had a sense of humor...

amya413 at 4:21PM on 04/16/08

Funny, I didn't really see it as sexist, just that this woman is so confused on how to please this man who it turns out actually LIKES the taste of instant coffee.

cybele at 4:30PM on 04/16/08

@cybele: LOL. That's a great read on it! Imagine. She's probably doing some fancy-ass coffee trickery, using fair-trade, just-roasted beans that passed through the digestive system of a wild civet—and then grinding them just before brewing them in some sort of fancy-ass brewing device. And this guy just doesn't get it. And then, YES! He loves INSTANT COFFEE! That was the ticket!

@Karen: I was thinking of making some analogy to the "Your FOOD/RESTAURANT CHOICE/RECIPE sucks! Mine is better!" Because, yeah, there is a certain amount of oneupsmanship among foodies (and music snobs, and film snobs, etc.).

Adam Kuban at 5:07PM on 04/16/08

And if he doesn't like the way she makes the coffee, he can't figure out how to do it himself? My husband and I both make good coffee, but bless his heart, he gets up before I do and brews a fresh pot, and brings in the paper, and not at my suggestion. He's just nice that way. (If I wake up before he does, I do the same.) We live in a far more egalitarian time, but one of our kids is very sexist to his wife. Everything is his, and when they shop for a home, it is for his house, his investment, ad nauseum. We've called him on it, and gotten a lot of negative flack back. So, these things, once improved in one generation, don't necessarily carry on to the next, even if the kids have been raised to understand fairness. Go figure.

renewbee at 5:10PM on 04/16/08

I don't watch much mainstream TV because of the commercials. When I do (football season) I do notice that they are patronizing and demeaning. And ten times an hour of the same pitch gets wearying. But I suppose the lemmings wouldn't know what they're supposed to buy without them! ;)

furrbrain at 7:15PM on 04/16/08

Actually, it's funny. Even for that period in time it was over the top.

From what my mother tells me, for all the problems women faced back then, women and men have more problems now.. and girls, feminism has morphed into the negative stereotype that women like my mom defended it as not being for decades. It's lost touch with average women's realities and has become a glass ceiling, elitist movement.

Mares2 at 11:53PM on 04/16/08

Obviously over the top and trying to be ridiculous (even for the times). If you find the concept of woman-defaults-to-housewife-and-must-please-husband sexist, well, it is, but this commercial just sits on top of that. And it's his birthday!

Luther at 7:44AM on 04/17/08

Wait a minute. That wasn't Tippi Hedren was it?

I'd be very careful to get that guy the right kind of coffee.

Karen Resta at 6:33PM on 04/17/08

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