Wylon Johnson

There is a series of extremely sexy Reebok commercials that have been running for a while.
• Commercial 1: When it first comes on, the camera is focused in on a woman’s breasts.
• Commercial 2: There is a woman lying in the bed with her back turned with nothing but black underwear on.
• Commercial 3: A woman is talking about the EasyTone shoes and the cameraman keeps zooming in on her butt.

Now I don’t know about most men in the world, but I just so happened to be one of those guys who gets a kick out of the commercials. I’m a strong believer in the saying “Sex sells!” When you think about it, there are a lot of commercials marketing products with the use of sex. For instance, take the Herbal Essence commercials that we really don’t see much of anymore. Every time the commercial came on, the woman is moaning and screaming “Yes!” I didn’t see much a problem with that commercial either.

But going back to the Reebok commercial, my wife seems to think that this is a bit of a problem. She says that the commercials are sexist. Me, being the man that I am, had to make a debate out of it. Already knowing the answer, I asked the question anyway. She seems to believe that the commercial is focusing more on women’s body parts and the fact that they are trying to make other body parts and other women jealous.

“Make your boobs jealous,” a man says at the end of the commercial and this leaves my wife standing there with the “are you serious? look” on her face.

The commercial just isn’t focused in on the shoes too much. After we finished discussing the issue, I will admit that I did find the commercials a bit tyrannical. Or maybe I just agreed with her to make her feel better about the situation.

The shoes, we have to get back to the shoes. But, I can’t focus on the shoes with all that butt in the way. Oh forget it; I don’t need the shoes anyway. Maybe my wife does! Should Reebok change their marketing strategy just to please some people? If the shoes are selling because women think it will give them a better bottom and make others jealous, by all means; go for it!

How do you feel about these ads?

Photograph Credit:
Sabrina Segal