How many people at the ad agency saw this copy and approved it? And not one of them thought, “rape joke?” I know there’s such a thing as being too-PC, but this is a bit suspect.
Submitted by: Unknown
Via: Was That You
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![\"Quantcast\"/](\"http://pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-94wNw88f65Rhk.gif?labels=MTVN%20Digital%20Tribes\")
Wow. Gross.
What’s gross about a woman screaming with excitement over receiving a beautiful diamond ring? Because I really do think that’s what the billboard is referring to.
I’m sure that’s what they were thinking of, but it can just as easily be read another way. That’s one of the dangers of ad writing. You have to remember that your audience isn’t always on the same topic as you are when they see the ad.
It could, but it’s obvious that the billboard was not intending to go there, is all I’m saying, and calling it “gross” isn’t really accurate because of that.
inadvertent or not, any intelligent advertiser would check if there was a possibility that their ad could be seen as in some way offensive or inappropriate. the person who came up with this ad clearly didn’t bother to do that.
Or maybe they were mature enough not to care. Just because it CAN be taken the wrong way doesn’t mean you shouldn’t say it.
depends on the wrong ways it can be taken. given that this has possible rape joke interpretations they should have given it a wide berth.
Indeed.
My thoughts exactly!
Heheheh… “Tish…”
Hurray for poop jokes.
tbh the first thing that I thought of was a girl screaming incomprehensively after being proposed to and it made me chuckle.
Egads, I drive by that billboard all the time. And I roll my eyes every time I see it… so many dumb jokes I don’t even know where to begin.
…. Yes, there really is a thing as too PC. Maybe if it wasn’t talking a talking engagement ring. If it were a picture of a man in a dark alley or something.
Exactly!
I could not have siad it better myself
It is sad that you don’t see a picture of an engagement ring, read the text, and immediately ONLY picture a woman being engaged by a man who bought her a beautiful ring.
um..I get your point, but what about a woman being engaged by another woman? Or Man to another man?
inb4 gay marriage isn’t legal, it doesn’t have to be legal to have a wedding or be anything less than real.
I was thinking “woman excitedly squealing over huge diamond ring man just offered her” until I read “rape joke.” What has been read cannot be unread. :0
Ooh. Yeah, I get what they mean, but really. . . that’s pretty bad.
I have yet to see a jewelry ad that didn’t offend me. Apparently, as a woman, I’m supposed to be obsessed with pieces of compressed carbon cut so they sparkle and set into expensive metals. I am supposed to demand it of my mate, to judge his fitness according to the resale value of the item, and, according to this, am also supposed to be so overcome when he actually does bestow such a thing upon me that I become incoherent — and will, of course, accede to whatever he asks, because my heart evidently has a price tag on it. Never mind the unintentional similarity to “no means yes”; this is offensive anyway. I feel the same way about most of the car ads in December as well.
Which is why I tend to ignore billboards, and mute commercials.
HEAR HEAR!
Thank you – I agree 100%. Even some men’s jewelry ads I’ve seen were using dumb gender stereotyping…wtf?
I should clarify – these were men’s jewelry ads that were using dumb female gender stereotyping. Unless they pride themselves on a clientele whose primary character trait is chauvinism, I really don’t know why they would think they were funny, or appealing, or anything of the sort. My dad was appalled at them.
Oh you put that perfectly, tip of the hat from another woman sick of the stereotypes.
Completely agree!
I agree, Calli… But I do find it funny that the ad mentions screaming and the jeweler is on “O” street….
THIS^
My first thought was sex joke, my second thought was rape joke, and then my third thought was a woman screaming gleefully at being proposed to.
Perhaps they could have used a word like “squealing” or perhaps referenced crying instead.
my first thought was sex joke as well.
some of the print media (and ad agencies, too) should hire a couple people with gutter minds to catch stuff like that, imo; humorus cover of a cheese magazine: http://culturecheesemag.com/
Wow, the ONLY thing I thought of was the number of girls who when surprised with the offer of an engagement ring, squeal with excitement to the point they even forget to say “yes”. Why read anything nasty into what is clearly a description of just those excited girls?
Because there’s a BIG difference between “squealing” and “screaming.”
Pigs squeal. That would open up a whole other argument.
because of the word ‘screaming’.
Wow you all need to calm down they said Screaming not crying and begging.
SOOOO wrong to read anything into this other than a woman thrilled that she’s being proposed marriage to. Yeah, maybe there could be a better word than “screaming” but I think it just goes to show how quickly our minds go to the gutter these days.
I also don’t see it as a commentary on the shallowness of women, of their desperate need for expensive rocks or a man who can purchase said rocks for her, or any of that. A woman presented with an engagement ring could scream over her joy that the man she loves wants to marry her without it being implied that she’s also screaming about the value of the ring. Some women will care about that, sure, but I don’t think you have to read that into this ad.
^THIS!
It’s mostly the wording. I mean, we hear all the time ‘no means no’ (or ‘no means yes’ to the uber stupid) and the like so when we see something that says ‘take the __ as a yes’ if the ___ has any chance of being turned to something like the above, our mind thinks of it, and it ruins this sort of thing. At the least I’d have gone with squealing. I mean, people only squeal when they’re happy. Screaming is normally for scared/upset/angry. :/
Look at the number of diamonds on that ring. There are so many that it’s ceased to be attractive and just become a giant symbol of the man’s bank balance. I don’t know how you could look at this particular ad and *not* see an implication that the screaming (in joy, apparently) isn’t at least partly a result of the value.
Any advertiser will naturally put their higher-end items in their ads. If, say, a man was looking at that billboard, he’d probably only see an engagement ring and not think about the diamonds or the cut (he is just driving past the billboard, after all). I’m not sure your argument works for something like an engagement ring, which is the kind of purchase that usually depends entirely on the bride-to-be’s tastes and the groom-to-be’s budget, which can fall into any price point.
Agreed. Simple, old, timeless antique = my kind of ring.
Meh, didn’t think of it that way until I read the comments below.
Yay! Just made me laugh- I could picture some lady getting a huge diamond ring and just being like
“Waaaaaaaghh!! Ahhhh! Ahhaaahaaa! Ohhh!”
*waves hand in face, is if overheated, and turns around in place, hands on her cheeks, hops up and down…*
Tries to respond in words, starts screaming out of joy again, etc…lol.
I’m still laughing that the jewelers are on “O-Street”
But I agree, the copy could use a re-write. Now that you said it, I only see a sinister rape-ring
Also, to the lady who said that her heart doesn’t have a price tag: Amen, sista!
No, it would never occur to me that that ad could be interpreted as a joke about rape. You’re weird. It’s a cute ad and nothing more.
Same here. I didn’t think ‘rape’ until I saw the text below. I guess I just have a innocently dirty mind too.