gender: Male Concern Rises Over Exploitative Ads

Male Concern Rises Over Exploitative Ads

LONDON (Reuters) - After years of ogling at scantily-clad women on billboards and TV ads, British men are starting to react badly to a taste of their own medicine, new research found on Monday.

More than a quarter are concerned about their representation in advertising, as companies exploit the male form and function to sell products, according to commercial think-tank The Future Foundation.

``This is not about a loss of power or economic status, it is the objectification of male bodies in advertising -- just as women have always suffered from the idealization of particular types,'' Future Foundation co-founder Melanie Howard told Reuters.

Similar research two years ago suggests that the number of men taking offence has doubled, but remains far short of the 48 percent of women who were concerned about their representation.

Howard said ads such as the ``11.30'' Diet Coke TV spot, where women queue up to stare at a muscular man taking a well-earned break, pressured men to conform to certain stereotypes.

Undermining men in advertising was desirable to appeal to young, affluent women, she added.

Men appear keen to retaliate. The bulk of complaints over a poster ad for Howard Stern's controversial chat show -- which told men that if they were ugly and poor they might as well cut off their penises -- came from men, the Advertising Standards Authority said.

Meanwhile, ads exploiting women are still common. Model Claudia Schiffer famously disrobed before driving off in a Citroen TV spot, and the upfront ``Hello Boys'' poster ad is still winning awards for Wonderbra.

The report ``Sexing the Media'' also found that 39 percent of women and 27 percent of men think there is too much sex in advertising, and that commercials fail to mirror real life.

``Sex is a very facile way of grabbing the attention and maybe advertisers should be thinking about things that will resonate more with people's lives and values than straight titillation,'' said Howard.

She criticized advertisers' over-simplistic representation of male and female roles which were found to repel consumers.