Thursday, August 6, 2009

Add Yoplait to the List of Sponsors Who Hate Men

Guy is standing in the kitchen, talking on the phone to an unseen buddy about how he's losing weight despite eating all this great food- "yeah, every night it's something different- key lime pie. Coconut creme. Yeah, and I'm actually losing weight. It's been great!"

Woman who is apparently his wife walks into the room behind him as he talks and proceeds to eavesdrop on his conversation as she opens the refrigerator door. Ah-HAH!! Stacked on the top shelf are a dozen or so cups of Yoplait Brand yogurt, in all the flavors that the guy on the phone has mentioned to his friend! Busted! Except, of course, it's hard to see what this guy has done wrong, or why it's any of this woman's business.

Nevertheless, she feels compelled to interrupt his conversation with "Um, Babe?" The guy turns around to see that she's holding the "incriminating" evidence of his malicious deceit- a cup of yogurt. The guy sheepishly turns his back toward the camera and tells his friend "Um, I gotta go." As he puts the phone down his chin drops to his chest, and he has this remorseful, caught-with-his-hand-in-the-cookie-jar look on his face.

Um, WHY? What the HELL did this guy do that was so damned horrible that he had to be slapped down for it? He told his friend that he was eating all this great food, which turned out to be flavors of yogurt- SO? What if the opposite was happening- what if he was telling his friend that he was losing weight by eating yogurt, but was actually consuming junk food? Would that have been more acceptable?

And more to the point- WHY does this woman feel compelled to get involved in the conversation? WHY is it her business what this guy is telling his friend? And my biggest question- WHAT is with the hangdog look this poor choad has at the end of the commercial as he says "I gotta go?" Does he have to make amends to this woman now? WHY? Did he fail to ask permission before using the phone?

Here's a better ending for this commercial- woman says "Um, Babe?" Guy turns around, acknowledges wife, and says "I'm on the phone right now, is it important?" When she basically has to concede that no, it's not important, she's just being a rude bitch (who, by the way, seems pretty determined to undermine his confidence and, therefore, his diet,) the guy turns his back again and continues with this conversation.

If he's lucky, she packs a bag and leaves before he's ready to hang up. Trust me, buddy- you've suffered no loss. Now open a bag of Fritos and treat yourself to a beer in front of the TV.

11 comments:

  1. I love your post. I just posted something very similar on my own blog pfcproduces.blogspot.com, then saw this.

    Guess I'm not the only one!

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  2. Thanks- I had totally forgotten about that original commercial, where the woman is on the phone bragging about all this great food in the house, and the guy is searching the refrigerator for it, finding absolutely nothing but about a hundred cups of yogurt.

    Notice how, in all these yogurt commercials, it's strongly implied that you could easily live on the stuff? I mean, the fridge has been cleaned out COMPLETELY- there's NOTHING else in there. Of course, there are also commercials for Miller Lite that imply that single men can live on beer, too.

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  3. I found the first commercial pathetic and this one is totally 'Huh?'.

    1) I fail to see why this is worthy of interrupting his phone conversation for. So he's feeding his friend (no pun intended) a load of bull. And? She can jerk his chain about it when he's off the phone--not that she should, considering 2) she was doing the exact same thing to one of her friends in the last commercial. *rolls eyes* I am So Sick and Bloody Tired of all the commericals that show women bitching and moaning about what they eat on diets, and when one woman has the audacity to mention she ate something that actually tasted good, all the other women turn on her in unison and proceed to attack her en masse once the camera pans away. There's a lot I want to say on the whole diet culture in America but I'd be preaching to the choir because we all know Madison Ave's aim is to lie to us so often we end up believing it, so I'll hold my tongue (for once) and say only that the times I've lost weight and kept it off is when I've been more active and focused on eating a healthier, more balanced diet.

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  4. I'd like to hear from people who have actually lost weight and maintained their sanity from eating yogurt as a meal replacement. I don't mind yogurt, but it's hardly filling and I can't see sticking with a diet with yogurt as it's base for more than a day or two. The only way I've ever been able to lose weight is to 1) Eat Less and 2) Exercise More. Stocking my fridge with yogurt would just give me more stuff to eventually toss in the garbage can.

    And I agree totally with your comments about this woman- she has no legitimate reason to invade the guy's privacy, and the fact that she can force him off the phone with "Um, Babe?" suggests a severely disfunctional, sad relationship.

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  5. I think we're supposed to believe that the yogurt belongs to the woman and the man is stealing her yogurt. Never mind that the contents of the refrigerator ought to be communal property.

    Cheryl, I also hate those commercials you're referring to--I think for Lean Cuisine. "Groan; I had ice shavings last night!" "I had toaster crumbs!" "I chewed on an old shoe!" "I had pan-seared filet of bison on a bed of wild rice and exotic vegetable medley!" ::glare, glare::

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  6. I've had Lean Cuisine meals before. Nobody who has ever eaten that crap has ever bragged about how exotic and delicious it was afterwards.

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  7. I don't get it either. What is the dude's crime?

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  8. I believe from having watched both commericals that the yogurt is hers not his because in the first commercial he has no idea what she is talking about when she mentions the stuff she is eating and loosing weight from. He is seen looking for the actual deserts she is mentioning and pushing aside the yogurt to find the desert. So his crime is he is eating her food. That is what he has been busted for not for making the same claims as his wife.

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  9. It's a follow-up to the first, the point being that he had dissed her yogurt but now he's all over it.

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  10. Yes! Yes! Bravo!! There are thinking people out there in the great void! That yogurt commercial is so irritating! But wait,
    lest you forget about the mop finding a new love and singing
    "who's that lady"? One more...I'm so glad that Jamie Lee Curtis can drop a load and preaches the virtues of doing so to anyone who will listen. Does Madison Avenue think we are as dumb as dirt?

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  11. My husband and I agree this ad is sexist. They have a new one again with the same couple and it is just as bad. I emailed the company but they did not seem to care.

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