There has been a bit of a debate recently regarding the recent Chocolate Bar ads with many women calling the ads sexist and misogynistic. A friend of mine asked me what I thought of the ads and I personally just saw them as funny without thinking much more of them. But then again, I’m a guy and so I might be part of the problem here. I didn’t even know what misogyny really meant until a couple of days ago.
I like to think of myself as a feminist, so I was kinda disappointed in myself for not seeing anything offensive in the ads. But I think that has to do more with the fact I generally don’t read too deep into things. While watching the ad above all I was thinking about was the 80s aesthetics and while watching the ad below all I could focus on was the car (a manual BMW E30 Touring).
I don’t think I’m sexist just because I didn’t see the ads offensive to women at first, but looking at them again, I can see how they could be considered wrong. I’ve had this debate internally in my head a lot, anytime I read in the news about similar issues around the world (well mostly in the States). I always ask myself if maybe we’ve become overly sensitive? or are we just more informed and aware now? Are we overdoing it, or were we not doing enough?
Do you find the Chocolate Bar ads offensive? Or do you think people are just overreacting?
[poll id=”16″]
65 replies on “Do You Find The Chocolate Bar Commercials Offensive?”
Potentially unpopular point: Think about it the other way around. Imagine the girl doing something that would make the male partner mad (not infidelity or an affair, just to keep it simple, like the third ad where he gives a weird haircut to their kid) and then enticing the man with a juicy burger or steak to avoid the confrontation. It’d be quite acceptable wouldn’t it? In isolation, I don’t think it’s offensive, but I’m sure someone somewhere will prove me wrong because someone is always offended by something or the other.
You missed a point – if your steak and haircut ad existed, would you feel comfortable with her having visions of her husband beating the shit out of her, drowning her, or shooting her in the head before she offers him a steak to calm him down?
Good point that I indeed missed. I think violence against women in that imaginary ad would be quite uncomfortable because it is much more common in real life than violence against men.
That being said, both are a little too real for me to enjoy in the context of a chocolate bar ad (vs a movie for example)
Horrible! And all madness would ensue if flipped!
i think the ads are funny…..people need to chill the fuck out
Excuse my grammar and punctuation,
I just think they’re just being sensitive, I can see why they’re upset about it but this is comedy, it uses sensitive subjects in a comical way and that’s what they did here. Some people have a laugh about it and some people don’t like it. Tough life eh?
Instead, why don’t you focus on more important issues and move on. Imagine making a fuss because of a 1 minute ad just because were offended by it, imagine everyone making a big fuss if they were offended by things they didn’t like, would you like to live in a place like that? or just because you’re a woman you’re entitled to express your opinion on everything you don’t like?
Honestly it just shows that feminists in this country don’t have anything to stand up for and they’re just brainwashed by foreign culture…
But in fact we need the true heroes like Malala in here instead of a bunch of angry Karens that just want to scream for nothing, we got domestic abuse towards women, and rape culture to name a couple, take those two and go work on solving them because that’s what’s truly fucked up here and don’t fucking waste peoples times on some stupid-ass ad.
Excuse my language
If it was something about men being used for their money or only being used as a provider in a household- you would have gotten triggered as well. It just depends on what the ad was mocking- women get annoyed because this is reality, they get treated like shit when they do everything around the house and raise their kids and our effort for their husband while the guy sits in a fucking diwaniya all night and then gym in the afternooon when they wake up. And guys think that if they just buy a materialistic object it makes everything better. Nobody wants to put effort anymore for relationships. Everyone just does what they want because social media has made everyone a social justice warrior/narcissist.
I do believe people are overly sensitive about a lot of issues don’t get me wrong- people upset about pronouns when Biden is bombing Syria- but there is an institutionalised sexism present in our education system as well as media
Men who don’t see this as an issue are the same men who act out this behavior, that’s why they’re confused
Can the enlightened woke brigade articulate what exactly is disrespectful about these ads? Some people are just looking to get offended over stuff that is not intended to be disrespectful. It’s a mindset based on, in my opinion, a childish view of the world.
The point is they didn’t calm a man down with steak, they did it with women for the whole campaign. Her guy is cheating on her and it’s ok to let it go for chocolate? because we’re so superficial and all we care about is dessert? really? I admit it is a creative ad and well produced but the joke is at the expense of women, which is why I couldn’t find it funny. And if you think this is a stupid ad we should just laugh off, then you don’t understand the powers of mass media and how these concepts unconsciously seep into the minds of young men and women.
And yes it is a sensitive topic because we live in a country where women are molested and killed and seen as objects. So we have every right to be sensitive over the topic because this isn’t being ironic, its re-enforcing the idea that women are simpler creatures.
Thank you, I agree 100% with your points.
This is belittling towards women and the audience is supposed to laugh at her expense.
I don’t even find these ads to be creative concepts at all. Super old-fashioned old school concept of “give the emotional woman chocolate so she calms down”.
We definitely have a long way to go in Kuwait and the Middle East for women to be treated equally under the law, and these types of ads strengthen societal misconceptions about women. New generations and kids see this. The cycle perpetuates. These ads are absolutely reinforcing negative stereotypes against women.
I think men that don’t see a problem with ads like these, are just not at a level where they can empathize with others and because they are used to (and love) the status quo. I mean, the guy in the ad gets away with having another girl on the side. Your typical male here loves that concept (the typical male, not all men are jerks).
Side note I thought Choc Bar was owned by a woman? I’m surprised that they want the brand to be seen this way. Or maybe this branding is on par for Choc Bar clientele.
You read deep into the ad , found all these hidden meanings for something that’s supposed to be comedy and focused only on the ad being belittling to women etc. However you don’t seem to be offended that it shows the women murdering or threatening the men with extreme violence. In the first one it shows him being murdered for doing aerobics with women a very appropriate punishment is it?
Using your thought process we can say that look how undervalued a man’s life is , that it’s easy to justify killing him. I think women don’t see a problem with scenes like this because they think men deserve it.
It’s supposed to be a silly ad so chill out.
actually it shows women being overly violent = unreasonable and emotional. u think women are ok being portrayed as murderers???
these meanings are not hidden at all! we didnt have to do a deep study. the fact that i didnt laugh as a reaction is not because i analyzed it and decided not to laugh, its because i FELT very off about it and represented in a deeply problematic way.
being desensitized to misogyny is not a good thing.
I agree with you 100% this commercial portrays women as unreasonable, infantile, easily persuaded, one track minded people. The way I see it is like when a child throws a tantrum and you try to distract them with a toy. Not cool. They could have used so many better concepts that weren’t gender centered.
I completely agree with you !
I would only change one small detail : we live in a “world” where women are molested and killed and seen as object. If it was only in Kuwait or the Middle East, people watching American or European movies would have been able to see that this ad was a problem.
In the end of the day, everywhere in the world, women are seen as hysterical creature that you can calm down with food (or flowers)
100% agree
I love how the violence isn’t event discussed or is an issue. Sufficing a person with a plastic bag, blowing a guys head off.
Yes I want my young daughter and son to be associated with this place!
Madness and disgraceful
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMUTa15MJq5/
Yesterday i agreed with you & my comment was blocked. #pcworld
I think people shouldn’t be quickly to dismiss issues like these. People get intensely defensive when you tell them that something they like might be misogynistic, sexist or racist. Instead of telling people to chill the fuck out, maybe listen to what issues they have with the ad (or any other media). No one is telling you that you’re not allowed to like the ad/movie/show/comedian. Just listen, even if you think it’s dumb. Women have been putting up with a lot of bullshit, so it won’t hurt for you to take a minute to just listen.
It’s usually straight (sometimes white) men who yell “CANCEL CULTURE” or “PC POLICE!” whenever people take issue with something.
Thank you Patrick for always being considerate and thoughtful in your responses. That’s what we should all be towards one another – considerate. That’s it.
agreed 1000%. What i meant to say is that in this particular context when its its basically popular folkloric knowledge of how women feel about chocolate and how it makes them feel better, and knowing how popular chocolate bar is here already, and knowing how in general, its always the men who are scoundrels who get busted for screwing up all the time and who run around trying to fix things…..then the ads work. theyre funny, and lighthearted and made me chuckle (cant believe i just used that word)
The problem is that people are ignoring the most important parts of the equation: context and intent. If this were a serious documentary about relationships and the woman was depicted that way, then yes we should all be outraged. But if we are talking about a comedic ad, keeping in mind that ads in Kuwait tend to be over-the-top silly and goofy like that, then getting outraged is…silly. They are merely playing on the idea that women adore chocolate. It’s not a real thing that giving your wife a chocolate bar will get you off the hook for cheating. If we can’t make that distinction, then we more serious problems as a society.
This tendency to get outraged over every little thing, in the name of feminism and social justice, is not going to help anyone. It will only create a climate of paranoia that stifles creativity and make people second-guess every step they take.
I found the ads disturbing because of the depiction of murder, especially the scene of suffocation with a bag. I don’t think it is appropriate for an ad to depict murder. The ad can appear randomly to a kid watching a cartoon on youtube. The women activists have brought the ad to everyone’s attention, but for the wrong reasons.
Woke is worse than cancer
I am a cancer survivor and believe it or not I fully agree with that statement. Woke is the destruction of society, the destruction of civilization, and unlike cancer it has a 0% survivability rate.
Both ads depict women as shallow and able to be controlled with …… food.
Ya, this is definitely the low road of advertising
Why not depict women as strong, self reliant, and able to do anything
This is not wokism – it’s just the sign of a society where women are viewed as worthy partners equal to men.
The ads are lame imho
Mark I’d like to recommend that instead of asking everyone what they thought, that instead you focus the question towards women and what they think and if and why they found the ad to be offensive, misogynistic, dangerous, or troublesome. Unfortunately a lot of the time when it comes to situations regarding women and their safety, men are quick to have an opinion and share it when a much bigger issue is that we do not wish to have men speak for us or our rights or safety or determine what we should find offensive or funny.
Yup. It’s clear just from the fact that we’re having this conversation that a substantial number of women (and people in general) find the ad upsetting and offensive. Posing it as a question just invalidates the opinions already expressed, and if you’re truly a feminist then you should take this opportunity to lift up marginalized people’s voices and highlight the societal issues women face everyday. That would be much more useful than this poll.
Wow. I don’t what is more disturbing, the causal violence/murder, infidelity, or depicting women as shallow and brainless creatures. This isn’t a funny ad, it’s insensitive on multiple levels.
They stole the aerobics idea off Key and Peale.
What’s disturbing is that the ones offended by it totally overlook the suffocation part.
That’s the first thing.
The second thing, is that it uses a lot of the overused and cliche tropes of the “pissed of women at her man, who then settles it by showering her with gifts and she forgets everything”.
The ad is not that bad especially for Kuwait that needs some refreshment in advertisements. But this is the first thing that comes to mind.
As a woman I didn’t find it offensive. Just laugh it off and move on. Regardless of the ad, it gets tiring to inject sexism and misogyny in everything to the point of paranoia. In this age everything is becoming offensive.. to people.
Thirdly, we have to look at it from the other perspective too, in that it’s okay for women to humiliate men as well everytime they do something wrong (like murder them wth?!) especially with a scene that is pretty graphic (suffocating them with a bag) I don’t see anything humourous about that. It both depicts women as violent beings and men as victims of their violence.
It’s time to look at things from all angles and stop with the toxic feminist rants of men vs women. It’s only creating a reverse effect rather than solving anything logically and rationally.
Conversation starter: Chocolate Bar is owned by a woman.
Discuss.
Its just that people whining have nothing better to do. Also its fashion now a days to critisize everything.
It’s low brow humor. Yes it shows women as violent or simple to fool. Just promise her chocolate. Or another old one, if your girl is mad, take her shopping. I think Women are angry because it is kinda true.
Its an ad, u dont like it then dont watch it. This generation is to sensitive and whine about everything. Everything is offensive to people now a days it seems like we reached a point that if nothing was published or released then everyone would be happy. Offensive or not, reality or fiction it doesnt matter, Just chill.
** put on my headphone and listen to the slim shady LP**
For me, the second ad was funnier than the first, but it’s odd no one complains about the ads’ depiction of murder.
i think the intention was to make the ad exaggerated and hence funny. there is this strong perception of “the crazy woman who kills husband and mistress” thats kinda overused. but i feel that they purposely went overboard to make it funny. It’s exaggerated; who would kill because they found a hair band in their husband’s car? Hence funny.
If they didn’t exaggerate and the woman went on screaming and screaming about how dare you cheated on me and what not…. its no longer funny. its just sad and it reminds us of that aforementioned perception.
Chocolate bar is BASED. They’ve got a new customer 😀
am i the only one who cant get that beat out of their head? its gold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK98jx7gw7w
They had a full page ad in Al-Qabas today saying: “We Hear You”. I think they saw the post and all the comments and they want to reach out.
You can see it in the PDF version only.
https://dqnxlhsgmg1ih.cloudfront.net/archive/1615750095490_WHsHi.pdf
Hi.
They apologized
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMbD2QuJHjY/
It’s was all a show and they played it right !
I don’t think it was a show, I think they’re reacting. But, I think they should have apologized and then given pro women rights NGO’s and movements like lan asket exposure instead of turning the spotlight on themselves. If you check their story you’ll see what this is turning into.
Honestly, I didn’t think much about the ad first time around. (other than its lame), until i saw people complaining about it.
Then i imagined an ad on TV normalizing a man explicitly suffocating his wife because she gave her child a bad haircut.
Then i realized, there is no way this ad would be ok if it was with a man suffocating a woman, therefore it should not be ok the other way round. Watching the ad now makes me uncomfortable.
Does this make sense? please correct my logic if you think it’s flawed.
By way of reaching out. My overall impression of the ad is negative, not because it’s silly, but because I want to follow the thought process of the creator who decided misogyny and murder are good themes for selling chocolate. This might work in a Tarantino movie, but a chocolate commercial? Advice: when selling chocolate stay away from dark humor and cultural stereotypes, someone will get offended and you don’t need that.
The ad is funny because it plays on a particular stereotype .. and stereotypes are funny because they are true.. mostly.. in a general comedic sense. The first ad is especially funny, which basically says if your woman gets psycho level mad at you for having some harmless fun in the company of other women, bring her to chocolatebar to calm her down. I think most people in relationships, women included, can relate to this situation.
Btw, the murder scene is misandry and not misogyny, perhaps Mark can share it’s definition too.
The actual conversation to be had here is in fact; Why is violence portrayed against men by women, acceptable and even found to be funny, while the opposite is completely repugnant? I think we need a woke moment for men’s rights, focusing the limelight on the abuse that a lot men routinely face at the hands of their partners, more or less over trivial things… anyone agree?.
Harmless fun checking women out… If the case was opposite the man would literally murder the woman in kuwait or at least a divorce. So no it’s not “mostly true”!!! talk about misogyny! I don’t know if you’re trolling or you’re actually ridiculous. The shit guys get away… if you turn the tables it wouldn’t be considered innocent fun, and god forbid a woman reacts to this one-sided-acceptable behavior then shes a psycho?!
And NO, most women do not relate to this bullshit!! if i catch my man intentionally going to an all-women aerobics class to check them out, believe me no amount of chocolate will make it acceptable.
The murder scene is only there to portray women as crazy and unreasonable so once again we’re looking at misogyny. The whole campaign is to show the man as the poor victim, treating his wife/girlfriend like shit, and the women as crazy irrational bitches for having overreactions that can be calmed down with food like dogs!
Khan – I am disgusted by your views on women.
Hala – I completely concur with everything you said.
Maybe you want to try reading my comment again after you have had some chocolate?
I’ve got Godiva on my night stand and I still feel nauseous by what you wrote.
Maybe you need to enroll in the same gender courses that the governments of Sweden and Norway make refugees from Third World countries take.
“me no amount of chocolate will make it acceptable.”
Does anyone really believe that’s a thing? That’s the joke of the ad: their chocolate bar is so incredible that it can get you out of your wife murdering you for cheating. They are playing on an ounce of truth (women tend to love chocolate) and they take it to an absurd level. Kuwaiti ads are lame and silly like that. The difference is that a reasonable person understands that it is silly and moves on, while the “woke” person acts as if it is a serious portrayal of how women are, and throw a fit.
you know who else likes chocolate? men. Wallah we understand exaggeration in comedy but this ad was targeted at a specific sex. Why can’t the woman take the man to chocolate bar? do men not get angry at women?
And this so called “ounce of truth” that’s being exaggerated is the problem. People actually believe women overreact, and men 7aram they didn’t do anything. Yes of course there’s no murder and enough chocolate but why was that UNTRUE stereotype chosen for all 3 of their ads? It’s like doing 3 ads for education and all 3 of them show black men can’t even read or point. Yes it’s exaggerated but why did they choose black men!? you can’t ignore the racism/sexism behind the comedy.
And no you can’t just throw the word WOKE to invalidate people’s opinions.
Again it’s stereotype. Every nationality, race, gender, profession, age etc has a stereotype and absolutely no one says that stereotypes apply to everyone, but everyone agrees that stereotypes are funny.
I didn’t think that the guy is even checking out women, he is just having a jolly time on his own, and the stereotype is of a jealous partner freaking out. It’s funny how u r saying that this ad is absolutely unrealistic and doesn’t apply to real women, and then go on to say that you would react in perhaps a worse way if u saw ur man in a similar situation.
The man calming his girl down by buying her a gift is also a stereotype. Maybe chocolate doesn’t work for u, but the point of the ad is that chocolate may work… Try chocolate bar.
But more importantly, why is no one outraged by the fact that this insane level of misandry as depicted by the brutal violence against men by women in these ads considered funny? In fact, the only opposition that I can see is via some comments saying that if the genders were reversed it would be unacceptable, so this also should be unacceptable, or that it portrays women in a poor light. Wtf?? What about normalizing such bad treatment of men by women over such benign things?
At the very least, if u don’t agree with me on the misandry bit in the ad, empathize with others who may not agree with you on the misogyny bit.
Peace.
its not about jealousy, its about faithfulness. If im in a committed relationship with someone it’s disrespectful to intentionally go parade and check out other women. So yes I do expect that level of respect from my partner!!! If I go to an aerobics class and its all men I would feel uncomfortable and leave, unless I’m there to flirt.
If you’re so ok with the idea then I wish for your current or future wife/girlfriend has a “jolly good time on her own” while surrounded by exercising shirtless men and see how you would react.
Chocolate is not for me because making mistakes require an apology and a conversation of understanding, not dessert or flowers or whatever the fuck you think you can silence women with. We’re not stupid and naive!! If you want to have a jolly good time with women then don’t get in a relationship.
Of course it’s not okay to kill your partner. Or any form of violence towards any sex. Yes this whole ad is full of exaggerations from all sides. But my point is women have every right to react (not by killing, but to react) to men’s no-consequences, disrespectful behaviors within a relationship, and no you cannot appease the situation with material gifts like we’re just going to forget the break of trust.
Whatever…
I didn’t even read the comments. It’s just an ad and people love to complain and whine about everything nowadays, everybody gets offended by everything
Better question to ask is if this advertisement for Chocolate Bar has boosted their recognition in the local community. I believe the fact that people are discussing their advertisements between their family members and friends (even in your blog) makes it seem that this advertisement has turned into a word of mouth marketing scheme. A successful one too because I believe most of the people discussing Chocolate Bar will remember the restaurant and mention it to others when they have a chocolate craving. I think it has made the company more lively. Yes, it is considered misogynistic and controversial but what isn’t controversial nowadays.
People should STOP taking everything seriously and put their own aspects on everything.
if the guy was black, they will say why did she kill a black person.
if he was gay, gay people will pop up complaining.
when commercials includes Egyptians to use their accents as its funny .. we find Egyptians making fuzz. Lebanese, Insdians Pakis and the list GO ON..
GUYS .. grow up, its 2021 … stop the bullshit
If I may offer a different point of view: I honestly didn’t find the idea offensive in terms of sexism. In fact I immediately thought about the expression “im so mad im gonna kill him” which in reality doesnt go any further than that. Having said that, I found the violence to be graphic and disturbing especially as an ad that would potentially pop up in youtube for kids and younger ages. So as a mother of two toddlers, I wouldnt want them to come across such ads or, even worse, ideas.
Would bald men gets offended when watching shampoos commercials? 😂😂
People are getting their panties in a bunch (or boxers) for no reason. Can’t we just enjoy a little humour without digging so deep into it? There’s no sexist remark, it’s just that in today’s times & obviously over the course of decades, we have these people come in & just stir shit up.
I’m all for women empowerment, equal rights for them, better pay etc. Heck, I truly believe I’m a feminist. Always supporting my colleagues, pushing them to get into fields they think they can’t just because they’re all male dominated etc. you name it but you got to draw a line somewhere & no it’s not about laughing at their expense. It’s just funny, plain & simple.
Here’s the perfect example. What’s the one thing a lot of guys around the world do when they get home after work during these lockdown times? Gaming. Should I be offended every time I see an ad for a PS5 where they’re showing a male gaming? It’s just stupid, I could definitely twist the words & throw a tantrum about how it’s not right & against men but no, it’s funny. Laugh a little, it’s not going to hurt anyone. If I were against it, I could always say stuff like, “We have a life, we do other things besides just gaming! Why can’t they put up ads with women gaming? Why always men? They’re mocking us!’.
Laugh a little. Not every time a joke or an ad is released, it’s to demean someone. Why can’t people just get that? Live & let live.
With the actuality of what’s happening in Kuwait and deeper issues that pertain to women, I’m sorry but you can’t just take everything with a pinch of salt and call it creative liberty. There’s a reason well established brands (banks, telcos) here have all kinds of due diligence conducted before releasing any ad and that’s why their reputation from a comms perspective still remains intact.
The crisis communications done after releasing the ad still felt self-centered and anyone who knows better can clearly see through the gimmicks. Strategically, it was a massive failure, and financially, a lost cause.
A very simple solution could have been to apologize and just say that they should have done better in representing their biggest clientele – women. I used to be a loyal Chocolate Bar customer, but today, I don’t think I’d want to support a brand that doesn’t understand me as a customer and as a woman.
We’re better than that. We’re smarter than that. We are evolving and we need the right kind of representation (and who says it can’t be witty!).
I couldn’t have worded what I said any better & I don’t want to further clarify it because I know in today’s times my words will be misconstrued (People get a kick out of it). I kept my wording as basic as possible to get my point across.
You’re entitled to your opinion which I respect & I am to mine so let’s agree to disagree on this.
Men commenting – relax, it’s funny, don’t be so serious.
Women commenting – horrific, insulting, degrading.
Men, stop trying to speak for women. This isn’t about you.