Advertising Bribery

In a world getting into the moral sphere, with every world leader justifying decisions with a moral highground, the necessity to act & live morally is the way of life today.

Evils like bribery, unjustified payment for getting your work done, are the problems the modern world faces.

And bribery comes in many shapes & forms. From paying an employee of the local magistrate to sucking up to your boss, there are many types of bribery with money not being the only commodity being used as currency.

Which brings me to a completely different, & yet related, point.

I see adverts which show a man setting up a great dinner for his woman, a man rushing to pick up his partner at the airport & gifting her a diamond ring, a woman being serenaded by a group picked out by her partner,....

The number of adverts soft selling to women is staggering and, in my opinion, extremely irritating.

Not that I dont plan a dinner for my wife or not gift here jewellery when the occasion calls for it. My objection is to the sheer onesidedness of the ad world in targetting women.

There is not a single ad, not one, which depicts a woman going out of the way to do something special for the man. Not one. Doesn't it look like a weird thing?

Why should that happen? I understand that women are more susceptible to this kind of soft sell, but men like to be flattered too. We like being pampered once in a while.

But that's not what the ads are showing. What I think they show is blatant bribery.

I'll buy you stuff, you stay happy. Or better still, I'll buy you jewellery, don't get grumpy.

Have these ad people thought for a moment that a single ad showing the reverse of the situation will feel SO GOOD to the all ignored male group. But I'm sure the ad will get rejected by the female group as they are not used to this kind of idea.

Heaven forbid if an ad comes out where the woman surprises her man with a great golf set. Most of the women would go around thinking "that's a collosal waste of money, especially on a golf course. I could get so many diamonds in my next bracelet."

Outright bribery, I say. We men would genuinely gift our women if the same rule applied to us. The fact that jewellery is taken to be a "great gift" whereas something like a golf set or an iPod is taken as a waste of money is where the problem is.

And we actually advertise & promote bribery. Yeck!