Being “of a certain age,” I have fond memories of a few things younger sorts might not be aware of. For instance, I remember the Lynda Carter series Wonder Woman. Now, that wasn’t High Art…but it had two things I enjoyed greatly:
- A love of America;
- Lynda Carter’s boobs.
At around the same time, there was a program, The Bionic Woman, which starred Lindsay Wagner, a fresh-faced beauty not quite as well endowed as Carter, but wholesomely appealing. And once again, it was an America-loving show. The casting was plainly intended to appeal to the demographic of which I was part.
I wasn’t the only young man who enjoyed those programs. They were popular. And sponsors competed for advertising time on them, which implies that ads purchased to run in them sold a lot of stuff. The same could be said for Charlie’s Angels, which starred three beautiful and appealing young women. Advertisers competed with their dollars for slots in that show, as well.
But today?
A squint, a painful-looking grimace, and no boobs. What demographic does Anheuser-Busch have in mind here? I can’t figure it out.
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Why Francis, thank you for putting into words, what people like me have been thinking! Please don’t hate me, but my allergist could pass for Ms. Wagners twin.
I would add Catherine Bach (Daisy Duke) and Erin Gray (Col. Wilma Deering) to that list as well. I get your point about the advertising though, they seem to be going out of their way to promote the heaviest, ugliest and the most downright revolting creatures to promote their products to the public. In the early 90’s Victoria Secret had unarguably a collection of the world’s most beautiful women as models. They were gorgeous without being fake, comely without being tacky and they exuded a femininity in an almost bygone era sort of way. Not anymore. My nephew is a marketing major and he reads a great deal about marketing trends. He recently told me that the reason a lot of the female clothing models look plain now is because the folks who call the shots about what type gets hired for the shoot are all women. They in turn have a huge problem with having women better looking than them prancing for the camera. He said when men held those positions, they had no problem hiring the most beautiful models to showcase their clothing.
Author
Indeed. I’ve been told many times, by observant and knowledgeable people, that if you want examples of serious misogyny, you won’t find them among men but among women who are required to work with and for other women. My own experiences bear this out.
My memory is nagging me. Did you write a second scene involving HR harridans in one of the sequels to Chosen One? I only clearly remember the one where the head of HR went after Louis. Anyway, when I read this https://go.isi.org/e/993092/sue-21-against-human-resources/2r5sc/347962486/h/D4L8aQKklvDENGBqcUwRBMDLT_SnPP5PcGEWsYlcXdc
it certainly convinced me you had had your run-ins with that subset of humanity. I didn’t notice this author pointing out how badly those creatures treat comely women, but I know you’re not the only one who has witnessed it.
Author
That was in Statesman.
Mine as well. I worked for a fortune 500 company in the early 90’s and I got to know a number of people there fairly well. I knew three rather high-level female managers who stated unequivocally, that they would rather work for a man rather than a woman any day of the week
The woman responsible for the Dylan Mulvaney debacle was a Harvard grad. Ivy league, don’t you know? She looked down at the people who drank Bud Light. She wasn’t advertising for Bud Light drinkers, she was advertising for her fellow Harvard grads. She was virtue signaling to her fellow progressive leftists, her fellow AWFULs. (Affluent White Female Urban Liberal). She was trying to turn Bud Light into what she thought it SHOULD be, rather than trying to sell beer to beer drinkers. She is literally mentally incompetent to be an advertising person. As is her boss, who is another Ivy League shithead and ex CIA to boot. It was the ultimate conglomeration of snooty, out-of-touch, over-educated and credentialed morons who should have never been put into the positions they were hired for.
Fuck ’em. I didn’t drink Bud Light anyways, but after the Mulvaney crap I actively look for other beers that aren’t shilled by AB.
Well, I bet you’re gonna love this — not. Trump rushed to Bud Light’s defense as Anheuser-Busch lobbyist slated to host fundraiser for him
Wait Mr President. Doesn’t a miscreant need to confess and beg forgiveness before being granted a second chance? Or are you asking me to forgive your own missteps for which you refuse to admit you committed?
This reminded me of how Jeff Sessions was rewarded with the AG spot for being the first senator to endorse him. (In hindsight, the endorsement seems to have been GOPe insurance just in case Trump got elected.)
As he’s the same flawed narcissist and poor subordinate selector who is most likely to be elected this November (if a fair election is even held), I don’t see how we are not totally screwed.