Tide Commercial Reminds Us That Girls Are Supposed To Wear Pink (VIDEO, POLL)

From Jezebel comes Tide's new 30-second commercial in which a cardigan-clad mother bemoans the less-than-feminine tendencies of her young daughter.

Pairing her plastered-on smile with crazy eyes, the woman relays her sad story as her daughter innocently plays with blocks: "Well, we tried the whole pink thing. Nope, all she wants to wear is hoodies, hoodies and cargo shorts...getting dirty."

The horror!

Mom's dreams were nearly fulfilled when her daughter carelessly left crayons in her pockets that then went through the wash, staining the offending garments. Alas, Tide and Tide Booster were just too tough on stains to save this mother from her worst nightmares! And the little girl's cargo shorts went unblemished.

The commercial ends with Tide's new tagline, "That's my Tide. What's yours?" -- the same phrase that finishes another, sillier Tide commercial in which a sartorially-lost wife buys her husband distressed designer jeans.

Dumb? Sure. But at least it doesn't reaffirm the most entrenched gender stereotypes around. Even little boys these days know that girls aren't the only ones who get to wear pink.

Quick Poll

Is this Tide commercial offensive?

ABSOLUTELY. It plays on the most wrongheaded gender stereotypes.

NAH. Just a cliche suburban mom griping about the laundry.

Share your vote on Facebook so your friends can take this poll

WATCH:

(Via Jezebel)

Another Tide Commercial:

Comments

[Roxana Waterman]

12:51 AM on 10/07/2011

Actually, I thought this commercial was perfectly feminist. The fact that the mother is displeased but Tide comes in and saves her daughter's clothes means she can't try taking those beloved clothes away from her daughter under the excuse of them being stained. Also, the fact that the mother ends with "Another garage honey? It looks beautiful" or something to that effect is, I believe, particularly fantastic because the mother is at least encouraging her daughter despite not agreeing with her style and preferences.

[EvilRabbit]

11:57 PM on 09/28/2011

Excuse me but isn't this ad the definition of Feminism. Each female is making their choice to be who they are. The pink, girly one and the one who likes fatigues and car garages. It's humor.

A sexist ad wouldn't have used comedy and simply had everyone in pink as though THAT is a woman's only true expression of femininity.

[lisads]

07:22 PM on 09/01/2011

My 18 year old would consider herself a feminist, and she has been made to feel guilty for liking pink girly things! Sometimes girls and young women do like pink, glittery things. It isn't always because society thinks they should, or a stereotype. She just really does like them. And she shouldn't feel guilty for it, like she is betraying the cause or some such nonsense. The mother in this ad likes pink, and thought her daughter would follow in her footsteps. It is a funny ad, we never know how our kids will turn out.

[ManicRaider]

10:37 PM on 09/10/2011

Just like you say your daughter shouldn't feel guilty for wearing pink, other people's daughters shouldn't feel guilty for wearing hoodies and cargo pants. Besides who is in your daughter's face 24/7 making her feel bad? No one.

[luvcats13]

12:06 PM on 09/01/2011

I'd just like to see detergent commercials showing men doing laundry! In my household, both my husband and I do laundry. My single 28 year old son lives on his own and does his own laundry. This summer, my 17 year old son started doing some of his own laundry in preparation for going to college next fall. Even my dear, recently departed father, a member of the "good old days" 1950s marriages ( good for the men), helped do laundry a little bit after he retired.

This is real life - men do laundry! So that is what I find sexist in laundry commercials - they assume ONLY women do laundry and that woman are constantly bemoaning life's laundry issues. I'm thinking, if most busy American households are like mine - none of us are sitting around stressing about laundry - THAT is so 1950s!

[Dede Eagleburger]

11:56 AM on 09/01/2011

I love the commercial, and I love pink!!

[ttbsmkbk]

11:19 AM on 09/01/2011

The Tide commercial woth little girl wearing army green is too cute! Practically every mom dresses her little girl in pink frilly clothes (including me) at one time or another but once they start school, it goes right out the window!! I fould this out because my daughter couldn't climb the monkey bars or play on the swings in cutesy dresses and shoes!!! I do have a "girly girl" and she does get dirty just like any other kid and it hate it when the dirt doesn't come out of her clothes!!!
If the commercial featured a little boy, it may not have caught my attention as much but since it featured an adorable little girl I just absolutely loved it!
KUDOS to Tide's advertising for their creativity!

[montanadan]

06:15 PM on 08/31/2011

Get back to me when it's the dad doing the laundry.

[aevicks]

08:29 AM on 09/01/2011

I would love to see that too.

[ebsrule55]

04:10 PM on 08/31/2011

The commercial is funny because it's making fun of people like the mother who worry about a little girl not wanting to wear pink. It's MOCKING the idea that women should only wear pink. How could anyone not get that?? Ugh.

[Electriq]

01:17 PM on 08/31/2011

I can't really see this as being offensive. The little girl's insistence on not conforming to her mother's outdated standards of femininity is what stands out. In fact, the mom is actually attempting to accept that her daughter has a personality distinct from her own.

And if this was a ploy to get me to watch the commercial, well...good job.

[Alan Wehmer]

03:38 PM on 08/21/2011

This is an "Issue?" Seriously......with all the "REAL" problems in the World......this is a non-issue. Don't like it? Write Tide and don't buy their product. Don't make a Federal Casee out it. Rail against pollution, crime, racism........there are countless (unfortunately) REAL issues.

[Sarah Rzewski]

01:30 PM on 09/20/2011

ew, are you kidding??? believe it or not, yes, gender stereotypes are indeed REAL problems.

[alahnar]

10:10 PM on 09/28/2011

Pollution, crime, racism are all issues that we attend to -- sexism is also a real issue. This commercial is not a good example of sexism, but sexism is alive, real, and a problem, my dear.

[Brandee Benoy]

12:46 AM on 08/15/2011

This Commercial is a satire!

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Satire

[Victoria-nola]

07:04 PM on 08/13/2011

Actually I don't think either poll reaction is correct. We're supposed to get it that the mom is all in pink and super femme and she's uncomfortable with her daughter's fashion sense. What would be offensive or damaging is if the mother refused to let the daughter wear what she wants and forces her to wear pink. I thought it was actually a kind of a sweet commentary on the pains of parents who are uncomfortable with the people their children are, but who let them be who they are. Letting children be who they are is the whole point of feminism, so I actually like this commercial, and I don't watch television so I'm a hard sell.

[Pamela Ivins Dobuler]

12:46 PM on 08/31/2011

agree. Don't get your knickers in a twist over this.

[Dee Alexandria]

09:16 AM on 09/02/2011

Agreed. I LOVE this commercial for that message. Just let kids be themselves.

[inkongirl]

12:37 PM on 08/13/2011

It's a cute commercial.

[Retrofuturistic]

12:36 PM on 08/13/2011

The things they put in the commericials are what they think will manipulate us. It's like church....

[MissTake1989]

09:10 PM on 08/12/2011

As someone who considers themselves rather feminist...Jezebel is an embarrassment.