Ford’s ‘men’s only car’ advert accused of being ‘condescending’ towards men
Topics: Technology, Reddit, Cars
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: Ford
Topics: Technology, Reddit, Cars
Ford recently released a 'men's only car' advert just in time for International Women's Day, which has been praised by many women and men alike all over.
The tongue-in-cheek advert, voiced over by none other than Breaking Bad icon Bryan Cranston, was launched in a hopes to celebrate of the 'significant role that women have played' in the automobile industry.
But, in doing so, many people have since hit back against the advert, dubbing it as 'condescending' towards men. Take a look at it below:
Advert
The vehicle, named 'The Ford Explorer Men's Only Edition', was 'completely reimagined' for the 'first time ever'.
Cranston can be heard narrating that the car is complete - or incomplete - with: "No windshield wipers, no heater, no turn signals, no rear-view mirror, no GPS."
"Ah," Cranston continues, "it's missing all the parts created by women."
The star sarcastically concludes: "Wow, who's great idea was that?"
At the end of the advertisement, Ford make it clear that the ad was a celebration of women and that 'this vehicle is not really for sale'.
Clearly doing something right, the commercial itself was heavily praised for acknowledging women's impact on the industry.
However, it seems that not everyone was on board with the car company's celebration of International Women's Day.
Hundreds of disgruntled viewers have flocked to Reddit to share their opinions on the 'men's only car' and just why it grinds their gears - pardon the pun.
"I mean," one user wrote, "I feel like there's a way to have made this ad without being weirdly condescending.
"I know it's a woman's month ad but like only last 5 secs actually have anything to do with women? Idk just comes off weirdly passive aggressive to me."
A second chimed in: "Exactly what I thought.
"Women’s day is about celebrating women," they continued, "why do they need to be condescending towards men to do that?"
A third added: "All this catering to women and constantly putting men down is embarrassing."
However, other Reddit users were quick to shut down such comments.
One posted: "The best part of the comments is that everyone either a) didn’t get that this was a women’s day commercial acknowledging their contributions to the auto industry, or b) took the headline as an opportunity to show they’re men’s rights types and let me eat up that irony."
The Reddit user continued to explain the premise of the advert, highlighting that if a car was ever 'reimagined' without all the parts that women made, it would be turned into a 'death trap with few safety or navigational features'.
Another dubbed the critical comments a 'gold mine of people who read the headline and start posting'.
"My god," they wrote, "some of you really just start spouting anger or praise the moment you read a headline."