This isn't a Ram's World any more

[djm4_lj]

As heard on the radio this morning: Young's Bitter has been criticised by the ASA for range of adverts portraying a figure with a ram's head in various situations and with the strapline 'This is a Ram's World'. The ram figure is pictured playing golf, at a gentleman's club, and by a swimming pool surrounded by several scantily-clad women. The adverts have been criticised for 'linking Young's Bitter with success at a social occasion or seduction'. Young's defence is that 'the idea of a ram being in the social situations shown in the posters was so preposterous that people would understand it was not real'.

Interestingly (to me), lizw and I have rather different reactions to the adverts, and I thought I'd create a poll to see what other people thought. If you haven't seen the adverts, they're available here (needs Flash - follow the 'Advertising' link on 'explore my world').

[Poll #649924]

Comments

[thehalibutkid.livejournal.com]

I kinda think the ram figure in the adverts is halfway between the aspirational alpha male figure and the parody.
I can't imagine anyone actually wanting to go out looking like the ram. But then he does get into some situations that many men would like to be in. Interestingly he is in three different situations. It could be argued that in the by the pool picture he is appealing to the Club 18-30 crowd whereas when you see him in the golf club he is maybe aiming at a slightly older demographic. Then the gentlemens club is a slightly different group again. All 3 areas are things that can be aspired to though. I dunno. I have started to ramble now. So that is my kinda jumbled thoughts.

[hfnuala.livejournal.com]

It's just an excuse to do 70s style advertising while claiming it's ironic.

So halfway between options 1 and 2, I guess.

[purplerabbits.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that.

[djm4]

I'm sorry, I would read your answer but I just saw your userpic and died of cute.

[purplerabbits.livejournal.com]

Huh! You're just not taking my opinions seriously as a woman cute ikkle bunny person!

[vampwillow]

I am far less worried about this advert (which sortof "follow(s) the bear") than the series of adverts for men's smellies - which are far more blatant about making the men successful with women.

imho, either _all_ products should be prevented from suggesting that they 'assist' with finding members of the opposite (or same or both) gender(s), or none should be. I see no reason why drink should be separated out in this respect ...

[hfnuala.livejournal.com]

The Lynx ads (assuming those are the ones you mean) are just getting worse and worse - last year's (semi)naked women spelling out words print ads being a new low.

I really should start complaining instead of just stewing to myself.

[booklectica]

I hadn't seen the ads, but followed your link. I thought they were quite amusing - that was about the extent of my reaction. I literally can't imagine any man looking at them and thinking 'Wow, I want to be like that ram. I'd better drink more Young's.'

[djm4]

The thing is, having seen the ads on the tube for the past couple of years, I was aware of a small lizardy part of my brain thinking exactly that. The higher primate part of my brain mocked the lizardy part for thinking that, naturally, for I am a sophisitcated and discerning consumer of todays culture, capable of applying appropriate levels of postmodern irony to the brash and unsubtle texts of modern advertising.

And yet, for all that, part of my brain thought: 'Wow, I want to be like that ram. I'd better drink more Young's'. There's no hiding from it, however ashamed I am at my gauche lack of depth.

[booklectica]

I would mock you, but I'm suddenly uncomfortably aware of the small part of my brain that believes that creams, slimming drinks and the right lipstick would make me magically thin and pretty.

Hmm. This advertising thing is sneaky.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Roughly what David said.

I don't quite see why so many it as a ridiculous parody. It's a set of very straightforward poses about what men are supposed to aspire to them, with the brand name as the central focus. Where's the funny?

If it was, I don't know, a penguin, then maybe, but it's not even as if they're doing anything to humorously highlight their ram-like qualities, like having them ignore all the babes in favour of a sheep or something.

These adverts will work in a very straightforward way.

[booklectica]

I suppose the parody aspect is that rams symbolise extreme male potency, fertility, sexual promiscuity etc. So the message that 'if you drink Youngs you'll get sex' is highlighted to the extent that it goes deliberately over the top. That's how I saw it, anyway.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

But it's not pushed to the point of parody. If you asked me to produce such a parody, I wouldn't use two or three carefully placed babes - I'd use dozens. I'd have them driving a car with spoilers bigger than the car itself. It is ridiculous, but it's not parody.

[booklectica]

I'd argue that it's not necessarily a very well done parody, but that it is intended as one. But I imagine we'd actually have to find one of the original creative team to find out the truth. Or maybe the ad agency saw it as a parody but Young's themselves consider it semi-serious...

[drdoug.livejournal.com]

I reckon it's precisely intended to do the aspirational alpha figure thing, but designed carefully to have enough not-real-ness about it to make it defensible against protests from the likes of me and ciphergoth, on the grounds that it's just a laugh (="My Lord, I mean, it is a ludicrous parody not intended to be taken seriously.")

And it's got us all talking about it. They are very good at their job.

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

It's a ram - a stereotypically ugly and dirty creature. The idea of it being able to get into those "aspirational" situations is so ludicrous that to me, the message of the ads is "yes, we all know that drinking is a stupid thing to do, but hey, it's fun, so let's do it anyway."

[djm4]

Interesting. I don't perceive rams as either ugly or dirty by their nature; that probably makes a difference to how we undertand the advert. To me, they key features of a ram are 'male' and 'aggressive' (with more of a 'will try to dominate any group it finds itself in' rather than 'picks fights at random' sense), and I find the mask used in the adverts to be rather handsome.

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

Yes, I can see how that would make a difference to your perception of it. I don't find it at all handsome - I find it ridiculous and would probably be embarrassed to wear it.

[duranorak.livejournal.com]

I've occasionally found myself passing the adverts on a bus and having an instinctive reaction of attraction to the figure in them, totally bypassing the fact that it essentially has the head of a slightly stupid four-legged animal, because it presents such a successful, authoritative and commanding image. I think they're good adverts, by which I mean they're well-conceived in terms of doing their job, rather than that they're admirable.

E.
x

[purplerabbits.livejournal.com]

Yes. And I think that, apart from the self-awareness, that's exactly what the advertisers want. They want to reach the lizard part while making the conscious part think it's all such a laugh...

It reminds me in a nasty way about the "not for pansies" ads from a few years back - now what were they for?

[sashajwolf.livejournal.com]

They want to reach the lizard part while making the conscious part think it's all such a laugh...

You may have hit the nail on the head there, actually.

I don't remember a "not for pansies" ad - the closest I can think of is the Yorkie "not for girls" ads, which a moron in a local off-licence did once quote at me when I went to buy one. Fortunately, we have a fine selection of other local establishments to choose from where we aren't confronted with such crap.

[thekumquat.livejournal.com]

Yorkie also had a previous campaign of billboards filled with the largest font they could use saying "SOUTHERN POOFS", which the ASA made them pull. Yorkie claimed there was an equally 'lighthearted' Northern equivalent but I never saw that one.

Given that I don't like Yorkie chocolate, boycotting them was remarkably easy.

[ludy]

and there're nestle so i was already boycotting them

[lilitufire.livejournal.com]

My reaction is "huh - why on earth do they think that will sell more beer???"

Advertising people are weird. :)

Please read David's poll question carefully before voting

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Please read David's poll question carefully before voting

The question is not "what's your reaction to the advert when you see it?". It is "which of these best fits the impression you thought the advertisers were trying to get across?". I interpret that to mean "what were they hoping to invoke in the hearts of their target audience? How were they hoping that these images would help them sell beer?" So when you're voting, put aside your own reaction to the posters and try and think yourself into the minds of the people who produced it.

If after considering that, you want to vote differently, you can change your vote here.

If I've got completely the wrong end of the stick I'm sure David will set me straight :-)

Re: Please read David's poll question carefully before voting

[booklectica]

I'm sticking with my answer. :)

Re: Please read David's poll question carefully before voting

[djm4]

You've got it right, in that that was the intent of the poll, although it was also how I thought people were answering it. Certainly my disagreement with lizw this morning wasn't about whether or not we personally took the ad seriously, but about whether or not we thought it was meant (by Young's) to work as a parody or not.

My theory that this would divide along gender lines has been well and truly hosed by the poll results, though.

Re: Please read David's poll question carefully before voting

[hfnuala.livejournal.com]

My answer still stands. I think they want it to seems as though they are doing option 2 while really doing option 1.

[sinboy.livejournal.com]

He was promoting that Keanu Reeves 'Constantine' movie, and should be shot.

[thekumquat.livejournal.com]

i've only seen still images of this campaign, but my reaction was "it's a sheep. Who wants to be a sheep?"
Then I went "oh, Youngs, ram, gottit, don't like beer".

Given the ramheaded figure looks such a complete twit, I think it just edges over into parody.

[ergotia.livejournal.com]

I hated these the minute I saw them. There may well be a certain ad agency knowing grin thing going on, but a lot of people wont get it.

[jhg.livejournal.com]

If you will insist on watching commercial TV, then this is the sort of pointless crassness up with which you must put.

I prefer BBC 4 myself - TV and radio.


J

[djm4]

*puzzled*

I've never seen the ads on TV - they're billboard ads. The report to which I was referring was on Radio 4.

[jhg.livejournal.com]

Oh? Well, if you will go paying attention to billboards... gibber... back in my day... etc.