The ad in question is this one for Wealthfront Financial.
For those who cannot view it this is the description taken from the page:
“A man and his friend are knitting together and discussing Wealthfront’s automated investment services. Because Wealthfront has such low fees and minimums, they’ll have enough money to buy all kinds of yarn, or even open that yarn shop. But what to call it? The Yarn Barn, Knit Wit, Knitty Knitty Bang Bang or Knit Happens? Visit wealthfront.com and you too can decide what to do with all your savings.”
I find it kind of humorous but there’s an underlying, slightly offensive(?) note to it. I won’t say more until others have weighed in but let me say straight away that I am about the least polically correct, most anti offenderatti person you would ever meet and I’m envisioning some folks finding this to be a little out of line.
Besides the fact that they never actually knit a stitch?
I think it is made to play on the idea that men don’t knit but the problem is everything about it is wrong. He is not knitting. The “you dropped a stitch” is meaningless because he hasn’t. No one holds yarn like that when someone is actually knitting. The needles look very oversized and wtf is he supposed to be knitting.
So the commercials is dichotomous implying they are knitting and experts in it but clearly they are not and your brain picks up on that.
It seemed rather harmless to me. Is there supposed to be some sort of gay subtext that I should be offended about? Maybe some sexist role reversal thing? A make fun of hipsters and their anachronistic hobbies thing?
I’m not sure get what you find to be offensive. It isn’t all that funny, but it was obviously intended to be. I suppose you could think it was pandering to gay men who are supposed to have high income and low costs (i.e. no kids), but it was far from the stereotypical images of gay men. Knitting, which is now a dated stereotype of gay men, would be the only hint I see there.
Sorry about those two minutes, Spud; just put it on my tab
Anyway, I’m not saying *I *find it offensive exactly, but it’s as if they’re poking fun at gay stereotypes, but not in a very good way. I’m not sure how to explain it. For instance the character Jack on Will and Grace (I know some of you hate the show and that character specifically, but stay with me here) was so over the top the viewer *knew * that the actor and the writers knew that it was a caricature and in no way was anyone supposed to think they were trying to portray a real gay person. This commercial almost feels half serious, luck someone actually thought it would appeal to the gay demographic. I don’t know that I’ve explained that right. It just *feels *like a stab at humor that misses the mark because the creators somewhat believe the stereotype that they’re trying to make fun of.
Not trying to make a big deal of it or anything. I only saw it once and at the time it just left me puzzled so I wondered if anyone else saw it that way.
Knitters get made fun of a lot in commercials. Remember the Northern toilet paper commercial with the little animated ladies quilting the soft fluffy paper with knitting needles?
I hate it because there are tons of men who knit in this country & they could have hired one of them to be in the commercial. If they really, really liked this guy’s line reading, they could have taught him how to knit in under 5 minutes and/or how to fake it far more credibly in under 3.
Instead, the guy they have knitting is holding the needles in a questionable manner, stabbing wildly at the stitch (as if to purl - in the middle of a knit row - with the yarn hanging down in back), but isn’t actually doing anything, isn’t touching the working yarn at all. When his friend says “you dropped a stitch,” he hasn’t. He hasn’t come close to dropping a stitch. It would be nigh impossible for him to drop a stitch based on where the yarn is on those needles. (In fact, the way he’s waving those things around, it’s almost as if someone told him to be very, very careful so he wouldn’t accidentally drop a stitch.)
The commercial drives the knitter in me nuts.
If they can’t take the time & care to get a small, easily done thing like that right in the commercial, why on earth would I trust them with my money?
I didn’t get any gay vibe out of it. Unless I’m supposed to assume that female knitting circles are populated by lesbians?
I thought the incompetence of it was, as billfish says, intentional to show that any moron can use the service to invest.
As for why knitting? They had to be doing something. Knitting makes as much sense as anything else in terms of getting your attention.
In fact it makes more sense that the things people in prescription drug commercials are doing. “I have heart disease, diabetes and arthritis, but I appear to be only 40, and I’m hiking through the Grand Canyon with a girl who appears to be 20. All thanks to this drug that killed the other half of the people who took it.”
Anyway, I just don’t see anything to be offended about.
Really? Because to me it screams “we’re going for the gay demographic”. Like they’re striking while the iron is still hot after the SSM decision (obligatory "not that there’s anything wrong with that). What about the Mitt Romney crack? Since I’m in the minority I’ll have to conclude that I’m imagining things. It just feels so obvious to me but I know all of you are sharp so I’ll try to view it a different way next time it comes on.
For the reasons I stated in my post, I don’t think it is offensive, I think it is unsettling like almost an uncanny valley. They’re knitting but your brain senses they are not.
