# Sexism/male chauvinism in television commercials **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931 "2026-07-26T15:11:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/1 "2026-07-26T15:11:32Z")
I was watching retro commercials on the Roku “Time Portal TV” app, and this golden oldie Folger’s Coffee ad featuring Yvonne Craig popped up: [Folgers Coffee Commercial #11 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/folgers_11). The upfront dissing of the wife’s coffee by the husband right in front of her only lead me to think what he might be doing behind her back, and the end where he doesn’t compliment her new approach (using Folger’s) directly and just says it is as good as Mrs. Olsen’s was incredibly crass at best. What examples have you got? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/2 "2026-07-26T15:44:50Z")
A now-infamous 1970 ad for Geritol, in which a husband praises his silent wife for everything she accomplishes, ending with the line, “my wife…I think I’ll keep her.” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_lNfpQ\_8tEw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lNfpQ_8tEw) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/3 "2026-07-26T15:47:18Z")
If there isn’t a board rule about the very first response not topping the OP’s example, there damn well _should_ be. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/4 "2026-07-26T16:02:56Z")
As I recall it, the “ancient Chinese secret” commercial for Calgon laundry detergent combined sexism _and_ racism, what with the Chinese cleaners. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/5 "2026-07-26T16:05:09Z")
FYI: I do plan on covering racism in tv commercials in another thread…unless someone beats me to it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/6 "2026-07-26T16:06:08Z")
Folger’s had a bunch of TV ads in the 1960s in which clueless wives served dreadful coffee to their disappointed husbands. > **[Step Back in Time with Some Sexist Instant Coffee COMMERCIALS](https://perfectdailygrind.com/2016/04/step-back-in-time-with-some-sexist-instant-coffee-commercials/)** > > Take a trip back in time… to the 1960s and first wave coffee. Folgers ruled supreme, and coffee tended to be bitter, bland, and instant. But if you think the coffee was different, that’s nothing compared to the marketing techniques. Second wave... Exhibit A: sex life improves after serving hubby Folger’s instant coffee. > **[Sexist Coffee Ad (ca. 1960s)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VprIbx4QkPchttps:%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch?v=VprIbx4QkPc)** > > Like us on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/socialguidancefilmsI believe the first ten seconds of this ad are quite possibly one my favorite moments of vint... ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/7 "2026-07-26T16:40:57Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > A now-infamous 1970 ad for Geritol, in which a husband praises his silent wife for everything she accomplishes, ending with the line, “my wife…I think I’ll keep her.” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_lNfpQ\_8tEw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=%5C_lNfpQ_8tEw) That commercial inspired Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” which hit Number 2 on the _Billboard_ country music chart: > **[He Thinks He'll Keep Her](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Thinks_He%27ll_Keep_Her)** > > "He Thinks He'll Keep Her" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Mary Chapin Carpenter. It was released in December 1993 as the sixth single from the album Come On Come On. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. It was written by Carpenter and Don Schlitz. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, and was accompanied by a live performance music video, taken from the 1993 CBS special Women of Country, where Carpen... From the item: > [@](#): > > In a 1992 interview with the _[Chicago Tribune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Tribune "Chicago Tribune")_, Carpenter stated that the song’s title was inspired by a 1970s [Geritol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geritol "Geritol") TV commercial in which a man points to his wife’s many accomplishments and attributes, and then concludes with “My wife…I think I’ll keep her”. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/8 "2026-07-26T16:59:06Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > As I recall it, the “ancient Chinese secret” commercial for Calgon laundry detergent combined sexism _and_ racism, what with the Chinese cleaners. Here’s the ad; I don’t think it’s particularly sexist (the wife comes across as smart and competent), but yeah, it hasn’t aged well regardless. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/djMjYgqFrrQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Calgon Water Softner Ancient Chinese Secret 1970's TV Commercial HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djMjYgqFrrQ) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2026, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/9 "2026-07-26T17:05:18Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > That commercial inspired Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” which hit Number 2 on the _Billboard_ country music chart For our anniversary, I got my wife tickets to a Mary Chapin Carpenter concert, because I may be asking for trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/10 "2026-07-27T03:34:29Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The upfront dissing of the wife’s coffee by the husband right in front of her Watching MeTV right now, _All in the Family_ 3x04 Gloria and the Riddle (1972). Gloria and a friend mention chauvinism in commercials: “You know that one where that jerk is always criticizing his wife’s coffee? Just once, I’d like to see her pour the whole pot over his head.” ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/11 "2026-07-27T03:54:54Z")
There was the whole bullshit _I’m a man and I need man food_ campaign, which caused me never to have eaten at Burger King again. [Burger King Manthem](https://youtu.be/MxhU4A0RXV8?si=Zs6YEVBEIm-_yc9s) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/12 "2026-07-27T20:56:12Z")
I k ew an account executive for Hardee’s who flat out admitted, “Our target audience is young men who eat a lot of fast food.” That was in response to being called out about the Paris Hilton ad. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/13 "2026-07-27T21:02:34Z")
That may be true for several fast food chains. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/14 "2026-07-27T21:17:00Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Folger’s had a bunch of TV ads in the 1960s in which clueless wives served dreadful coffee to their disappointed husbands. In print was worse. [![](https://img2.thejournal.ie/inline/2357511/original/?width=360&version=2357511) ](https://img2.thejournal.ie/inline/2357511/original/?width=360&version=2357511) ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/15 "2026-07-27T21:24:57Z")
There was a thread a few years ago about some brand of diet soda. The commercial showed an over-the-top montage of manly men doing manly things, driving dirt bikes through multiple barriers, I think it was. Anyway, the ad closed with the tag line, “It’s not for women!” Now yes, it was intended to be tongue in cheek, but as I remember, the whole idea behind it was to push the idea that men could drink diet soda without looking feminine. I think that’s a sexist idea in itself. Ironically that mindset is outdated today as Trump makes no secret of his Diet Coke consumption, and also how it fights cancer cells. So much stupidity for so long. PS: I don’t recall the brand of diet soda in the commercial. Could’ve been Mountain Dew. It sounds like something their style, at the time. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2026, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/16 "2026-07-27T21:34:06Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I k ew an account executive for Hardee’s who flat out admitted, “Our target audience is young men who eat a lot of fast food.” > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > That may be true for several fast food chains. It absolutely is true. There’s even an industry nickname for them: “HFFU” (pronounced “Hoo-Foo”), which stands for “heavy fast-food users.” And, yeah, they are typically men, often single, under 40. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/17 "2026-07-28T11:53:37Z")
… And after the spanking, the oral sex! 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/18 "2026-07-28T11:59:44Z")
Naughty Zoot! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/19 "2026-07-28T12:18:56Z")
Bad, wicked, naughty, evil Zoot! 👍 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2026, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931/20 "2026-07-28T12:34:51Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > PS: I don’t recall the brand of diet soda in the commercial. I think you’re thinking of Dr Pepper TEN. > **[Dr. Pepper Ten: It’s ‘Not for Women,’ Macho Marketing Campaign Says](https://abcnews.com/blogs/business/2011/10/dr-pepper-ten-its-not-for-women-macho-marketing-campaign-says)** > > Dr. Pepper Ten is aimed at men and marketed with new macho ad campaign. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sexism-male-chauvinism-in-television-commercials/1031931.md?page=2)