Tag Archive: Clorox

Clorox Thinks Men Are Useless – Part II

After posting my thoughts about the very male-negative ad by Clorox, I contacted Clorox directly and pointed them to my site to see what I had written. These was the response I received today:

“Dear Mr. Kmiec,
Thank you for contacting us.

As you can imagine, advertising is an integral part of our company’s operation, and we devote a great deal of time and research to it. The objective of any Clorox Company advertisement is to provide the consumer with accurate, useful information about a product in a manner that makes the message memorable. On those rare occasions when there is disagreement about an advertisement’s content or impact, we appreciate the feedback we may receive from our loyal consumers. Such feedback is always kept in mind when reviewing future advertising. I have forwarded your comments to our Marketing Department for further review.
Again, thank you for contacting us.

Sincerely,

Vicky Bullock
Consumer Response Representative
Consumer Services

Did you know: According to Dr. Abel Wolman, former president of the American Public Health Association, sodium hypochlorite, the basic ingredient in Clorox Regular-Bleach, has saved more lives than any other substance made by man, due to its ability to reduce waterborne disease.

To let us know what you think about your experience emailing our company, please click on the following link to complete an online satisfaction survey.

http://surveys.affina.com/metasurveyExternal/cgi-bin/qwebcorporate.cgi?idx=WU72GH

If you have additional questions or comments, please click here to respond to this email.”

Clorox Thinks Men Are Useless

While watching Mad Men tonight I saw an ad from Clorox that disappointed the hell out of me. Men and Dads specifically, never get any respect from advertisers. We’re often characterized as bumbling idiots who can’t do anything except drink beer and drive cars. This new ad from Clorox had me hooked and leaning forward. I loved the time lapse look and the voice over was perfectly in tune with the animation. Then, roughly 13 seconds into the ad, I had a “WTF, are you serious” moment. The copy reads, “Laundry is not new. your mother, your grandmother, her mother, they all did the laundry…MAYBE EVEN A MAN OR TWO.”

Wow. Wow. I thought I had misheard the ad, so I went out to YouTube to find it. Sadly, I had heard correctly. As a dad, I find the line utterly and completely disrespectful. I do 75% of the laundry in my house. I know several men who do their fair share of laundry. To characterize men as people who don’t do laundry and women as the only people who do is insulting to both genders. Clearly, Clorox, hasn’t gotten the memo about the changing American family. Their time laps commercial seems stuck in the 1950s.

Since Clorox obviously doesn’t think I’m useful, I’ll be switching to private label and the competition.

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Head of Social Media at Walgreens. Interactive marketer, innovator, boat rocker, continuous learner, movie lover, risk taker, dad and all around good guy. I'm always up for a spirited conversation. These are my thoughts and ramblings, not those of my employer.
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