iPhone Advertisement Hurt My Feelings

 I love my iPhone unapologetically. I literally take it to bed with me. I read books on it before I go to sleep. That being said, the current iPhone ad really pisses me off.

I mean I can appreciate the sentiment, my family all uses my iPhone too, but holy fucking stereotypes Batman.

My wife likes the recipes app.

I don't know why that bothers me so much, but it does. It really, really does. 

Maybe it is because my favorite app is a way to get current sports scores, or maybe I have PMS, but whenever I see this commercial I don't hear "your kids can play games on your iPhone and they will be good in the car" - which is true and I use my phone as a parenting tool on a regular basis - I hear "Girls like shopping and sewing. My wife likes to do laundry and she is really bad at math. Women shouldn't work or vote."

 

Am I overreacting? Probably.

Is it still offensive? Totally.

I know I can't be the only one who this bugs.

. . . . .

Goon Squad Sarah doesn't like "Sex and the City" either, so there.

Comments

[Heather]

You are DEFINITELY not the only one who is bugged by this ad. It has bothered me since the first time I saw it. And what's funny is that among my friends and family, the people who would most enjoy a recipe app are men! Apple usually has such great advertising...this one really dispapoints me.

[Snarky Amber]

You're not the only one, dude. *fistbump*

[AmyC65]

Wow, sorry. But you are waaayyy overreacting in my book. His wife "finds a new app every week. THIS WEEK it's recipes." There is certainly alot to be offended by if you watch TV for a few hours. But this isn't one of them.

[daniloth]

yep, don't like it. Do I use recipe/cooking apps? Yes. Does my daughter use it to play? Yes? My main use? Following politics via news apps, twitter & facebook, aka MY JOB. I thought/hoped apple was smart enough not to fall prey to the women=kitchen, men=cars stereotype. Ugh.

[Amalah]

EVERY TIME this as is on, I do a head tilt to the side and an SNL-like "Really? REALLY?"

Also, why doesn't his wife have her own damn iPhone?

[Keli]

I thought the EXACT SAME THING when I saw this ad. I said out loud, "Because that's what chicks do, they cook. Bring me a sandwich, woman!"

[Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah]

Yeah, she should have her own iPhone! Why does the whole family share?

[ThePeachy1]

When I saw this add, I was thinking, wow, dude your a douche. YOUR iphone. I bet your wife is banging the Ilawyer she's gonne use to idivorce you. friggin buttmucnh. oh yeah I have pms too, send chocolates and no one gets hurt.

[Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah]

Barefoot and pregnant, right?

[sam {temptingmama}]

Oooooooh, that ad makes me LIVID. LIIII. VID.

Going to break something...

[ClumberKim]

You know I love my iPhone too. When I saw the ad (right after one for the Amazon Kindle that is adorable, and even throws in quasi-subliminal "Boom!") and couldn't help myself. I looked at my husband, the Apple employee, and said, "If your wife likes your iPhone so much, buy her one." I never talk to the TV when he is around but I couldn't help myself.

[Leandra]

This one doesn't really bother (maybe because I don't have an iPhone and don't really pay attention to their commercials.) The one that gets me is a new commercial for Centrum vitamins for teens. Hers is specially formulated for clear skin. His is speciall formulated for muscles. WTH? Girls don't want muscles? Boys don't want clear skin?

[Leandra]

This one doesn't really bother (maybe because I don't have an iPhone and don't really pay attention to their commercials.) The one that gets me is a new commercial for Centrum vitamins for teens. Hers is specially formulated for clear skin. His is speciall formulated for muscles. WTH? Girls don't want muscles? Boys don't want clear skin?

[Leandra]

This one doesn't really bother (maybe because I don't have an iPhone and don't really pay attention to their commercials.) The one that gets me is a new commercial for Centrum vitamins for teens. Hers is specially formulated for clear skin. His is speciall formulated for muscles. WTH? Girls don't want muscles? Boys don't want clear skin?

[Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah]

I'm glad you guys think it is infuriating too.

[Laurie]

I don't even have a husband to have an iPhone for me so no wonder I can't cook or read or get sports scores without maybe borrowing some other man's phone.

Partially kidding, but you know.

[Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah]

Right? You must just cook and sew for yourself. 

And your pink cats.

[AmyAnne]

"I think she finds a new app every week. This week it's recipes."

I'm not high am I? It didn't say she only uses it for recipes. It says she finds a new app every week. It didn't say he's too cheap to get his wife an iphone. It said everyone uses his.

You all are way too sensitive. Get a grip.

[Krystal]

Funny, I just saw this commercial for the first time about 5 minutes ago and I was pretty annoyed by it for the same reason. I get what they were trying to say, but I thought it was lame nonetheless.

[Julie Pippert]

I heard the same thing. Funny I mostly just download news apps. I must not be a real girl.

To be fair, I also hate that camera ad where the skinny bikini clad girls laugh and laugh at an overweight guy on the beach, film him and say they are totally taking this viral on the web. Who are these ad agencies and can I whap them upside the back of the head?

Or spend time distinguishing "fresh and creative and funny" from "stereotyped cliche that misses clever by a mile."

[tammy]

I didn't watch the commercial, but I actually really like that grocery app.

[Washington "I Just Took A Picture Of What I Wrote--With My iPhone" Cube]

Speaking as a woman who bought her own iPhone. Who does not share her phone. Who never looks up recipes. Heck, I don't even store a grocery list in the "Notes" section, but rather information on the things that fuel multiple electronics around here like varied printer cartridge numbers (black and color.)

I'm more inclined to go to You Tube to watch The Cramps singing "Sunglasses After Dark." Check the stock market. Find out who sells sea poppies by the seashore. :)

I see and disagree with the gender biased demographics of this. Why not televise a realistic iPhone ad showing some married guy sexting his secret girlfriend while sitting at a ballgame while the wife is off taking Junior to the bathroom. The same guy who's got Kendra Wilkinson's sex tape marked under "favorites." Or that goofy video footage of Steve Jobs jumping around on stage making "Whoot" noises.

If you really don't like what's being said in advertisements? Write the CEO of the company and tell them why. They aren't even off the hook, in my book, naming their lastest "iPad." Some wag said at the time, "Well. It's obvious they didn't have any females on that engineering team. They would have given it "wings.""

Show us an iPad ad with a woman saying "I wouldn't kick it out of bed for eating crackers."

I do agree with you, Sarah. One thing I find disturbing is that Jobs used to always have these ads that said, "Be original. Go crazy. Be innovative." That ad is plain white toast. Put some passion fruit jelly on it.

[Washington "I Just Took A Picture Of What I Wrote--With My iPhone" Cube]

...and that's latest, not lastest. AOL is actually making changes to their software :::THUD::::HUGE THUD::: and my typing is coming out painfully jammed up slow one. letter. at. a. time.

...and speaking of AOL. You should see how they altered their chat room formats in shifting them to AIM. I wonder if they are worried about going kaput?

[Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah]

@THECUBE

Right? Do ANY women work for Mac?

And where is the creativity?

[Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah]

@Julie Pippert

And since when is fat funny? I thought we were PC now!

[Alyssa]

thought the same thing when I saw it. Also "Hmmm, my husband would really enjoy that app." stupid Steve Jobs.

[Amy (Not Amalah)]

I thought it was weird that EVERYONE is using his iPhone. The couples I know who have iPhones BOTH have iPhones. Also, I have a friend who preaches the religion of Jamie Oliver and evangelizes his iPhone apps...and that friend is male.

[mom101]

I just want to say: "...women shouldn't vote."

Laughing out loud.

The truth is, I'm the one who would be using that recipes app because I'd need it. Nate's the one who's so good he doesn't need a recipe. Damn him.

[Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah]

@Mom101  Sadly, same here, but Gabe would like the recipe app while it would make me panicky.

[kdiddy]

Leandra, that Centrum commercial makes me so mad! I've been looking for it online so that I could rant about it here but can't find it.

This commercial sucks. However...that grocery list app is Grocery IQ and it fucking ROCKS. And it rocks not because I'm a woman, it rocks because it's highly usable.

[kdiddy]

Leandra, that Centrum commercial makes me so mad! I've been looking for it online so that I could rant about it here but can't find it.

This commercial sucks. However...that grocery list app is Grocery IQ and it fucking ROCKS. And it rocks not because I'm a woman, it rocks because it's highly usable.

[kdiddy]

Leandra, that Centrum commercial makes me so mad! I've been looking for it online so that I could rant about it here but can't find it.

This commercial sucks. However...that grocery list app is Grocery IQ and it fucking ROCKS. And it rocks not because I'm a woman, it rocks because it's highly usable.

[incognito]

So now my relationship is in crisis because I'm always borrowing my husband's iPhone and refuse to get my own. Not really. But sexism aside, it is a strange ad message regardless - "why get four iPhones when you can all just share one?" The ad firm that DOUBLED Alka-Seltzer's sales with their "plop plop fizz fizz" jingle would be horrified.

[Laurie]

Pink DOGS. Dogs. Your cat is an aberration and I didn't ask for it, okay????

Also I could never share my iPhone with a man (or woman for that matter, back off, people. Kids, of course, for desperate measures.) The whole concept makes me twitchy.

[Jilliana]

Not only did the recipe thing bother me, but at the "my wife finds a new app every week!" part, all I hear is oh, those silly women and their need for shiny new things. Replace app with "hat" and you just pulled a line from a 50's sitcom.

[robyn g]

Stereotypes from Apple? Shocking! They've been blatantly pushing sterotypes since "I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC". Totally agree with you about this latest ad, Sarah.

[ClumberKim]

Love the comment about not throwing it out of bed for eating crackers. And if you think the iPhone is awesome, take your iPad to bed.

[Washington "A Is For ..." Cube]

I'm revisiting to say "Kudos to Sarah" for the obvious entry of the week. This topic got everyone (including me) fired up. Where's the Stupid Apple app?

[Sarah Lena]

My husband mentioned "Why doesn't she have her OWN iPhone?" the first time we saw the commercial.

I, however, was buried deep in the app store, trying to find said app for recipes by Jamie Oliver. (Crappy app, btw.)

So maybe there's some truth to it.

[Issa]

I saw this the other night and it annoyed me.

Shit, I don't even have an iPhone yet. Six dam more weeks.

[Little Neddie]

Why the hell wouldn't his wife have her own effing iPhone???

[leel]

also bugged. it's like the madmen version, only 2010. i hope snl does a madman parody on i. actually, maybe one featuring tiger woods and jesse james and their phones would be also be appropriate for that demographic. stereotype THAT noise, I say. soapbox pushed aside.

good point!

[lori]

This ad didn't bother me much other than the "WTH? Why are they all borrowing one phone?"

What I'd like to know is why it's okay to be angry with supposed stereotypes (Women Love Cooking! OMG burn the tv) but it's also "okay" for women to stereotype women who enjoy cooking or sewing (both mentioned numerous times here) as being somehow subservient? Why can't an independent woman like those things? I have a CBC Hockey app right beside the Epicurious recipe app right beside Angry Birds right beside IMDB on MY iPhone that I don't let my boyfriend share. I live alone and am not dependent on anyone. And I like to cook. And today I'm sewing while watching the NHL playoffs.