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> Why are people mad at a town filled with Ryan Reynolds?

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor

 

’m not going to lie, I don’t know

much about the Super Bowl.
I care very little for football as
it does not have the grace and
prestige of soccer, and I generally
only watch the halftime show. As
such, I never really see any of the
famous Super Bowl commercials
that everyone goes nuts for—so,
when I read about all this drama
going around on the Internet
regarding this year’s round of
marketing masterpieces, | didn’t
really understand what all the
fuss was about. To remedy this,
I did what any sane, Internet-
savvy woman would do—l
googled the f*** out of that shit!

After watching the

commercials I understand some
of the confusion surrounding
that weird birth one for Doritos,
and whatever the hell that
creepy monkey thing was

Stiletto

sm and acl

advertising. But the cherry on
top of the cake came from an
unlikely source—Hyundai.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I
am referring to the commercial
now knownas “Ryanville.” The
premise is simple: two people are
driving through a neighbourhood
and are constantly distracted by
the fact everyone looks like Ryan
Reynolds. Innocent enough, right?

Here’s the subliminal issue
that you might not have caught
on to. Both the people in the car
are women—not surprising, a
lot of women probably love Ryan
Reynolds (J know I do). However,
it is now speculated that the
commercial is actually insinuating
that distracted driving is only
a problem for female drivers as
a means of endearing itself toa
mostly male viewership. Now to
people who have never taken a
marketing or psychology course
this might sound like a big leap
or a ridiculous assumption.

> Security never looked so good

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor

 

riginally developed by

Florida company Secure
Couture, Stiletto is a charm that
can be attached to a bracelet,
necklace, or any other piece
of jewelry. Its intent is to offer
a discreet way of contacting
emergency lines, friends, or
family when you feel threatened.

The inspiration behind the

charm was the realization by the
company co-founders, brother
duo Alexander and Daniel
Gladstone, that oftentimes when
people, women especially, are
under threat, the security of a cell

phone is not immediately at hand.

Logically, it makes sense.

Security apps that can be activated
on your phone when you feel
threatened play a big role in
thwarting many attempted
assaults—however, a large
majority of these apps are not
available in Canada. Those apps
are also designed to send a text or
call to an emergency contact, who
is then responsible for checking
in with you. This creates a weird
third party dynamic where your
safety is completely dependent
on whether your friend or family
member reads their text message
in time. Stiletto streamlines

the process by contacting your
emergency contacts, as well

as gu to put them on alert

to a possible situation. If the
situation progresses the Stiletto

1

Unfortunately, advertising has a
rather nasty history of systematic
female oppression in order to
appease patriarchal society. If
that still sounds like mumbo-
jumbo to you, consider this:
when was the last time you saw
a beverage company with a man
drinking out of a bottle on the
side of their truck? Those that
do have them are pretty few
and far between. The reason
for this is because society as a
whole finds women drinking
out of bottles more aesthetically
appealing. Why, you may ask?
According to Sex in Advertising,
it is reminiscent of fellatio, which
is more socially acceptable for
women to do as opposed to men.
The important thing to
remember is that all actions and
choices made in advertising and/
or marketing are very deliberate.
People study for many years to
know exactly what will appeal
to any given demographic.

automated system will give

your location to the gu operator
with a request for immediate
assistance. Otherwise, you can
simply cancel and the system
will inform the operator that the
situation has been resolved.

Perhaps most impressive
of all, all of this is done through
a few button presses.

The intent when creating
Stiletto was to make it as discreet
as possible, so that possible
attackers won't be alerted to
you contacting the police and
either turn violent or halt your
ability to do so. The charm itself
comes in a variety of styles that
you can customize so it’s nearly
impossible for it to be recognized
as a security precaution.

Want to sell to men? Make
them feel like your product will
somehow improve their chances
of conforming to the masculine
ideal. Want to sell to either men
or women? Create a scenario
where one gender is proven
superior to another in some way,
such as a car commercial showing
women as terrible drivers. The
reverse of this is also true—
commercials with bumbling
husbands trying to do laundry or
braid their daughter’s hair show
men as incapable caregivers as a
means of endearing the product
toa female demographic.
Recently, there has been
a surge in advertising that is
trying to fight against this
marketing norm. A Campbell's
Soup commercial shows two
homosexual men successfully
caring for a child together, and
another commercial shows a
single father cleaning up his
house in preparation for a visit

 

You activate Stiletto by
pressing the jewel in its centre
to send out the initial texts and
call. If the threat continues, you
press the jewel two more times
to request immediate assistance.
At any point in time you can hit
the jewel once to cancel the call.

from his daughter. However,
commercials that are specifically
targeted towards men still tend
to be heteronormative and,
more often than not, sexist.

So what does this mean
for “Ryanville?” Outside of
the context of the Super Bowl,
the commercial itself comes
off as amusing yet slightly
dated—meaning that if it was
played during regular airtime
the problems with how it is
constructed would probably
be more apparent. However,
insulated within the plethora
of testosterone that is NFL
programming, it doesn’t come
off as strange because it is
surrounded by images that
are also specifically directed
towards a masculine audience.

Hopefully seeing the
difference in these two situations
will force all viewers to be more
aware of how they interpret
advertising on a grander scale.

Another added security
feature is that the charm will
also create an audio recording
once activated, making it even
more useful as it can then be
used as proof of verbal assault.

Right now you can pre-
order the system for $179-220.

«a

Image via www.stiletto.is