Video: Trojan’s “men are pigs” ad
posted at 8:29 am on June 19, 2007 by Allahpundit
Rejected by Fox and CBS due — I assumed — to its hints at bestiality. The Spuds Mckenzie ads took heat for that too at the time, but Spuds was never seen getting anything from his groupies beyond an admiring smile. Here you’ve got pigs ready to roll one on. But it turns out that’s not the objection at all:
In a written response to Trojan, though, Fox said that it had rejected the spot because, “Contraceptive advertising must stress health-related uses rather than the prevention of pregnancy.”
I’m not sure how to parse that logic. It was okay for the characters on “Melrose Place” (which aired on Fox) to use condoms while bed-hopping since they might be crawling with VD — but it wouldn’t have been okay if they were married and had a clean bill of health? Dumber still, the ad makes pretty clear that they are using the condoms for, ahem, “health-related” reasons. Hence the pig metaphor, which has little to say about fertility but a lot to say about being “unclean.”
Ah well. Enjoy it as theater. It’s the epilogue to “Animal Farm” that Orwell never got around to writing: after colluding with the humans to enslave their fellow animals, the pigs settle into a life of easy sex and dissipation, the pursuit of women on the social “meat market” symbolizing their endless greed and self-cannibalization. God, how I would have liked to write that English paper.
Needless to say, had the gender roles been reversed here, the outcry would have shaken the firmament. Click the image to watch.
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…commence bitching from CAIR in 10…9…8…
fusionaddict on June 19, 2007 at 8:32 AM
Enh. It’s okay. I liked the Trojan Man ones better.
Farmer_Joe on June 19, 2007 at 8:34 AM
It must be approaching closing time since the sows have already become attractive!
Dread Pirate Roberts VI on June 19, 2007 at 8:41 AM
That is exactly what it feels like for a woman when she walks into a bar sometimes.
csdeven on June 19, 2007 at 8:42 AM
Insult me some more it really inspires me to buy your products.
400lb Gorilla on June 19, 2007 at 9:07 AM
Kudos to Fox and CBS for showing some taste and discretion.
morganfrost on June 19, 2007 at 9:22 AM
Oh, come on…I’m sure it wasn’t directed at the gorilla population.
James on June 19, 2007 at 9:24 AM
Yeah… Trojan telling me I’m a pig… that really makes me want to buy their product.
Maxx on June 19, 2007 at 9:25 AM
If you don’t hang out in bars looking to score with girls with no concern for health or pregnancy issues, then I wouldn’t take it personal. It’s pretty clear that the message was directed at a specific group that behave in a certain way.
csdeven on June 19, 2007 at 9:33 AM
If the woman were in a burqa, it would be funnier.
(And shouldn’t the pig have some bling? Or would that be species-ist?)
profitsbeard on June 19, 2007 at 9:38 AM
AP – Dude, you watched Melrose Place?
nailinmyeye on June 19, 2007 at 10:08 AM
N.O.W. and other feminist organizations would have called it a “hate crime” against women.
Maxx on June 19, 2007 at 10:09 AM
Dude, …, I didn’t take you for being an anti-pig-ite.
yo on June 19, 2007 at 10:10 AM
Is the target demographic getting younger or are people just getting dumber?
Yep, but a condom isn’t going to help that group too much.
reaganaut on June 19, 2007 at 10:13 AM
I’m still waiting for the animated dental dam commercials, starring the new spokes-toon, Dental Dan!
stonemeister on June 19, 2007 at 10:17 AM
oink
infidel4life on June 19, 2007 at 10:21 AM
Yeah, csdeven, the message is pretty clear: Women who hang out in bars are looking to get porked. Trojan just makes you look good to them.
I could be missing some Gravel-like metaphor, though.
Dusty on June 19, 2007 at 10:28 AM
Then stay in the Truck!
ronsfi on June 19, 2007 at 10:33 AM
Hire the saleswoman who sold this slop to Trojan – she can sell anything…..
EricPWJohnson on June 19, 2007 at 10:36 AM
There were beer commercials several years ago with a large white polar bear that was continually attracting women-with-lust-in-their-eyes through various commercials. The whole bestialitiy aspect was not far below the surface, but I never heard any complaints. As a society, have we become that jaded?
Mallard T. Drake on June 19, 2007 at 10:41 AM
So now all I have to do to close the deal is to tell her I’ve got Trojans with me? Awesome!
I think this commercial is just about as offensive towards women as towards men!
WisCon on June 19, 2007 at 10:42 AM
I’d think you would have grown tired of it by now.
Labamigo on June 19, 2007 at 10:43 AM
Okay, I’ll “parse” it for you.
Melrose Place was on at a specific time. You could avoid it. They don’t put schedules for ads in the TV section, so this could show at anytime, without warning. I don’t know where the bestiality angle came from. The “men are pigs” metaphor kinda cancels that out.
Besides, any woman who thinks a piece of latex is going to make a man any less of a pig is still asking for trouble. Just ask the women who keep getting hooked up with them.
I’m a guy. I know these things.
manwithblackhat on June 19, 2007 at 10:44 AM
Yes.
manwithblackhat on June 19, 2007 at 10:45 AM
Wow – what are the odds, I just saw the ad the second I turned on the TV. It was on at 10 am – and school is out. Who are they targetting?
reaganaut on June 19, 2007 at 10:51 AM
Trojan has nerve depicting men who don’t use their products as pigs. Their bottom line depends on huge amounts of extra-marital sex.
What, is Trojan having trouble because their heyday has passed – the boom times when the Clintons diverted United States Foreign Development Aid that traditionally focused on infrastructure construction, like roads and clean water delivery systems, dams, agriculture, and vaccinations into massive Third World condom distributions?
A decade of condoms by the containerSHIPful, paid by US taxpayer money. If you want to see what Liberal Left thinks is important in foreign humanitarian assistance – go no farther than Planned Parenthood. Trumps malaria eradication, dysentry,cholera, measles … everything. There’re some pigs here all right, but they aren’t at the bar, they’re condom manufacturers at the Federal Trough.
Okay, fair enough, Trojan is targeting their usual, vapid customers. Maybe they have unbelievable brand loyalty from their pigs.
naliaka on June 19, 2007 at 11:06 AM
Well, it’s not the guys who were out clubbing last night, ‘cuz they’re still asleep with someone whose first name they still can’t remember, so that would leave…
Right on the money. Doctors in Kenya and Uganda are begging for iodine, antibiotics, clean syringes, sterile gauze, and what are we sending them???
manwithblackhat on June 19, 2007 at 11:19 AM
Strangely enough, the target audience seems to be the women. It’s about them choosing the guys who are “smart” or “clean” or “conscientious” enough to have Trojans…I think. Odd marketing angle, though, because I assume men buy more condoms than women, and I don’t see how this ad makes them want to buy Trojans. Buy Trojans so you won’t be a disgusting pig? You can come on to hot women without getting slapped if you have magical Trojans in your pocket that she can’t see? If you flash your Trojan at her, she’ll eagerly hop into bed with you without asking your name? I agree with others, if the girl is that skanky, she’s not worried what brand of condom you have in your pocket. Maybe I’m wrong, though. And having a condom on him doesn’t make a guy less piggish if he’s a pig.
I would say the networks rejected this ad because it’s just stupid, but evidence indicates the networks have no such discernment in their acceptance of ads.
aero on June 19, 2007 at 11:29 AM
Perhaps it was rejected for air because the blatant depiction of a pig might be considered offensive by Muslims.
Blacklake on June 19, 2007 at 11:40 AM
Somebody wake me up when there’s a backlash against the anti-male crap that pervades TV.
I mean, I don’t even watch TV unless I’m at someone else’s place, and I’m sick of it already. The whole “shaken the firmament” thing isn’t a joke.
Respect – give a little get a little.
Merovign on June 19, 2007 at 11:41 AM
Pigs gots beer goggles!
I’m not sure what the message is though.
Is it be a pig all you want but use a condom?
Or men have absolutely no control over their carnal desires and must have sex with any available female?
Isn’t this what the Muslims are all cranky about?
G-man on June 19, 2007 at 12:05 PM
Who do you root for in this scene? They’re ALL pigs, just one set is dressed better than the other. The beautiful women who dress fashiony, but are actually ALL pure sluts? See that woman go for the guy and they hadn’t even spoken a word? The guys who are depicted as ALL there for sex – and Trojan’s #1 objective is to help them achieve their goal! Oink Oink!
Evolve indeed.
naliaka on June 19, 2007 at 12:16 PM
Maybe Trojan actually despises its clients?
(I’m with you – we don’t get TV – it’s not like the old days. The current media promotes debauchery (it’s not hyperbole) – and they deliberately target kids.) It’s as if they hate children so much, they enjoy helping them lose their innocence.
naliaka on June 19, 2007 at 12:22 PM
Hell that would be the reason I’d PICK it. LOL.
For you men out there…you DO realize that “men are pigs” is a common phrase in women’s repetoir. This ad seems to be playing on that, by encouraging men (these types of men, that is) to accept that they are pigs and at least try to do something “right”.
I abhor people that act like the folks in this ad – sluts and pigs – but I understand the message. Stupid as it is.
I’m still majorly against condon ads on tv. Period.
tickleddragon on June 19, 2007 at 12:37 PM
Come to think of it, I’d take all the following ads off tv:
-Condom
-Erectile Dysfunction
-Douching/tampon/napkin
-And finally..those STUPID, ANNOYING Axe (and I forget the name of the comparable cologne) commercials. I avoid men that wear axe just on principle
You know folks, finding what you need in these depts (aside from the cologne) is what a drug store is for. Eck.
tickleddragon on June 19, 2007 at 12:41 PM
Why do you say that?
csdeven on June 19, 2007 at 12:54 PM
I guess you could see it that way. I figure since the ad is geared towards men who are pigs, they might as well depict the women as whores just looking to get laid. This is supposed to convince them that all they have to do is have a Trojan condom and wimmen will fall all over themselves to take a roll in the hay with them.
I don’t look at women that way, never have, never will.
csdeven on June 19, 2007 at 12:59 PM
Deliverance?
Mazztek on June 19, 2007 at 1:27 PM
So, the only difference between a good guy and a pig is a tiny piece of latex purchased from a filthy bathroom in a bar? I say swab ‘em all and see what grows.
bloggless on June 19, 2007 at 2:02 PM
Code Pink Feminist Nazis screaming,
I admit it, I resemble that remark. Pork Fat Rules Baby!
Kini on June 19, 2007 at 2:08 PM
DAD, NOOOOO! What are you doing in that bar with that woman!
Biffstir on June 19, 2007 at 3:32 PM
According to this commercial, pigs are more attractive and acceptable after they purchase a Trojan condom. But that’s nothing more than Madison avenue hyperbole.
I just returned from the Philippines last week. My fiancee and I had a going away party on the weekend before I left. We slaughtered and roasted several pigs in celebration. Truth is, pigs are much more attractive and acceptable with their heads impaled on a stick and slowly roasted over an open fire. (Mmmm, mmmm, good! Yummy.) My advice? You haven’t LIVED until you’ve celebrated Filipino style. Maybe the people responsible for the Trojan ad campaign need to expand their horizons/thinking a bit, ya’ think?
There’s a proper time and place for pigs — this wasn’t it. Besides. Everyone that uses condoms regularly knows that the ONLY condom out there that should EVER be used is made out of natural lamb skin, NOT latex, right?
My collie says:
CyberCipher on June 19, 2007 at 3:54 PM
Was there any Lumpia?
Kini on June 19, 2007 at 4:01 PM
Plenty of lumpia, but the specialty in Nueva Ecija province (my fiancee’s home) is balut. We’d better not tell the others here about that though, ’cause most of the HotAir readership are wussies with weak stomachs.
CyberCipher on June 19, 2007 at 4:55 PM
Yup. Haven’t you noticed? Kobe gets his wife’s forgiveness with a chuck of rock; we ignore the moral failures of our “heroes” because they’ve “got game”; O.J. is acquitted, Rodney ISN’T prosecuted, the TV favorites are Desperate Housewives, Family Guy, etc.
Oh no, they love their clients. Sorry, that should read their clients’ dollars. They don’t give a flip about anything else. And they don’t have a reason to. They sell a product. It’s up to the market to determine if they survive or not. As long as people are stupid enough, shallow enough, and appetite-driven enough to make their product viable and profitable, why should they stop?
This ad is surely more offensive than the average beer ad, but the issue is exactly the same. Our product will help you get what you want. As long as that form of marketing works, it’s hard to place all the blame on the company for using a profitable angle. Is it despicable? Absolutely. But the important question is, will society tolerate it? Sadly, the answer is yes, more than likely.
Freelancer on June 19, 2007 at 5:05 PM
Absoltutely agree. Then again, what is a pig supposed to think of a woman in a cocktail dress, hair and makeup done, sitting alone at a bar? Is she asking for it? Is she not? I guarantee that a pig will always make the same assumption that this ad is predicated upon. The ad isn’t aimed at men. Just pigs, and the women who will settle for pigs.
Freelancer on June 19, 2007 at 5:11 PM
Reminds me of the Geico commercials. If it was so easy a caveWOMAN could do it there would be heck to pay.
usarmyretired on June 19, 2007 at 5:25 PM
Maybe Michelle would be willing to launch a “decency in advertising” survey. One where we all vote to decide which ads are the most vile of all — then launch a boycott of the products of the offending manufacturer. I am not sure how effective these sorts of tactics really are, but there are Christian activist groups that are claiming that the boycott of companies supporting gay marriage has essentially hammered the final nail in the coffin of the Ford Motor company. Hmmm. I have a feeling that Ford would have gone out of business anyhow (because of the crappy products that they produce). What say you?
CyberCipher on June 19, 2007 at 5:33 PM
You’d think the woman would have hesitated just a moment, I mean the pig waddled into the toilet and sauntered out a guy … she didn’t think there was anything … odd? Or maybe she hadn’t evolved herself a brain.
naliaka on June 19, 2007 at 6:37 PM
I love fermented duck eggs.
Not to mention GMC as well. However, I still love Jeep.
Kini on June 19, 2007 at 7:35 PM
I think at least one of the ladies was from Deal, or No Deal.
Perhaps others?
What a career booster!
TheSev on June 19, 2007 at 7:49 PM
Agreed.
csdeven on June 20, 2007 at 12:15 AM
Gives new meaning to the old phrase, “I porked her.”
I guess the guy in the commercial can go whole hog on her now.
Just another dumb commercial…kudos to the fast forward button so I don’t have to watch any of them.
VikingGoneWild on June 20, 2007 at 1:16 AM
heh
You forgot the most important point of Balut. Fertilized, and somewhat more than halfway grown towards hatching. Yum.
Freelancer on June 20, 2007 at 5:13 AM
Why, yes…we can add HEAD ON to that list of commercials I’d take off tv. But again, it IS just annoying, and not really inappropriate.
But then again…takes on a new meaning in THIS thread…so yeah.
tickleddragon on June 20, 2007 at 11:02 AM
They hit the bottom of the pig slop pile to produce this commercial, that’s for sure!
William
William2006 on June 20, 2007 at 3:36 PM
You’re complaining about funding for contraception in foreign countries? You think the U.S. government should provide food, medicine, water, and everything required to sustain a population boom throughout the world, while the Americans have children at or below the replacement rate? Have you not read that millions of those children born elsewhere are brought up as muslims and that Islam is taking over Europe and spreading to the rest of the world, including North America?
With my right hand on a box of Trojans, Naliaka, I swear that if I were the Tyrant, not a condom, not an IUD, not a contraceptive pill, nor an abortionist could be found on this continent. I would break the thermometers and rip the calendars from the walls. I would ligate the neck of any surgeon who dared perform a tubal ligation. But I would also invade Saudi Arabia, encircle Mecca, charge the pilgrims for admission, and use the proceeds to fund distribution, throughout the Dar al-Islam, of my “Naliaka” brand of condoms.
Kralizec on June 21, 2007 at 11:39 PM