The advertising world is at it again, openly attacking gender diversity in an effort to sell products. This time around, Miller Lite is the culprit, which is really no big surprise since beer advertisements always seem to be written by monkeys with no arms or legs (digest that one).
Is this another case of machismo gone wild or just a reflection of real life?
Manly Beer!
In their “Man Up” series of television advertisements, Miller Lite insinuates that you are not a man if you don’t like their beer. Now, for the moment, let’s forget the fact that Miller Lite is generally considered watered-down tasteless [expletive] and that most beer connoisseurs wouldn’t drink it with their worst enemies lips.
There are four commercials and they are all formatted the same way — a dude walks up to a female bartender and asks for a “light beer”. She then inquires whether or not he cares how it tastes. The man always says no and then the bartender makes a crack about him not being a man.
According to the producers of this crap, wearing a skirt is bad and implies that you are not a man. By the end, the dude “comes to his senses” by removing his skirt and putting on a pair of jeans (which by the way women wear too) and getting a Miller Lite to drink.
Attack on Gender Diversity & Expression
There is no gray area, these ads are a direct attack on gender diversity and expression as there are three more (two of which I will post at the end of this article). One of them features a man with a lower back tattoo and another features a man carrying a bag (which is referred to by all the others as a purse).
Oops, I forgot that men have things to carry around too — things like laptops, wallets, keys, cell phones, books, etc — but you’re not a real man if you choose to make your life easier by placing these things in a bag that you can take everywhere.
The fourth commercial cannot yet be found online (if you happen to stumble on to it, let me know so I can embed it here) and is perhaps the most offensively ridiculous of all. A man goes up and asks for a beer and there is some sort of misunderstanding. The female bartender then shouts “don’t get your panties in a bunch”.
As the man walks away, we shockingly see that he is indeed wearing women’s panties — a thong to be specific. But oddly, he is wearing the panties over his shirt — what a silly sissy! At the end of a commercial, a woman comes up and puts a dollar in his underwear and gives his butt a good slap. This was the only part that made me smile.
Enough Already!
Personally, I’m sick of stuff like this because it obviously makes it harder on transgender folk and cross-dressers who are already struggling to find acceptance in society. This further ridicules us into shameful hiding and tries to make us feel ashamed.
I am more of a man then all these “men” who made these commercials. A real man takes care of his spouse / significant other, cares for his family, is there for his friends, is a good father and is an overall productive member of society. What beer he drinks or what he chooses to wear are irrelevant.
What Do You Think?
In the comments section, leave your thoughts and feelings about these Miller Lite ads. Had you seen or heard of them before today’s article? If so, what were your initial reactions?
I can definitely take a joke but I think these commercials really take things a bit too far. It wasn’t enough for them to make just one, they are centering all of their marketing around this at the moment.
I for one, don’t enjoy Miller Lite. In fact, I only would drink it when it was on special in a bar or club. I prefer beers like Blue Moon, Amber Bock, Stella Artois, Samuel Adams, Leinenkugel, San Miguel and even Bud Select.
I don’t drink cerveza often but when I do I’ll be sure to never support this one again 
.
Cheers!
JessicaWhoHD
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{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m not offended by these commercials. They show men with feminine traits, but they don’t get attacked, or killed. Their friends only subject them to moderate ridicule.
What I see is increasing acceptance of feminine traits in men. In a way it says that the ostracism for a man wearing a skirt is no greater than that for someone who chooses the wrong drink.
I drink red wine or long island tea or chocolate martinis. Maybe I can wear a skirt out to a bar soon too.
I don’t really think they’re attacking anything. The beer companies have found that funny commercials sell beer and increase brand appeal. I think this is just another (albeit weak) attempt at humor.
Ads run and results are analysed. The fact that there are 4 or more of them in the ad campaign might indicate that this is what the (beer buying) public wants to see.
On the other hand, one might argue that these spots support tolerance. Notice how hardly anyone (except the girl in blue .. reaction for humor) batted an eye when the skirt guy moved into the crowd or when the purse guy sat with his buddies?
And, yes, it’s a purse.
I agree with you Jessica. Let’s sue the PANTS off of them!!!!
Geez… All I’ve seen is the “tramp stamp” one (a.k.a. “Lower back tattoo”) – The funny thing is, it kind of unnerves me in boy-mode, but then, I know a tgirl who has a pretty cool lower back tattoo. (And a navel piercing. ^_^; She looks incredible, regardless of what she wears.) – Even funnier was that my real life sister and I share the same opinion of Miller (and probably Miller Lite) regarding the way it tastes – I think Robert Preston said something in “Victor Victoria” that went something like, “Last time I saw a specimen like this, they had to shoot the horse.” ^_^;
The rare times I do drink beer, I’d probably go for Bud, or if I were in a “Blue Velvet” mood, Pabst Blue Ribbon, otherwise, I’d go for a Black & Tan (or at least the Guinness), or a Yebisu. (What can I say, Misato from Evangelion made an impression on me. ^_^;)
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve worn skirts on occasion (Even recently, over this past weekend), and I have a little bag from my last job that I tend to throw my cell phone, iPod, GPS, and other stuff into when I’m out and about, in boy-mode. (Hey, it keeps them from getting scratched up when I’ve stuck them in my pants pockets.) I’ve jokingly referred to it as a purse on more than one occasion, and I think I even got my Mom in on that as well. (Ah, if she only knew… ^_-;)
Ok girls how about we filp things I have post this link before on other comments I not sure we are any diff here in england apart from we not drink that shit even in our fav LBD but how about a poss crossdressing image if bit of fun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdpjM3OeLSo
OH P.S . Yes I do know the queen
Oh here my fav beer add not only the best large but wow I think that’s what t- girl should look like (if she is gg)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKpiYTRNsh8
I don’t get mad about the Miller Lite commercial, and I don’t see why so many t-girls, do. After all, all the ad is saying is that if you wear a skirt, you’re not a man.
Isn’t that what so many t-girls ARE claiming all the time when they dress like women? Isn’t that why using a male pronoun for someone when they are dressed female is considered rude?
Transsexuals and t-girls are screaming all the time that they are “women” inside, and get upset when someone says they’re not a “man” when they wear female clothing.
Isn’t that why so many of dress: to show that we indeed are not men?
I think we need to make-up our minds. We’re sending mixed signals here. Oh my, how unmanly is that
Maybe these commercials are subversive because they show men in what is usually understood as feminine attire. I think that the real problem with these commercials is that no one is going to say that they do not care how a been tastes. That is not going to happen. I am glad that you did the post since I have not seen any of these commercials. Take care, Ange
I agree – it should hardly be considered an insult for feminine clothing to mouth be considered manly. If you are so masculine when you present female, why is your name Jessica?
I do see some consistency – his choice of beer was silly, and his choice to mix that top with that skirt looked silly.
The beer advertisers are also silly, I think. If the goal was a great tasting beverage, why does beer have alcohol?
Actually, the more I think about it, the more this paragraph bothers me.
“I am more of a man then all these “men” who made these commercials. A real man takes care of his spouse / significant other, cares for his family, is there for his friends, is a good father and is an overall productive member of society. What beer he drinks or what he chooses to wear are irrelevant. ” – Jessica De Leon
A man bearing a feminine name is proclaiming him(her?)self to be more of a man than people that he knows no relevant information about. He(she?) then defines men using qualities that are gender neutral. My wife takes care of her spouse, cares for her family, is there for her friends, is a good mother, and is an overall productive member of society. She is a real woman. If clothing is not relevant to masculinity or femininity, what is the point in crossdressing?
In asserting that you are more of a man, you reaffirm the idea that being a man is superior to being a woman.
Okay, I’ve just stumbled across this site & read a few postings since it TG issues are near and dear to my heart, so I’ll throw my 2¢ in on these Miller Lite thingamajigs -
Personally, I’ve always thought that if you are so concerned about your weight, health, or whatever that you’d rather drink a crappy substitute for beer than the real thing, that if simply changing to something that tastes good but is non-alcoholic is too strenuous for your crystalline macho self-image, then you’ve probably got more issues to deal with than your average TG. Grow something, whether they be testicles or tits, grab some whiskey or tequila and drink ’til you drown your insecurities.
Watching these commercials – this was the first time I’ve seen them, by the way, since I don’t own or want a TV – I can’t say that I was insulted; neither can I say that I was entertained. It’s just more of the same old illogical cultural, paranoid pap that’s been drummed in us from birth about what’s “manly” vs. what’s “feminine”. It starts with the whole blue/pink thing at birth and is reinforced throughout the culture from then on. Someone above mentioned that this is a marketing tool, that this is what the public wants and that it sells the product (I can’t call it in good conscience ‘beer’).
So What?
The public has often wanted many things in the past – that hasn’t made them right. Just look at all the smiling faces in the crowd of those old lynching photos, or of the more recent ones of the crowd that beat the two brothers in Pakistan to death who were accused of stealing, only to discover they had a bag of their own sports equipment. The truth is that most people don’t think about what they’re doing, that humans are irrational by nature and often governed by their fears. If the US and other governments know this, don’t you think the advertising gurus have latched onto this factoid?
Are the commercials in bad taste? Of course – what would you expect from the company that produces Miller Lite? At least they’re consistent. I’m not sure if I’d waste time protesting them, though, since they seem to be more the symptom than the cure. What is it that makes this kind of advertising so popular that it even exists? Whatever the answer to that is, maybe finding that answer, is where I’d put my efforts.
I really don’t care for the commercials either. I hate beer for starters. What I really see this doing more than anything is degrading women and making them less likely to drink a Miller Lite.
The thing that strikes me the most is the fact they ask “Do you care how it tastes?”. And they say “no, not really”. Who would say that? Why order a drink at all if that was going to be their reply. Might as well just ask for a glass of water. It just doesn’t make any sense. I guess that goes for most beer commercials tho. Oh well, that’s my 2cents.
Why on earth is the last ad, the one with the panties in a twist, not on line anywhere? Is it available anywhere?
I beg of you to pleeeeease do a man up commercial about a dude manning up and pulling up his pants. There’s people out the wearing their pants under their butts with a belt on.
Prim and proper, strictly combed hair, devoid of any muscles and body hair whatsoever, wearing a pink purse and open-toed, usually high-heeled sandals, I am so gay that I am ready to challenge any one gay man out there that thinks that he can beat me on the gay-magnitude scale. All the same, I love these beer commercials. So much so, that I am going to save them on my computer, because they are far too hilarious. You people, just like radical feminists toward the women’s liberation movement, being so serious that you are, actually hurt the gay rights cause toward equality and acceptance, rather do any good. The fact that you cannot take in jest this joking makes the rest of the people hate us and fear us, because they think that we cannot be light-hearted and laugh at ourselves. In case you did not notice, laughing at oneself is what makes others draw closer, because it makes a person approachable by not seeming as aloof or threatening as appearances may sometimes be. By the way, don’t people in politics occasionally ask political-satire cartoonists for a personal, signed copy of a satirical cartoon that specifically targets them and makes fun of them? Gay people, transgendered and transsexuals are still novelties in society. We will stay that way so long as “straight” people outnumber us. Until then, there is no politically correct attitude, there are no laws, speeches or parades that will change that. Remember that and accept it, once and for all. Being novelties and minorities, it is only natural for people to gawk at us, talk about us and engage in light-hearted kidding and mocking. If we have to condemn these outlets through which people express their emotions, we would be engaging in repression. And we all know what repression results in: eventual explosions of pent-up emotions. Is this what we really want? So, people find us an anomaly and choose to mock us for it. It is a far lesser evil than the bringing about of a person, who, throughout the years, will have repressed his emotions and allowed them to fester into a hatred that he eventually manifests into a regrettable event.
From a different point of view, these commercials are male-bashing at its worst.
A socially-awkward man is denied a Miller Lite by a judgemental female bartender, until he can be “cooler”. The guys’ offenses include matching dragon-themed clothes, too much text speak, overprotective mom, too much team apparel, indoor sunglasses and european speedo swim shorts. Even the guy’s friends tease him.
Message: you can only drink Miller Lite if you’re not socially-awkward (as enforced by the bartenders?!)
As usual, the reverse commercial would never air: male bartender denying a socially-awkward female one beer vs another. for example, a woman with too much makeup, hair in curlers, with glasses or overweight.
I just wrote a blog today trash talking the Miller Lite commercials. I did a google search and found this blog. It’s nice that we both attack different things about it.
Agreed 100%. I’ve never tried Miller Lite, but these commercials are pathetically unfunny. I’ve seen em all except for the panties one. It’s nice to see beer commercials that don’t conform to the typical old fashioned guy humor (Guinness makes good commercials as they simply promote good times and that’s it), but that’s very hard to be found.
Hey, anyway you can get the newer man up commercial where the guy is screaming on the roller coaster? Can’t find it anywhere!
I think – Jessica De Leon is an over reactor in times of unemployment, political chaos and wars you wanna attack the commercials that are funny that are showing men being men. We do crack harmless jokes on each other like the ones in the commercial. Mainly these commercials come on ESPN or during sports related programs. What I think there should be more compliants about is the forced acceptance of gay or homosexual lifestyles its on every channel. Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for making a gay slur that you never heard out loud when is enough enough. Talk about police brutality, unaccredited schools or something with an actual impact on America because entertainment is entertainment and this discussion is a waste of my unlimited internet data plan.