Angering Ads

The longer I look at the ad, the angrier I get.

I was flipping through the newspaper today when I saw this ad. At first, I just flipped on by, but something caught my attention and I flipped back to it. Normally and advertiser would think, "YES! That's exactly what I want people to do." In this case, it was the company's downfall in my eyes.

It's a simple ad. An older man shaving with a straight blade, not a razor, looking very seriously at the reader. Black and white. What's eye catching is the tagline (or whatever the 'catch phrase' is called in the advertising world). "Leaders don't flinch" in a background of faded yellow-gold.

 (found at ATB's website: http://www.atbsuperfan.com/atbhires/marketingvp/)

It's an effective line. It conveys exactly what leaders should be - strong, determined, ready to act. The description below the picture is also effective: "When the going gets tough, the tough stay put." It's an ad for ATB Corporate Financial Services. And it probably speaks to a great deal of people looking for corporate financial services.

The problem I have with it is that it's feeding into a stereotype of "leaders" that is rapidly changing to reflect a younger demographic, and, the whole point of this little rant, a stereotype that is finally recognizing women. Don’t get me wrong, I love the catch phrase. Leaders DON'T flinch, particularly when the buck is meant to stop at them. However, the picture doesn't represent what I see as a leader. ATB took the lazy way of getting the point across while alienating a huge demographic of female business owners looking to take the next step to success. There are so many unisex actions that could have been used to convey the "don't flinch" message. I don't even care if they had used the same man in the picture doing a different activity. Shaving with a straight blade is dripping in testosterone and masculinity. How about a picture of a hand holding a nail about to be hammered in? How about a picture of a hockey player about to take a shot to the gut as he or she blocks a shot? How about a soccer player head-butting a ball towards the goal? I mean, if we want to get all gender biased about the removal of hair, how about a woman with a wax strip about to be torn from her leg?

My point is that I flipped back to the ad for all the wrong reasons. I flipped back to criticize it. To find a growing anger about what leadership is being portrayed as because I know I am a leader and I am nowhere to be found in that ad.