A better ad would be: “Remember when men like Charles Bronson need only sneer at a femme to impregnate her? Yea, wearing our pants will make you that sort of man.” And then in small writing: “Lawsuit and crotch kicking protection is not built in so PLEASE wear pants responsibly.”

You know, while I think that images of women in advertising have become marginally more progressive since these ads were shot (in the 70s?), the construction of masculinity in advertising messages has only gotten more ridiculous. Ad agencies figure that the average male consumer feels so threatened by today’s scary world, so full of metrosexuals and career women, that today’s ads have to work overtime to make them feel safe, affirmed, secure. The best example of that from 2009 is this nauseating Dockers campaign:

There’s some great analysis of this over at SocImages (God, I love that blog!)

That’s the smell of desire, my lady.

God no, it smells like, like a used diaper… filled with… Indian food.

You know, desire smells like that to some people

What is that? Smells like a turd covered in burnt hair.

Smells like Bigfoot’s DIIIICK.