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On Father’s Day Unmentionables 

Weird gendering of holidays and marketing question: So, Steph and I were driving and we heard a commercial for Tommy John underwear. The premise of the commercial was “isn’t it hard to find your dad something for Father’s Day? Why not get him something he really wants. A bunch of attractive, well-fitting, stylish, high-quality underwear from Tommy John!”

Is this something anyone ever does? It just seemed weird. It seems like the kind of thing that you’d only ever make for a Father’s Day commercial and not a Mother’s Day one. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Mother’s Day commercial from Victoria’s Secret that says “having trouble finding a Mother’s Day present? Why not get her a nice push-up bra and a thong? Maybe match it with some thigh highs and some fuck me boots!” I mean, that would be insane, right? Or maybe I’m wrong…. maybe this is just the kind of thing that people do.

Am I the weird one here?

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22 comments for “On Father’s Day Unmentionables 

  1. June 16, 2017 at 10:26 am

    Marketing is about brand awareness, they got you, Mav! They got YOU!

    1. June 16, 2017 at 11:00 am

      Ummm. Not really. I didn’t buy anything.

    2. June 16, 2017 at 11:00 am

      That would be sales, different…

    3. June 16, 2017 at 11:01 am

      You should promote yourself as an influencer and develop additional revenue streams.

    4. June 16, 2017 at 11:02 am

      Ummm. I’m a cultural critic. This is culture.

  2. June 16, 2017 at 10:26 am

    Well, I do agree – that seems like a very odd gift. I would never have given my dad underwear as a gift (unless it was something silly, like a pair of Green Bay packers boxers, but that’s a single thing, not a package of assorted underwear).

    And your question about being weird is really a separate issue.

    1. June 16, 2017 at 11:00 am

      Fair… am I being weird specifically here. ?

    2. June 16, 2017 at 11:02 am

      No, not about this. Underwear for parents is weird. Don’t buy dad boxer briefs for Father’s Day and don’t buy mom push up bras for Mother’s Day. Unless they specifically ask for them (which is a whole different therapy issue if parents are asking their children for attractive undergarments).

    3. June 16, 2017 at 11:05 am

      Honestly I’m not really against it. People have the relationships they have.

      But I do think that it’s odd to make a commercial for it when I don’t think it would play for females.

      Just trying to think about the gender dichotomy there. Or maybe there isn’t one.

    4. June 16, 2017 at 11:12 am

      Maybe i’m showing *my* age, but that just seems like an odd thing to get for my parents. I don’t know that it’s about gender – I think it’s not a great gift idea either way.

      Though if my mom told me “I could really use some new bras,” then sure, I’d get her those for mother’s day – mainly because as parents get older, they get hard to shop for because they don’t need a lot and the house is already full of crap that the kids have been getting them for years. But I don’t know that I would get it for her unasked – and probably for her birthday instead. I guess MD and FD feel like days to get them something that demonstrates appreciation for the parenting.

      But to each their own. Whatever makes someone happy.

    1. June 16, 2017 at 10:42 am

      Spoiler: Number one is a pushup bra

    2. June 16, 2017 at 10:45 am

      But those are things to buy your baby mama for Mother’s Day. Not for your mom.

      Like I totally get spicing up your love life by buying the mother of your child a present of underwear. This was specifically about your father… not your baby daddy.

    3. June 16, 2017 at 10:48 am

      okay, so it’s not about the marketing of underwear for Fathers day, but marketing it specifically for Your Dad on Father’s Day.
      I didn’t get that right away. I might need more coffee. No wonder I was confused b/c they market all kinds of crazy crap like that for Mother’s day, but yeah, not usually targeted at you for Your Mom.
      I’m thinking it might be because underwear for men is less strongly associated with sex.

    4. June 16, 2017 at 10:49 am

      I mean the advertisement is for well-fitting, high-quality briefs, not sexy banana hammocks.

  3. June 16, 2017 at 10:50 am

    I notice and appreciate the range of body types in this ad.

    1. June 16, 2017 at 10:52 am

      To be fair. The ad was a radio ad. That image isn’t from it. I just picked it specifically for the reason you said.

    2. June 16, 2017 at 10:53 am

      oh. well nevermind. I appreciate it from wherever you found it then.

  4. June 16, 2017 at 10:51 am

    Okay, I’m getting old so maybe that’s it, but… If I knew I could get my mom a comfortable bra and panty set for Mother’s Day, I would be all over it. Bra shopping is annoying and frustrating and I would happily get her a couple of fresh ones if I knew for sure they’d fit and make her happy.

    Thinking about it, I’d probably consider getting my dad underwear too. So maybe it’s that I’m more the targeted demographic than you are??

    1. June 16, 2017 at 10:52 am

      Maybe. That’s why I’m asking. It just seems weird To me in any case. But maybe not.

  5. June 16, 2017 at 1:23 pm

    Totally not buying underwear for my dad. Even before he was 90.

  6. June 19, 2017 at 10:03 am

    Women’s underwear is seen in our society as being largely about enticing men. Giving your mom underwear would seem weird because it would be telling her that you want to help her entice men. Men’s underwear is seen in our society as just being about comfort and necessity. Giving your dad underwear doesn’t feel as weird to people because it feels like a statement that you want them to be comfortable and are giving them something which they need. That’s why people don’t perceive it as equally weird.

    That said, fuck yes it’s weird. Underwear is a personal thing with some sexual component (simply because it cradles my genitals, if nothing else) and I don’t want my kids involved in that. In general, unless my wife is buying me something she wants to see me in, I don’t want anyone else buying me underwear. My kids don’t know what sort of underwear I like and likely don’t know my size. I also don’t generally need any underwear because when I do need underwear, I buy it because I’m a grown man. A gift certificate for an underwear store might be okay, but actual underwear, no way. So, yeah, this ad is strange because it’s promoting behavior which no one should actually do. But most people won’t see it as equally strange to the gender-swapped version of the same because our society is sexist.

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