Adweek reports on a war of words between Arnold and Glenn Sacks, a blogger who thinks Arnold’s commercials denigrate men.
Glenn Sacks, on his Web site glennsacks.com, yesterday wrote, “We are asking Volvo not to award the contract to Arnold and instead award it to one of the other agencies, preferably Euro RSCG.”
He objects to several of the agency’s recent commercials, notably an execution for Fidelity Investments, in which a dad jumps up and down after besting his daughter in a game of Ping-Pong.
Sacks derided as harmful the portrayal of men in general, and fathers in particular, as “stupid” and “insensitive.”
While it’s true that making men look like doofuses is fairly standard in many ads, it’s a trend that comes after decades of commercials that made housewives look in desperate need of the newest household cleanser/detergent/TV dinner.
It’s interesting to see an agency formally respond to a blogger’s efforts–and Sacks is directly trying to influence Volvo’s decision making.
