I don't watch a lot of TV, but when I do it seems that the screen is innundated with commercials for erectile dysfunction relief. It isn't that I'm not sensitive to the plight of the men who have this problem, because I am. But do we really need a commercial about it? Do I really need a commercial to tell me that "when the mood strikes" and "things" are not cooperating...that there is relief in a little pill? Not only that, it goes on to explain the dangers of an 8 hour erection. Is it just me or is this too much information to be shown on TV?
Another commercial is for KY Jelly and Massage Oils. We see the couple in bed each holding their own oil, and the commercial goes on and on about the wonders of how there is so much relief and satisfaction to be had in using the product. The last picture shows two sexually sated people lying in bed...happy at last.
I am always relieved that my children are not young anymore because they were always the inquisitive types. I can hear my son when he was 6 asking, "Mommy, what is erectile dysfunction and do I have it?" or "Mommy, what's an erection?" How about "Mommy...what is KY Oil and can I have some?" After all, my kids were always more interested in the commercials than they were the actual TV shows. They could sing the jingles from the commercials and even recite some of them.
Yes, times are different than they once were. When commercials for bras were first shown, they did not even use live models for fear of arousing someone. These days, they show as much as they can possibly get by with, and any topic is up for grabs.
Perhaps I'm just turning into an old prude or something. But I can't help but wonder how many men get up and get a cup of coffee or a beer when the erectile dysfunction commercial comes on. It seems that it might be a sore topic between some spouses. Is it really something we need discussed in the family living area around the TV? Is that not a conversation best left between a couple and their Dr?
And speaking of those commercials, have you seen the one that ends with the couple sitting in separate bathtubs looking out over the ocean? Could someone explain that one to me please? I mean, if the erectile dysfunction medication is doing its job, would the couple not want to be sharing the same bathtub?
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Comments: 30
Do people let their kids watch that ??
I watch very little TV
I don't know why any man would use that stuff after hearing the side effects they are not very good..
I don't think it is a matter of being a prude, I just think that things were different when we were raised. Things were left to the imagination. It seems that nothing is left there anymore and I think people think that the more they show the sexier they are. NOT!
The commercial about the couple in separate bath tubs after their sexual session is weird to me too. Why would they be bathing in separate tubs if it really was that good for them?
As for the Ky jelly and oils ~ hmmm...I'm not as offended or turned off to that one as they really aren't showing anything that they shouldn't be. It would be different if they decided to show them applying it to the areas intended.
And the pills for erectile dysfunction ~ used to be that I would only see those watching television late into the night but here recently it comes on during prime time. Wonder whose idea that was?
Good article Cheryl.
"No, I'm a little irregular today." Then follows a recommendation to eat Activa yogurt.
The Smilin' Bob commercials make me laugh. And, while we're on the subject, it really isn't necessary to have commercials for pads and tampons. We can get all the info we need right there in the aisle at WalMart.
You could pay me enough to do a commerical for that
I'm in agreement with many, that these pharmaceuticals, ads should not be on tv. Some especially not on prime time.
Great article.
And that viva viagra song has got to be stopped, please!
I haven't seen those commercials and when commercials to come on I get up and do a little something, so I really don't watch them.
I wish there were healthier ways of getting in our heads to convince us to buy products that have to do with intimate areas of our life, Cheryl, in this I entirely agree with you. I don´t think there´s a problem with showing our erotic nature on television in a truly harmonious way, like in Denmark, I wish our society had gone in that direction more since the Sixties, instead of toward images of brutal sexuality, S & M chic, the external remedy of the power sex tool or prosthetic device or chemical being the ´magic bullet´ to supposedly give us relief, but greater and greater gratification, like the ultimate reward system injection from genitals to brain. The problem is that American society is not only highly sexualized, but also supremely Puritanical on the one hand and scientifically detached on the other. What results in the language and imagery for the lowest common denominator poll group of any ´lifestyle choice´ is this amazing schizophrenic ´consensus´message of provocative porn lite montage, euphemistic medical disclaimer, and usually nudges to husbands and wives to ´keep their marriage´alive (the religiously sanctioned orthodoxy.) Absolute crazymaking commercials, indeed.
John...what a great point you made. American society is both highly sexualized as well as extremely puritannical....so it is almost as if we set ourselves up to be dissatisfied.