Rag Times

This Guiness ad—Bring it to Life—is marvelous and stunning. It has brought with it’s a share of criticism, however. Ignoring the usual YouTube ignorance, Ruby Pseudo, clever youth marketeer, attempts to make a point:

Yes women of the world, men are building us an imaginary, beatific, tree-lined world of wonder. We don’t have to lift a finger lucky ladies, there’s a bunch of willing white guys out there hard at work with pick axes! I know, I know, I can’t believe it either. I am the luckiest little lady alive. I’ll tell you what. I’m going to pour those marvelous men a pint instead, sit back, watch the top slowly settle and un-burn my bra. Fuck it, I’ll bake a cake too.

The reaction is based primarily on Guinness’s own description of the commercial:

The “World” ad sees a group of guys come together to bring a world to life… (Emphasis hers.)

As a feminist, I completely disagree on this issue. Just because something features only men does not automatically make it anti-feminist. Just because a commercial targets men doesn’t mean it’s demeaning or ignoring the accomplishments of women. It speaks to the masculine side of a guy’s brain and depicts a positive side of brotherhood. These guys aren’t lumps sitting in sofas, watching football and talking about all the “bitches” they wanna fuck. It’s not a violent high-octane action-sequence. They’re not even playing sports (which is basically a simulation of war). They’re actually trying to build something, to make a better world, which I can’t recall ever seeing in a beer commercial. It’s really an inspiring sequence. If there’s a male equivalent to feminism, this would be it.

(See also: We don’t need more strong female characters.)

(video via GuinnessWorld1759)