Sexism in advertising

I found a great French site, La Meute, which holds an annual prize for the most sexist and the least sexist advertising. The voting is closed for the 2007 prizes but had I realised earlier I could have voted on line.

My favourite out of the finalists for least sexist prize (Prix Femino) is the insurance company which ran a series with text such as:

~Sorry, man's superiority does exist. All you have to do is compare retirement~
~You struggle to be an independent woman. Only up to the age of 60?~
~What good is it to have a longer life expectancy than men if you don't have a retirement?~

The last has this illustration:



It brings to attention the fact that millions of women reach retirement age without adequate pension provisions, largely because of inequalities of earnings throughout working life.

Another I like:



An advertisement for a mineral water, showing an older model with a t-shirt reading n'eau (no) fatigue n'eau stress. I like the play on words but particularly that the model is not young and yet is very attractive. And as La Meurte says: a miracle that a model over the age of 22 and a half can still work!

There aren't as many illustrated examples of the prize for the most sexist advertising (Prix Macho), but one of them is this one looking for bus drivers



which says that (if you're a man) you will be able to work hours that allow you to go to football, the cinema, the restaurant, and whatever you like. If you're a woman on the other hand, it gives you the chance to pick up the children from school after work.

No comment.

There are apparently La Meute Suisse and La Meute Québecoise and I've just come across Gender Ads which is rather hard on the eye but apparently being revamped.