Jack in the Box commercial about menopause--funny or offensive, or a little of both?
I was watching TV the other day and saw an ad for Jack in the Box that stars a menopausal woman and Jack. I have to say, I don't think I've ever seen an ad for a fast food restaurant that stars a woman in menopause.
If you want to view it, go to www.jackinthebox.com and then click on "commercials" on the left and it should be the ad on the far left. You can see the lady in her pink dress.
Frankly, I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not. I thought they were making fun of menopausal women. My take was that menopausal women are not taken seriously because we're just hysterical. But it's no laughing matter as I know first hand that very few people take us seriously and that it's a real problem for lots of women.
This may be because I've lived it and seen and heard too many women who are silently suffering that it's hard for me to find the humor in it. But it goes to show you how many women are menopausal when Jack in the Box dedicates a commercial to it.
Then again, I have a dear friend who saw it and thought it was really funny. But she's a bit younger and hasn't hit menopause yet so maybe that's the difference.
I'd love it if you'd follow the link and watch the ad and then post your thoughts below. Is it funny to you, or offensive, or somewhere in between? Michelle
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I thought it was totally stupid. Jack in the Box is now on my boycott list. Surely people can think of other ways to promote their business. Idiots.
JITB also has another relatively new commercial promoting the mini sirloin burgers. They use midgets or little people or dwarfs as small cowboys and they use trick photography to make the cattle look as small as schnauzers as they say in the song. I think Jack in the Box is just using a very creative ad agency and they are making some very funny non-mainstream commercials.
I am in Menopause (and have been dealing with the symptoms for 10 years now). I think this commercial is hysterical. It always makes me chuckle when I see it. Humor is so important to everyone's lives and ESPECIALLY to menopausal women. We haven't much choice about what meopause is going to do to our lives, the only choice is how we deal with it.
People, people, people...PLEASE...it's a 30-second commercial that will be off broadcast TV in no time and will fade into anonymity (like most of those commenting) as soon as the Internet discovers the next best thing in the world.
The spot pokes fun at just one aspect of the human condition. Watch TV for any length of time and virtually every NON-tragic aspect of life becomes the brunt of commercialism.
Menopause is many things to many people who are affected by it directly and indirectly, but it is NOT tragic, unless the "suffering" choose NOT to deal with it appropriately.
Laughter really IS the best medicine, so give your indignation a break and enjoy the humor. And if so inclined, buy a Tropical Smoothie, they're delicious (I didn't think Jack could improve the Mango, but he did by adding Banana!)...and you WILL feel cooler!
Otherwise, don't worry...you will not have to wait very long before something else comes along to give you permission to vent your animosity.
TO Anonymous at 5:23 p.m poster... I agree! People just want to find something to be offended by at every turn. Everyone just takes themselves WAY too seriously. Misogyny? Pah-lease...If people stopped whining about everything and just lived life, maybe they'd be less offended. This commercial is no different than poking fun at pimply-faced teenagers, raunchy college students, moms with kids running around the house, or old men with erectile dysfunction (and I've seen plenty of commercials that poke fun at them...). The fact is we need to find humor in the HORMONAL fluctuations in EVERYBODY's life, or else life IS just kind of miserable at all stages, isn't it?