There’s a Reason Why Lucy Yanks the Football From Charlie Brown

UPDATE: Behold, even more sexist ads that aired during the big game have been added below.

When do corporations spend $100K-per-second for TV ads in which the product will inevitably be forgotten by consumers, but the content will help spread misogynistic stereotypes?

On Super Bowl Sunday.

Whether or not you enjoy football as a sport or the Super Bowl as an event, chances are you’ll be watching the big game on February 6. Maybe you’re looking forward to The Black Eyed Peas’ halftime show, or Bill O’Reilly’s pre-game interview with President Obama. Maybe you even plan to watch the cast of Glee butcher Michael Jackson’s magnum opus “Thriller” during the post-game fun (check out a premonition of it here). But for me and many others, the Super Bowl ads are a significant pull to the game. Sometimes they’re funny. Sometimes they’re sad. All I know is that they cost an absurd amount of money.

Unfortunately, in order to compensate for all that cash, the ads tend to be controversial and risky–many times at the expense of women. Over the years, there have been some Super Bowl ads so offensive that have been rejected from the broadcast or banned from further broadcast because of their blatant sexism. And the winner for most offensive ads, both this year and all-time? It’s PETA, in a runaway.

Below are some of the ads promised for this Sunday, followed by ads that have appeared in Super Bowls past. Warning: nausea inducing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ3YgDYt7Pg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBuuiKp4qU8&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRYLhkOV2so&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIgcCdbplqQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htFlkfjOkNA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc9H739kNWw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptrCxdj4k7Y

Ads from previous Super Bowls:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTdPRlHB4Os

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhFMD6ybP2E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guq08RXSjdU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrJnv2peeZw

Photo via Flickr user Westside Shooter under Creative Commons 3.0.

About

Kyle Bachan can dance all day. He's also a feminist from Toronto, Canada who enjoys travelling the world and meeting new people. He currently writes as a Senior Editor over at Gender Across Borders.