Okay so the reaction to this ad campaign seems to be breaking down along the lines of whether or not you have kids. Given that my kids don't watch commercial television I never imagined they'd be exposed to this ad. So it still seemed funny to me. Then today as I was leaving a restaurant after lunch with my children we walked past the TVs in the bar this ad happened to be on. Now I'm fairly angry. My children (boys, 9 and nearly-11) went insane.
"Oh my god! What was that?"
"Why are they measuring those women's butts?"
"Why are they showing those women's butts?"
"That's disgusting!"
I can't help but feel that I've done something right so far that my children are not accustomed or inured to the objectification of women. And I still stand by my original sentiment that, however fun a riff on Sir Mixalot is, selling children's items--whether to children or their parents--with scantily-clad women shaking their asses is inappropriate. I know my boys will continue to be bombarded with ladies in hot pants shaking their asses at them in an attempt to sell them things and I hope as they grow up they will remember how much this offends me. I hope it will offend them too.