Are your boobs wearing the right shoes?

[ccharles000]

So, Reebok has these new shoes that supposedly tone your butt and legs more than regular sneakers, using "balance ball-inspired technology." (Hooray for science! I'm also hearing great things about the promise of jump rope- and yoga block-inspired technology. The future is now, people.) But since there are other footwear brands out there offering similar results -- really, if you're still wearing lazy-ass shoes that only offer exercise benefits directly proportionate to the amount you walk or run in them, you're a chump -- Reebok needed advertising that would make theirs stand out. And what's edgier or more original than objectifying women?

I saw this ad, in which a short-shorted woman tries to give a serious spiel on the sneakers, only to be distracted by the camera dude constantly zooming in on her sweet ass, while watching Hulu the other night. So this is definitely a real thing Reebok paid for.

This morning, I saw a Tweet from The Illusionists, asking, "Is this uber-sexist (and NSFW) Reebok ad authentic?!?" with a link to what you see below. Because I didn't want to wake my husband sleeping in the next room and didn't know where my headphones were, I watched it with the sound down -- and having already seen the first ad, I concluded that this must be a parody. I mean, the camera does nothing but linger on a woman's breasts in a demi-cup bra for a full 20 seconds, before it switches to an ass shot, and then the shoes it's actually advertising. Whoever made it had to be sending up the whole idea of using sexualized body parts to sell sneakers to women, right?

Then I found my headphones. And noticed that the ad is called "Dialogue." As in, a dialogue between this woman's breasts.

Righty: Hey, did you see? Nobody's staring at us anymore.

Lefty: Are we still hot?

Righty: Clearly! You know what? It's all because of that stupid butt down there.

You get the idea. Now that the ass is 28% more toned and thus getting all the attention, the boobs are jealous. And that, my friends, is how you use a close-up on breasts to sell sneakers.

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

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

http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/feature/2009/11/13/reebok_ads/index.html

[panader0]

1. An ass/boob joke:

My buddy's girlfriend told him she wanted to have her breasts enlarged. He told her she should just wipe them with toilet paper. Confused, she asked what he meant. "Look what it did for your ass." he replied.

[guitar man]

6. lmao!!

that one never gets old!!

:rofl:

[TeeYiYi]

2. Can't say for sure about the boobs...

...but that girl's butt is definitely wearing the wrong shoes. It's seriously flat.

TYY

[pipi_k]

3. My boobs are no longer on speaking terms with each other

They've been headed in opposite directions for years...

[dusmcj]

4. cute, but it doesn't belong in GD

feminism if you want to drive a political slant, otherwise the lounge

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. I would love to know if that ad increases sales of their shoe.

And if it does, we are doomed, all over again.

[Echo In Light]

7. Further proof the Corporate Culture contributes to lowering the IQ level of the American gene pool

[petronius]

8. I wonder if the boob ad is intended for TV, or if it's one of those fake spoofs

that's intended to 'go viral'.

It wouldn't surprise me if these ads/shoes are a success - there is cetainly a market out there that would prefer to look good (while not breaking a sweat) rather than to just do it...

[dustbunnie]

9. I've seen the ass one on teevee.

And yep, there are truckloads of women who train and exercise to look good. Particularly young women who are on the market so wouldn't surprise me if that ad does well.

The other one... you may have a point. It could very well be a buzz generator, not really meant for prime time consumption. It's stupid as all get out, that's for sure.

[Quantess]

10. That's worth considering...

...whether the first video, the boob-focused one, is a spoof.

The second video with the full shot of the brunette woman alternately panning down to her ass, is pretty stupid, but it isn't that sexist or offensive (to me). I'm sure many women will be interested in a running shoe designed to target the buttocks.