Comments on: Hard Water Stains

By: Rayne

Rayne — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:54:54 +0000

Eh… I’m kinda with Sarahbear, here. I know *I’d* be ashamed if my tub was so dirty that I injured my arm cleaning it. Ew.

By: rob

rob — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 00:02:00 +0000

I watched it. She’s not referencing domestic abuse, she’s ashamed that she hurt her elbow/arm/wrist while doing something that embarrasses her, mainly scraping soap-scum off the shower. Do you think the women she bumped into in the supermarket (also wearing an arm sling) sympathized, and maybe had a similar injury? I do agree though, it’s a dopey add that goes along way to say very little. and her injury does take the matter away from the product. But I don’t care about the product. And by the way, how much soap scum could you have on a shower that you could hurt yourself removing it?

By: Skij

Skij — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:45:00 +0000

Interesting analysis, but I think you’re overthinking it.

By: mac

mac — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 21:46:12 +0000

This does play on victims of abuse. Perhaps the ones who don’t think so have never witnessed abuse up close and personally.

It’s the child who has to make up stories why his arm is broken, “I fell on the swing” or the spouse that has to lie because her husband beat the shit out of her, “No, I was roller blading and fell”…. I have seen it. It is an ugly thing.

All this coming from a guy with a 14 year old’s sense of humor…it’s that fucking obvious!

By: Sarahbear

Sarahbear — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:56:09 +0000

I’m pretty sure it’s not (intentionally OR unintentionally) making light of domestic violence. I think you’re letting your bias color how you perceive a pretty innocent commercial.

By: JoJo

JoJo — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 20:04:22 +0000

The point of this commercial is ‘Hey, you don’t have to scrub hard with our product lile you do with others! Buy it!’ It doesn’t ‘make light’ of anything. I think that being able to read rape & DV contexts into innocuous situations speaks more to the viewers mental state than it does to the company’s marketing choices.
I learned long ago that allowing your victimization to color the way you see EVERYTHING is not a fun way to live: I was molested by a family friend who I thought of as my grandfather. A few years ago, I was watching some made for tv movie & there was a scene where a grandfather put his granddaughter on his lap. It was a completely innocent scene, but it was a trigger for me. Was the script writer to blame? Was he/she insensitive to victims of molestation? No, it was MY way of thinking that was the problem. I started counseling soon after that & it has made all the difference in the world.

By: Epiphora

Epiphora — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:51:36 +0000

I am still in awe of how fucking weird this commercial is. I just can’t believe that they thought using imagery of someone breaking their arm from cleaning would help sell their product. I keep imagining how hard a person would have to scrub, and it is hella disturbing.

By: Britni TheVadgeWig

Britni TheVadgeWig — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 18:40:57 +0000

I don’t see it as “she gets beat because the tub isn’t clean enough.” I’m more disturbed by the fact that it makes light out of the fact that millions of women really DO have to make up excuses to hide the real cause of their injuries every day. It’s the stereotypical image of a battered woman, “Oh, I’m so clumsy!” “I ran into a door!” etc.

By: Sarahbear

Sarahbear — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 17:58:45 +0000

To me it comes across as pretty light-hearted. Kind of like the woman is embarrassed that she hurt her arm scrubbing her shower so she’s making up elaborate things she could have done that broke her arm. I’d liken it to a commercial where a man hurt himself doing something ridiculous and lied about it to make himself seem more tough. The woman doesn’t want people to know her shower is that dirty, not that her husband beats the shit out of her because it’s not clean enough.