Consider this an on line keg party in honor of Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
It has been alleged that the Swedes have no sense of humor. Don’t know about that. However, the nation’s advertising ombudsman certainly lacks one, from DW:
The Swedish internet service provider Bahnhof has been reprimanded by the nation’s advertising ombudsman for a sexist advertisement using a viral stock photo showing a man checking out the backside of a passing woman.
The photo, known as the “distracted boyfriend meme,” shows a man walking alongside a woman, presumably his girlfriend, but turning to look approvingly at a passing woman, who appears oblivious to his gaze, while the girlfriend regards her boyfriend in disgusted disbelief.
[…]
Sweden’s advertising watchdog said Bahnhof’s post was “gender discriminatory” and that it “objectified women.”
“The depiction … imparts a stereotypical image of men looking at women as being interchangeable like a workplace, which is degrading,” the watchdog’s statement said.
It added that, “the objectification is reinforced by the fact that women are designated as workplace representatives while the man, as the recipient of the advertisement, is being produced as an individual.” Ad reviewers also noted that Bahnhof’s use of the image could turn off female job applicants.
Kudos if your discerning eyes don’t think the couple and the distraction look particularly Swedish. Bahnhof ad was a photo-shopped version of a stock photograph taken in Spain in 2015. If you are so in inclined do a web search for ‘Distracted boyfriend meme.’ I was.
In order for joke to be funny, it must be rooted in truth. The stock photo went viral in 2017. Somebody, outside of fifteen prudes in Sweden, must think the picture is funny. Do you?
