By Joey Brasch, Emily Komie, Kelsey Maxwell, Ethan Schick, Sam Suzuki, Noah Weeks (Block 2 2017)

“By providing advice on how to be ‘interesting,’ TMIM, who is framed throughout the advertisement campaign as rugged and adventurous, is suggesting that one must be interested in particular kinds of things in order to be masculine. Along those lines, it is difficult to separate what this advertisement refers to as boring (eating mild salsa and wearing khaki pants) from femininity or those who are often referred to as a ‘wimpy’ or ‘sissy’ man. This print advertisement pigeonholes consumers and viewers into perceiving masculinity narrowly, and serves to surveil and discipline men who do not meet these gendered expectations.”

“In our version of the commercial, our main character is placed in everyday activities, such as exercising at the gym, playing basketball, driving in a residential area, eating lunch with her friends, and lying in bed with a sexual partner. However, instead of empty platitudes about how she is adventurous and unique, we instead have the narrator describe how the main character lives her life treating people with respect and without adhering to strict gender roles. In the end, we address the gendered positioning of beer that is often portrayed in the media and promote independent thinking with the final words, ‘stay educated, my friends.'”