“Viagra Makes You MacGyver”
By ~Vern Davidson
In
today’s printed and video media ads, you see a wide range of depictions of what
middle age and the golden years should be. From my observation, the attitude
toward aging varies, depending on the market’s target demographic and the
product or service being marketed.
One
type of ad that always comes to mind is the ad for a retirement home, a.k.a.
nursing home. The typical ad begins with a sweet-looking grandmother in the
core family setting with the son & daughter-in-law or some variation.
Grandma is sitting with the family and her grandchildren, as the narration
talks about how grandma has been there and provided for her children. Grandma
is looking content but with a shadow of concern, as though she is pondering the
near future and her recently diminishing health. The narration continues to ask
if the family (indirectly, the target audience) wouldn’t want to do their best
to take care of grandma. This ad gives grandma an image of maintained dignity
through the challenges of the aging process. Although market-targeted, the ad
seems to do better than others when it comes to a level of honesty and
directness on the difficult conversation of aging.
In the
cosmetic commercial that targets a younger female, pushing the 30-35 year range, the
natural aging effects not only can be, but damn it, they should be feared and avoided at all cost or more
importantly, at any expense. In the cosmetic commercials targeting those at the
above 40-year range, the tone changes significantly. The tone seems to be that
the mature woman is beautiful both inside and outside, and the product is less
about covering the aging process and more about polishing the finish on that
process. I say that I will never color my gray. Gray hairs are like service
stripes; I earned every one of them!
One of
my favorite ads that stereotypes, sometimes to an unintentionally comedic
effect, are the Viagra ads. In the ad, you always have the virile, fit and
good-looking higher range middle-aged man who is busy doing some rugged and
rather manly task. Sometimes he is building a campfire outside the tent that is
sheltering his waiting woman by a mountain stream. In another he is delayed in
his rugged, manly highway cruising when his muscle car overheats. In a step
closer to the completion of this stud’s conquer of land, sea and air; he is in
the middle of a sea cruise when his sailboat has a vital part break on him. Yet
another favorite depicts this handsome devil pulling his horses in their
gooseneck trailer when he encounters a shallow mud puddle that is blocking his
way. In all these, the narration explains that this guy is at “the age of
knowing.”
This
last ad carries a lot of subtle metaphoric themes. His fire that won’t start,
his radiator that is losing steam, his sailboat mast and his pickup that is
maybe not up to crossing that puddle are all subtle metaphors for his… ahem…
challenged manhood. As the narrator reminds and reassures us, fortunately, this
guy… on top of his good looks, strong physique and perfect hair… this guy knows
stuff. He uses that knowledge to start his fire, cool his radiator and get his
ride moving, fix his sailboat’s mast and uses his horses to pull the truck and
trailer across the mud puddle of death or at the very least, shame.
The
lessons I have learned from watching ads for most of my 41 years are plentiful.
Probably the single most important lesson was that apparently, Viagra makes you
MacGyver. The only thing that confused me was why the man, who is at the age of
knowing, opting to gear up his horse team rather than put the darned truck into
four wheel drive? Also, if he is at the “age of knowing”, does he really need
to ask his doctor if he is healthy enough for sex? These questions are irrelevant;
I am already sold. So, the next time my Jeep won’t start, I can't see to tie that
damned fishing hook, my heat/air conditioning unit goes on the fritz, or the
zombie apocalypse finally happens; I have a plan. I am going to take myself
four Viagra and fix everything.
