‘Dumb Guy’ Commercials Blanketing the Airwaves [VIDEO]

On a recent night of television viewing, I saw no less than five commercials featuring guys who were portrayed as stupid, inept, or made to feel stupid while being either scolded, pitied, or patronized because of it. And the impression given is that they're dumb BECAUSE they are men. What's next? A shoelace commercial and a bunch of men lined up who don't know how to tie them? A watch commercial  featuring a woman explaining to her husband what the little and big hands are for? We seem to be getting close. Anyway, here are the culprits in question:

AT&T "MISTAKE"

Here's a woman doing the gardening as her husband excitedly sticks his head out the door to announce he's just signed them up for another feature on their AT&T account. Before he gets a chance to mention that it came free with another purchase, the wife has commented about how she made a mistake marrying him. Then she looks a little embarrassed (read: caught) before the spot comes to an end. I want to see the sequel. You know, the one where the husband actually gets a chance to THINK about what she just said before confronting her and discussing his options? I know it's supposed to be funny, but...

YOPLAIT

So, the wife is on the phone with her friend talking about how she's been dropping weight despite the fact that she's been chowing down on apple turnovers, key lime pie, and white chocolate strawberries. Well, she's obviously talking about yogurt flavors. However, behind her is her husband overhearing the conversation and opening the refrigerator to see if all that stuff is actually in there. She notices and tersely asks, "Babe, what are you doing?" He then looks as if the police caught him breaking into someone's home. I want to see the sequel. You know, the one where he slams the refrigerator door and, with a great deal of irritation, announces, "Well, BABE, I'm opening the refrigerator that I bought! Any questions?" I know it's supposed to be funny, but...

STATE FARM

A husband and wife are walking down the street. She's on the phone to their State Farm agent asking why he bought her husband a falcon. The point of the commercial is that State Farm has saved them so much money that he was able to buy a falcon. In the spot, you can also see men who have purchased a jukebox, a toy Model T, a viking helmet, a moose head, and so on. The agent's explanation of their savings has enlightened the woman to just how stupid her husband really is. I want to see the sequel. You know, the one where he sells the falcon and uses the money to buy a single plane ticket? I know it's supposed to be funny, but...

AT&T DIAPER DAD

This is the one where the guy is changing his baby's diaper while talking on the phone to his buddy about last night's game, which he didn't see. He quickly logs on and finds a replay of the game. Then he sees his wife at the door who is glaring at him and quickly hangs up, acting as if she is going to lock him in the basement. Actually she LOOKS like she's going to lock him in the basement. Of course, the husband puts the diaper on his kid without incident but we're not supposed to notice that. I want to see the sequel. You know, the one where he purchases a separate AT&T plan all for himself and then hides the battery from HER phone? I know it's supposed to be funny, but...

GEICO

Now, here's one that doesn't feature anyone's wife. This is one of those commercials where the "serious guy" asks one of those "does a bear you-know-what in the woods?" type questions while describing the positives of Geico. In this case, it's about guys who do really stupid things with their smartphones. However, he doesn't ask "Do guys use smartphone to do dumb things?" No, he asks "Do PEOPLE use smartphones to do dumb things?" But the people we see are, in fact, men. Doing dumb things. Because women never would, right? I want to see the sequel, although, in this case, I'm not sure what it would be. But I've made my point.

Look, I know all of these commercials are strictly for the sake of humor. Got it. And we're all supposed to laugh. Got it. And I'm assuming that since they've been running for quite a while, that they're selling their product, probably to women. Got it. I'm not as offended as I am curious. And here's what piques my curiosity. Let's flip the script. In the AT&T "Mistake" ad, suppose it's the man doing yardwork who says he should've married someone else because of a stupid blunder his wife made. In the Yoplait ad, suppose it's the man talking about working out and his weight loss and then he barks at his wife for opening the refrigerator door and SHE'S the one who sports the deer-in-the-headlights look like she's been really bad. In the State Farm commercial, suppose it's the husband talking to the agent and rolling his eyes and making fun of some ludicrous purchase his wife made. In the AT&T "Diaper Dad" commercial, suppose the mom is changing the diaper while talking on the phone with a friend about a show she missed and then she sees her husband at the door giving her a dirty look like she's some kind of idiot. And then what if, in that Geico ad, we do see three women flouncing around pretending their smartphones are musical instruments after hearing the announcer call them "dumb?" NONE of these companies would ever get away with that. And it wouldn't make any sense to produce a commercial in that way. That's my point. While I'm not offended by these commercials because we all know men are not stupid like they're portrayed on TV, I do observe a bit of a double standard simply because you could NEVER get away with reversing the roles. And there's actually been a commercial banned because of how the man in the ad was portrayed. So I guess someone is noticing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make some phone calls, change a diaper, eat some yogurt, and buy insurance. I sure hope I do it right.