When I first blogged about how much I admire men of a certain age for their body comfort on the beach in the post Men: It isn’t junk, people started sending me a certain ad for Southern Comfort.
It’s worth watching. I hadn’t seen it as I don’t have a television.
The ad is part of the Whatever’s Comfortable campaign which Southern Comfort describes as being “all about championing the attitude it takes to be yourself, and celebrates those people who captivate us because of it.”
It’s also spoofed here in an ad for Save the Children.
In the post I wrote that I was worried about how much the world had changed for younger men and how I missed the forgiving furry bellies of older men on the beach.
Our tolerance for men’s bodies that don’t meet our standards of normative thinness is fast going away. (See Men, meet normative thinness for my reflections on this unfortunate leveling down.)
There’s no shortage of tumblrs of images of older men in speedos on the beach, usually with unpleasant commentary.
Everybody has their story. Awhile ago were talking about an Italian card game we play at my house when a friend said he couldn’t play it. Scopa reminds him, he said. of the old guys in their speedos making espresso on the beach, playing cards all day.
Coffee? The beach? Cards?
Sounds like a winning combo to me! I’d play cards with the old guys.
And I love the Southern Comfort ad. It makes me smile even though I don’t drink alcohol. But I have wondered what a woman’s version of the “Whatever’s Comfortable” campaign would look like.
Could we even do it? Would we still smile if an older woman, with an imperfect body strolled down the beach in her bikini, smiling?
I love the ad. And I for one would smile if the ad were an older woman with a non-normative body type walking down the beach in her bikini with complete confidence, okay with being herself. In fact, I’d love to be that woman (and I’d reach for a virgin pina colada).
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This raises a very good point, I’m glad this advert exists, and I’d love to see an older woman being represented in this way, but I can just see the backlash of people shape-shaming if a woman were to do this. Also I’m surprised and refreshed that there’s not a single bikini babe in this advert, since I love them, BUT they tend to be overly represented in alcohol commercials as if they can only exist in proximity to alcoholic beverages.
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I would love to see this ad redone with an older woman!