Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Fiat Super Bowl Commercial

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Watch this Fiat Super Bowl Commercial.


Oh haha, it’s soo funny (sarcasm): he stared at her, she caught him, she slapped him and teased him. Oh but she was actually a car!

The only thing this commercial accurately captures is a man thinking it’s okay to ogle and leer at a woman he doesn’t know on the street. This – and the related behaviors of sexual comments, groping, and stalking – happens all the time in public places and we are tired of it.

So hey, Fiat: First, women are not objects. Cars are. We are humans. Second, it’s very disappointing to see you create a commercial that promotes the sexual objectification of women and makes light of the ogling street harassers that too many women face in real life without their consent.

All men need to learn to treat women respectfully and like they are humans, not sexual objects. Commercials like yours counteract that and teach them it’s okay to sexually objectify women. And that is NOT OKAY.

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Comments

  1. Mardi says

    Typical male fantasy…. without the happy ending. It will take a very long time for the advertising media to get out of that mode – it’s been accepted as normal for far too long, and they won’t be giving it up easily.

  2. NK says

    Your point is right on the mark.
    Can I add something?

    It would be helpful if the clothing manufacturers (for women) would also keep your comments in mind.
    Oh, and the women who buy and wear their products.

    The problem is not just with 50% of the population!

  3. HKearl says

    There’s nothing wrong with a quick look at someone attractive, but stopping in one’s tracks and ogling? That response has nothing to do with women’s clothes or attractiveness, but everything to do with disrespect and treating women as objects. Such behavior can feel intimidating to a lot of women. Her response is not the typical one.

  4. s.st says

    So if a man “ogles” a woman it is ok for her to use violence and hit a man? NOT EVER! He should have used his right of self defense and hit her back. there is no excuse for her violence.

  5. HKearl says

    Nope – definitely not advocating for violence. As I said, her response is not a very realistic response to street harassment…so you can thank Fiat for the violence and sexism. It’s rare for women to respond with violence unless the man has touched them first. Most women pretend to ignore harassers and keep on moving.

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