A Samsung Smart TV ad is garnering a rather unusual amount of attention and critics have leveled a rather unusual complaint against the commercial: it's sexist toward men. The video was uploaded to YouTube on May 14 and already has over 10 million views. It features the company's Evolution Kit, which can plug into most Samsung TV's and turn them into Smart TV's, with built-in apps and Internet connectivity.
In the ad, Samsung imagines what might happen when a wife tries plugging the Evolution Kit into the other hardware, namely her husband. The woman's significant other is presented as a lazy, grunting, caveman-like glutton capable of little more than eating chicken drumsticks while staring at the TV.
The wife plugs the Evolution Kit into the television as hubby watches a bevy of new options appear on the screen, looking confused the entire time. The wife then begins to daydream about plugging the kit into her husband's back to evolve him too.
The so-called "evolutionary husband" that results is apparently a wide-eyed automation who immediately springs to action and begins performing various household tasks like cooking, cleaning and watering plants, among others. Critics have described the portrayal as "feminist porn" and "man-hating."
The ad prompted the creation of an entire Subreddit for Men's Rights and users took to the message board to voice their frustrations.
User JudDredd addressed the allegation of reverse sexism, writing, "Can you please do a similar ad where I plug an evolution pack into my wife?! Think Stepford wives!! She would go from being a nagging frumpy looking creature to delivering drinks and sandwiches to me and my poker buddies, all whilst wearing something a little revealing! I think everyone would find it hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!11 I'd be willing to consult with your awesome ad guys about future ideas. Can we make it happen?? Hit me back."
Touché, sir.
The ad is unfortunate given the fact that the Evolution Kit is actually a fairly innovative piece of technology. Samsung likes to bill Evolution Kit TV's as "future proof," which is an overstatement, but it would definitely be fair to say that the upgrade package grants some additional life to any TV it is plugged into.
