"You Poke It, You Own It." Oh Really?

That's probably one of the statements that's offending some people in that series of Miller Lite ads. I think it’s because, after a while, it tends to sound sleazy, especially since they repeat that statement a few more times in the ad—to the point that, after a while, you start to think maybe they’re not referring to beer bottles anymore. You start thinking, “Is it me, or are they now referring to women?”

That’s the kind of thinking feminists all over the world have been trying to discourage all these decades—emphasizing that women and their bodies are not properties to be owned by other people (men OR women). Perhaps that is why some groups are now reacting indignantly towards those ads. It’s become quite a touchy issue, I’m told.

As for me, the “you poke it, you own it” line made me cringe a little. But not as bad as the Napoleon Brandy billboard’s “Nakatikim ka na ba ng kinse anyos?” copy two years ago. (Now that was really offensive.) The Man Laws concept of the Miller Lite ads? In general, they are a little funny and amusing but they don't hold my interest for long. After a while, and after seeing a few other versions, the whole concept began to sound tired already. But as long as this Man Law concept is not taken seriously, and that kids don’t take it to heart, I think things are going to be okay.

The question is, are the beer-drinking consumers responding positively to the ads? (I understand they’re being shown at the NBA playoffs.) They're advertising a light beer. Manly men, I think, don't drink light beers as much as they do regular varieties. So they're macho-fying the product now. Assuming it's the so-called metrosexuals who are drinking the light version, what do they think about the product now that it is trying to be more macho? What do the so-called macho men think about this? And will these efforts translate to higher sales for the product?