Well, this certainly is a pickle! Or not?
Calvin Klein, the brand best known for being Marty McFly’s preferred underwear choice in 1985, has pulled a fast one in their latest ad, released on Mother’s Day.
Calvin Klein, purveyor of the androgynous cologne/perfume CK1, now is suggesting men and women can essentially be interchangeable. I think.
The brands latest ad features….a pregnant man? Or is it a pregnant woman that has “transitioned” and declined to have the aforementioned “pickle” added?
Forgive me if I go off the rails a bit, but the entire premise almost gives me a mini-stroke thinking about it.
According to Outkick:
The marketing team at Calvin Klein believes that men can get pregnant, so it must be true.
On Mother’s Day, the famed underwear brand released a brand-new campaign centered on motherhood. The creative highlighted a ‘pregnant’ trans man posing with her partner, a trans female.
Come again?
“Today, in support of women and mothers all over the world, we’re spotlighting the realities of new families,” read the photo’s caption, posted on Sunday as millions of women celebrated Mother’s Day.
So just to be clear, if that’s possible, Calvin Klein has a trans man, that is still biologically a woman, (inarguable point since she is pregnant), married to a trans woman. It’s unclear by the ad whether the trans woman is the biological father, but if she(he) didn’t get the surgery to remove the aforementioned “pickle”, then theoretically she, or he if that’s the case, is the father.
I think my head just exploded.
The “mother” Robert Bete had this to say, “We can reproduce biologically or from the heart..our role in the world is to love and be loved,” Bete said.
Hey, while I’m not sure what reproducing from the heart means, or if it’s actually possible, hard to disagree it’s a sweet sentiment.
The questions remain, does sweet sentiment sell merchandise? Perhaps it does to a segment of society? However what is the size of the demographic this ad is geared towards?
To be fair, I’ve NEVER owned a single item made by Calvin Klein. Just not my style to be honest. Who ARE they marketing to? Pregnant men? Pretty small audience one would think.
Spoken to quite a few people today re. the @CalvinKlein ‘pregnant man’.
It seems everybody is as disgusted as I am and everybody has the same intention; to never buy their brand again.f****** loons!
They say any publicity is good publicity, not this time Josephine!pic.twitter.com/YMZYwWNOZW
— Nigelisback (@AlexAnd09667880) May 12, 2022
Predictably, and hilariously social media did what it does best. That is, roast ridiculous virtue signaling companies like Calvin Klein. According to Outkick:
Social media was quick to point out that Klein’s posturing new poster was catering to a rare few, meaning it was probably made for brownie points with the woke mob.
Unfortunately for CK, that’s not how the mob operates.
The brand released their own statement prohibiting hateful comments directed at the ad.
“We embrace this platform as an inclusive and respectful environment for individualism and self-expression. At Calvin Klein, we tolerate everything except intolerance— any intolerant commentary will be removed, and any accounts issuing hateful statements may be blocked.”
Sensitive much Calvin Klein? Here’s the thing, if a company is going to throw ridiculousness like this out for consumption by the general public, then at least be thick skinned enough to take the jokes and criticism without just straight blocking people.
I guess all that’s left now is to wait for CK’s fall line of “MATERNITY CLOTHES FOR BROS.” By the way, Calvin Klein, feel free to use that slogan, no charge!
This story syndicated with permission from For the Love of News