Martha Burk Quixote's Next Windmill: The NHL.

[SirFozzie]

The NHL's new advertising campaign is getting attention, but not the kind it was likely hoping for.

According to a report from The Canadian Press, Martha Burk, the chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations, said she intends to write letters of protest to the NHL and NBC over the NHL's new ad campaign, which is set to begin next week.

The first spot, titled "It's Time," shows a player (an actor, not an NHL player) in a locker room, surrounded by candles and accompanied by a woman who ceremoniously helps him don his hockey garb. The ads feature quotes from Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" along with dramatic camera work and music reminiscent of the film "Braveheart."

Burk told The Canadian Press that the ad is "offensive on many levels."

"The woman is dressed provocatively and when she asks the player if he's ready, it's a double-entendre in my view," Burk told The CP. "She's in the ad as a groomer, a sex object.

"The commercial is clearly selling sex and violence and the last image in that commercial is a young boy watching this, so he's clearly the customer they're after, or it's a misguided attempt to draw in families."

NHL spokeswoman Bernadette Mansur told The Canadian Press that was not the case.

"This ad shows no disrespect for women," Mansur told The CP. "On the contrary, the woman is the spiritual and physical trainer for the 'Warrior' and is his mentor."

Players, league personnel and media attended the unveiling of the campaign at The Museum of Television and Radio in Manhattan on Wednesday night.

The ads were conceived by a company called Conductor, an entertainment marketing company that has contributed to campaigns for "Spider-Man" and Green Day music videos.

For the NHL, the team created a series of commercials and print ads that will be released next week. The commercials will be packaged in a five-part story that will unfold through February.

[st.cronin]

Wow. She is an idiot.

[VPI97]

http://www.fof-ihof.com/upload/VPI97/iron_my_shirt.jpg

[HomerJSimpson]

She must find male/female sex very offensive.

[Mustang]

Any one else scan that picture for signs of any women they would plow?

[TroyF]

"The woman is dressed provocatively and when she asks the player if he's ready, it's a double-entendre in my view," Burk told The CP. "She's in the ad as a groomer, a sex object."

Umm. . . DUH.

Yo, Martha, when you protest a diet coke commercial with twenty women oggling the guy without his T-Shirt, get back to me, ok?

It's either all sexist or none of it is.

[st.cronin]

What's funny is I don't think it was meant as a double entendre. I think that part is all in her head.

[rkmsuf]

Burk needs a good lay.

(not by me)

[JonInMiddleGA]

I think that part is all in her head.

Boy, I hope you're wrong about that -- the image of that one thought bouncing around in all that empty space, the sheer loneliness it must feel ... just too sad to consider.

[Wolfpack]

Boy, I hope you're wrong about that -- the image of that one thought bouncing around in all that empty space, the sheer loneliness it must feel ... just too sad to consider.

Score!

[sterlingice]

Yeah, no kidding. This sounds really subtle for American advertising. Smart of the NHL to get her in there and make an ass of herself to give them some free press and get the commercial run on Sportscenter and maybe even real news ;)

SI

[sterlingice]

Boy, I hope you're wrong about that -- the image of that one thought bouncing around in all that empty space, the sheer loneliness it must feel ... just too sad to consider.
Genius, Jon! :D

SI

[sachmo71]

Sexist or not? you make the call..


King Arthur: I am your king.
Woman: Well I didn't vote for you.
King Arthur: You don't vote for kings.
Woman: Well how'd you become king then?
[Angelic music plays... ]
King Arthur: The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why I am your king.
Dennis: [interrupting] Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

Dennis: Oh, but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you.

Dennis: Oh but if I went 'round sayin' I was Emperor, just because some moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away.

Dennis: Come see the violence inherent in the system. Help, help, I'm being repressed.

[TazFTW]

The ad in question.

mms://wm.nhl.na-central.speedera.net/wm.nhl.na-central/comp/ad/ad1_700.wmv

[sterlingice]

Not sure that fits with "My NHL" but I suppose that's another story for another day. However, wow, is Burk barking up the wrong tree. It's not that if you didn't infer hard enough, you couldn't see sexism- it's there. But it's no more sexist than a women's skin cream commercials that play off of their vanity, beer commercials that show if you drink the product that you get sex, never mind something like Axe where it's basically "use this and get teh sex". It's on par, in terms of sexism, with a commercial for Gilette where the scantily clad woman is feeling up a guy's face because he just shaved. Curious target by her- I just don't get it.

SI

[Maple Leafs]

The NHL couldn't ask for better publicity.

Burke has essentially zero credibility in the sports world after the Masters protest debacle, but she's still a recognizable name so the story will get covered. That means that the NHL's little ad campaign will now actually be seen by people in the US -- and in just about the most postive light possible. You couldn't ask for a better boost to your target male sports demographic than to have Burke show up and start ripping into the ad, especially since (unlike the Masters) there isn't even an argument here that she has a case.

Maybe things are looking up for hockey after all...

[RendeR]

The ad in question.

mms://wm.nhl.na-central.speedera.net/wm.nhl.na-central/comp/ad/ad1_700.wmv



Good god, if she thinks THAT was a double entendre or a direct sexual induendo she needs to get laid far more than I ever imagined a woman ever could.

That commercial is rediculously tame when compared to any dozens of other products out there.

Get a fucking grip lady....yikes.

[Young Drachma]

What an attention seeking...

Way to be the worst thing for your own cause. Grr.

[Karlifornia]

Any one else scan that picture for signs of any women they would plow?


I tried...and I failed.

[Tekneek]

The marketing campaign sounds stupid to me.

[Samdari]

Burk needs a good lay.

(not by me)

C'mon, take one for the team.

[DanGarion]

Any one else scan that picture for signs of any women they would plow?

The one on the right with the camera...

oh wait you say that's a guy?!?!?!

[Tekneek]

Any one else scan that picture for signs of any women they would plow?

The dark-skinned lady on the far left, back behind that green shirt, at least looks like she has a couple of excuses for a closer look.