An ad that insults men? Or just a bit of fun?

I’m undecided as to what to make of this ad currently showing on British TV. There’s certainly been some consternation amongst YouTube viewers, with comments including ‘If this were about a woman it would have been instantly banned ‘ and "a typical male bashing commercial. The safe and acceptable target…. men ".

I hear these concerns, and as an advocate of gender equality, I don’t see how this kind of advert helps anyone. The (male) makers of the ad actually defended it on YouTube as ‘tongue in cheek’, in light of the fact it’s still women who shoulder the majority of the burden of housework. I asked my partner if he found the ad offensive, and he replied that he couldn’t care less. I asked a man at work (having described the ad to him) and he actually said ‘anything that makes housework simpler for men has got to be a good thing – saves us from getting bollocked by our wives when we get something wrong!’. He then went on to relay an instance of him spraying a polished wood table with oven cleaner under the mistaken impression it was wood polish ‘because the cans had identical-coloured lids’ – the table was of course ruined. I had to chuckle at that one.

Perhaps guys can feel more secure that piss-taking adverts aren’t going to harm them or anyone’s perception of them (although after my colleague’s tale, I’m wondering if there is some gender division regarding ability to read labels on cleaning products…!). It just genuinely didn’t seem to occur to either guys I asked to regard the ads as anything but trivial. However a lot of guys on YouTube are getting up in arms and calling for ASA to pull the ad – I’m just wondering if, in the interest of fairness, I should be doing the same? Your thoughts please…