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Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
Personal Foul: Super Bowl Ads Deliver Old Fashioned Sexism

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ImproperDancing
02/04/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
$15 that expires in a week???

That's their apology???

BULL. SHIT.
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lilad
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
I think they'll funny and make the point they're supposed to make, and I'm not personally offended by it.
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Cerridwen
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
See, I just do not get the whole apology-with-a-coupon thing. "Oh, did we insult you horribly? Well, how about we make it up to you by giving you an avenue to financially support us to continue being shameless asshats? No, you don't like that idea? Why ever not??"
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Grim Reaper of the Forest
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
I'll be the one to admit that I actually laughed the first time I saw the ad, because it was so unexpected. I think they meant it to be horribly insulting, but I 100% agree that we need to retire the notion that the best way to insult and demean a woman is to say that she is fat, is pathetic because she owns cats, and isn't sexually attractive to men.
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Slumdog_Mamabear
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
One more reason that the only flowers Mr. Slumdog ever brings are the ones that I can plant firmly in my garden or in one of my planter boxes. I am all for silly little gifts but I am not to fond of the kind that I have to tend to carefully for a few days only to have them die all over my floor.

Those ads are disgusting. I have my whole family (most notably my college age little brothers) on badvertizing watch. They were texting me all through the super bowl. Jezzie has two little incognito femibros hanging out in the frat parties of one serious party school.
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clevernamehere
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
I don't mind the guys guide to buying flowers. Many guys think the only option is red roses, so maybe this will get them to think outside the box.

But those ads are horrible! I assume the idea is that men buy flowers so the ad should appeal to them, but I think women probably buy more flowers than men. My brother and I share costs to buy flowers for my mom and my aunts, but I'm always the one who picks them out. Teleflora won't be getting my money.
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Maulleigh
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
Maybe we're missing the joke. Maybe we're like the people who take Family Guy seriously (I know some of those people).
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Lymed
02/03/09

@Maulleigh: Are you suggesting that Family Guy is not a drama?
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G Gordon Liddy
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
Can you tell us who the advertising company is? So we can publically shame them?
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I'm Chuck Bass
02/03/09

@G Gordon Liddy: We could send them some angry foliage.
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Lizawithazee
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
"We are sorry if you are so thin skinned as to be offended by our clever and witty advertising. Enclosed is a $15 coupon, which of course isn't enough to purchase something from us, don't think we don't know how clever we're being by seemingly offering you something to make amends but which is really just another revenue-generating coupon program for us so suck it American women."

Love, Teleflora
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sybann
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
I say we make them pay - everyone order flowers for yourself (the cheapest possible) and enter the code!
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The HZA.
02/03/09

@sybann: The thing is shipping is like 10 bucks. And the cheapest flowers are like 20....
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sybann
02/03/09

@The HZA.: $30! I stand corrected. OK, I sit corrected.
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hesterbee
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
A few lifetimes ago I was a florist. Here's the deal: the freshest flowers go into a box, and many of the droopier ones get tucked away into a tacky bouquet in cheap vase.

Now, my Jezzies, my fury at the ads! Of the three, the baby one is slightly crueler and more demeaning then the other two, not only because it humiliates the woman but because it posits that "work friends" can't be real friends. Of course these ads also say that your guy doesn't really like you and your family hates you.

Not funny.
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R_Claw
02/03/09

@hesterbee: It's the He's Just Not That Into You of flower companies?

Also, so what you're saying is they're selling us crap flowers from a crap ad, jerks.
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BlondeGrlz
02/03/09

@hesterbee: The flowers I've gotten in boxes have often been much nicer than the carnation-and-baby's-breath creations delivered in ugly vases. I agree that the baby one is the worst, that kind of hurtful stuff never needs to be said out loud.
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R_Claw
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
I'm switching to Edible Arrangements. The fruits that look like flowers just say Eat Me, and that's not offensive at all.
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missteenwordpower
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
Yeah, I can't decide how I feel about this. I was truly shocked and startled by the language used in these ads--where generally I'm just exasperated--but at the same time, the flowers speaking are SUPPOSED to be demonstrating insensitivity. I don't want advertisers using language like this at all, but if they're going to, this is the appropriate place for it--in the mouths of the antagonists.

Sigh. Couldn't they just have suave Teleflora flowers saying something lovely and kind instead?
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cate3710
02/03/09

@missteenwordpower: I sort of understand that, but shouldn't the quality of the flowers reflect more on the sender than the recipient? If Mr. XYZ chose shitty flowers, why aren't they critiquing HIM? Something like him paying for the flowers and they turn to him and say "Dude, we are SO not enough to get you out of the doghouse. Should've gone with Teleflora." And then maybe some suave Teleflora flowers. (Granted, this still plays into annoying stereotypes of flowers=forgiveness)

This came across to me more like the woman didn't deserve better flowers in a way. The vitriol in it was appalling.
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I'm Chuck Bass
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
Yesterday there was a bit of a buzz on Twitter (I know) about the Go Daddy ads, and quite a few people said they wanted to switch to someone else because of the offensive Go Daddy ads. Has anyone here written to Go Daddy about their ads?

Also, what does $15 get you in the floral world these days? A droopy, beheaded tulip?
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Trulymadlyme
02/03/09

@I'm Chuck Bass: It gets you a dozen boxed roses in Knoxville, Tennessee!
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Grim Reaper of the Forest
02/03/09

@I'm Chuck Bass: I wrote an email to Doritos because of their Superbowl ad (with the chips having the ability to remove women's clothes).
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I'm Chuck Bass
02/03/09

@trulymadlyme: Sweet! If I hit the road now, I'll have a flower cussing me out before midnight!
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I'm Chuck Bass
02/03/09

@Grim Reaper of the Forest: Awesome! Did you hear back from them?
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Grim Reaper of the Forest
02/03/09

@I'm Chuck Bass: Ooo, I just did:

Hi Grim,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. Consumer opinions are

very important to us and we appreciate knowing how you feel.

Meant to be funny, the ad was consumer created through our 'Crash the

Super Bowl' campaign. Consumers submitted ads that were then selected

by popular vote. Please know your comments will be shared with the

appropriate teams here at Frito-Lay. We do apologize as we would never

intentionally offend our consumers.

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts and the constructive spirit

in which they were offered. We hope our future actions will restore

your confidence in our name and will earn back your trust and support.

Best regards,

Tina

Frito-Lay Consumer Affairs

010459071A
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R-Star
02/03/09

In reply to Does Teleflora Have A History Of Insensitivity?
Jesus, these ads are absolutely horrifying! Apparently Teleflora hates women, and reserves special vitriol for fat women, since the overweight woman in the first ad complains about never being sent flowers, and the coworker flowers in the second ad tell the new mom that they thought she was just fat, not pregnant. And of course, the word fat is practically spit out.

In other news, I went to that guy guide out of curiosity. Holy shit! Are flower arrangements really that expensive? I now feel terribly guilty for telling my boyfriend that I wanted flowers, and will be retracting my request tomorrow.
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BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit)
02/03/09

@R-Star: The other major group offended - romance writers. Fuck you Teleflora. I'm proud of my writing and don't need to apologize to you for it.
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vulcanized
02/03/09

@R-Star: It all depends on the type of flower and whether or not they're in season. You can get a lovely mixed bouquet from a local florist for a decent price. Summer flowers at my local farmers market are always super cheap and gorgeous.
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clevernamehere
02/03/09

@R-Star: The prices are always jacked up for V-Day but Teleflora seems pretty expensive. Pro Flowers is a better deal for online buying but they come via UPS and you have to put them in a vase yourself. I got some good deals at FTD at Christmas.
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