A sidewalk advertisement for the South Australian government is getting roasted on Twitter for its decidedly unfeminist visual.
The billboard shows a man appearing to explain something (ahem, mansplaining) to a group of five women, something anyone who has ever been to any meeting can relate to. The women, for their part, look utterly bored with the presentation.
Former model Melissa Stetten shared the ad with Twitter, titling it “The University of Well Actually.”
The University of Well Actually. pic.twitter.com/nZ5NuXiVRn
— Melissa Stetten (@MelissaStetten) July 1, 2018
https://twitter.com/jentastic15/status/1013432362204647424
https://twitter.com/danarchy_a/status/1013472042128011264
People on Twitter mocked the ad, guessing at the probable thoughts going through each woman’s head as they sit through the mansplanation.
Each woman’s face in this pic is a different level of “nope”
— November Wayne 🇵🇸 (@cousinwayne) July 1, 2018
All the women like “oh well, there Jimmy goes again”.
— min | is a book blog account actually 🇧🇷 (@minandherbooks) July 1, 2018
The one immediately to the right of center thinking “If I’m careful, nobody will ever find the body…”
— JORDAN ⚧(She/Her) – The huggiest kaiju!🦆🐴🎈 (@ParchmentScroll) July 2, 2018
They also gave the man in the advertisement some dialogue.
When Chad wants a meeting to talk about something that could have been an email
— ItsSteph (@ItsMeStephGal) July 1, 2018
“Just playing devil’s advocate here.”
— So Sayeth Black Lord: (@jmood88) July 1, 2018
“Ladies, ladies, it’s actually quite simple…”
— Alvy “Fuk the Nazis” Singer 🦆 (@alvysingertwitt) July 1, 2018
A rare self-aware dude even offered to explain the advertisement.
Allow me to explain what this ad is trying to convey… (1/152)
— Dylan McLemore (@voiceofD) July 1, 2018
An astute observer noticed the ad isn’t actually for the University of Adelaide, like many thought based on the angle of the photo, but for a South Australian government campaign. The government’s insignia can be seen in the bottom right corner of the billboard.
It’s real, but it’s not part of the University of Adelaide advert (which is the sign to the left off screen). This advert is from a South Australia government campaign (see bottom right), which is probably actually worse.
— J Mac (@says_science) July 2, 2018
As for how the advertisement got approved in the first place, well, it’s anyone guess.
https://twitter.com/jolakotturinn_/status/1013501707844759552