One the the many iconic TV commercials ns remember seeing as a son was that one in which the blonde lady sings around how she can carry home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never, ever, ever let girlfriend forget she a man. Seriously. Those are the actual lyrics. The year was 1980. And I tho remember the commercial all these years later, not since it to be such a great ad (truthfully, I needed a rapid Google find to remind me it to be for Enjoli perfume), but since even at seven years old, i think i knew the whole thing was a total crockpot the shit.
You are watching: I can bring home the bacon fry it up in a pan
Obviously this advertisement wasn’t just selling perfume. That was marketing the You-Can-Have-It-All lifestyle to a brand-new generation of ladies who had actually previously been shut out of significant positions within corporate America and also who were mainly relegated come the domestic realm. But thanks to the Women’s Lib activity of the 1970s, now BOTH worlds were open to women. At the same time. This advertisement was much more than just a commercial; it to be a sign of the times.
The well folks in ~ the currently defunct Charles the the Ritz agency were trying to attach their product come the now defunct idea the it’s a breeze for any kind of woman to be a effective professional, a doting wife, one attentive mother, a gourmet cook, a meticulous homemaker, and also a satin gown attract sex kitten – all at the same time.
Here is what the ad was really saying:
I can carry home the bacon.
(Nice double entendre, Enjoli.) The first meaning of words bacon in this line is clear money. But perhaps, this line would have been much more accurate had it said, “I can carry home 73% of the very same bacon girlfriend can lug home – also though I worked just as hard for mine bacon together you did for yours.”
The second ‘entendre’ of the word bacon here is actual bacon. The blog post being, “Yes, dear, I’ll protect against at the industry on my method home native work and also pick girlfriend up some bacon.”
Fry it up in a Pan.
The allude here is clear: the bacon ain’t going to cook itself.
And never, ever, ever let girlfriend forget you a man.
“After I’ve operated all day, shopped, cooked, cleaned up, and read the youngsters a bedtime story, yes sir nothing I’d rather execute than spray on some atomized pheromones (aka, Enjoli), slip into that Some choose It warm white satin number I have actually lying around and also rock your world.”
Enjoli. The 8 hour perfume for the 24 hour woman.
This is the main tagline the the commercial. Probably it’s just me, but the subtext here seems to it is in something much more subversive. There appears to it is in an implied danger here: You want it all, sweetheart? Well, below it every is. Be careful what you great for.
If this commercial to be to be upgrade for today’s world, ns think it would certainly go something an ext like this.
Same jazzy woman’s voice singing:
You can carry home the bacon (but nothing forget come grab a gallon of milk and some greek yogurt on your means home).
Fry it increase in a pan (or microwave it, i don’t treatment –I’m no eating that shit. I’m ordering sushi.).
And ok never, ever, ever before let girlfriend forget the you’re a man… through a pre-disposition because that arterial sclerosis, so sluggish down on that bacon. And also for the love the pete, would you execute some crunches when in a while?
The tagline would likewise need to be changed because clearly this is currently an advertisement for bacon. Or The American heart Association. Or probably sushi. However in any type of case, the is no much longer an ad promoting the idea that women have the right to Have that All. And thank goodness for that. Us all know that if women have the right to have that all, us really don’t desire it all. We desire to split it. We’ll cook. You clean. Fine fold. You put away. Us won’t let friend forget you a man, if you gain up v the children in the morning. Our trail-blazing, bacon-frying, Enjoli-wearing mothers taught united state that while having it every is a nice idea, the truth is fraught with boobie traps. (Oh, yes. Pun intended.) and also the load is lighter once shared.
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Of course, TV ads this particular day don’t really have actually the affect they as soon as did anyway. Thanks to DVRs, most seven year old children, quite than ponder the sociological effects of a quasi-feminist-while-being-actually-misogynistic perfume ad, are an ext likely come ask the far an ext concrete question, “Mommy, what’s a commercial?”
For a much more serious evaluation of the Enjoli commercial, examine out Jennifer Ludden’s item on NPR.