Godaddy.com and superbowl ad

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Choice Kinchen on February 8, 2010 at 8:37pm

Gloria, c'mon. You been in the biz for 25 years and you're not aware of the innuendos men therapists have had to deal with too? Maybe not as often as women, but it happens. I've also had to deal with chiros and other "professionals" incl. medical that said they would not hire me cause I'm male and not female. Can we say discrimination?

So did anyone send petitions to the "Friends" people or the "Seinfeld" people for their seemingly lack of respect towards their portrayals of massage therapists? Just askin'.

By the way, I'm not a newbie. I've been in the biz for 10 years.

Permalink Reply by Ivy Hultquist on February 8, 2010 at 8:43pm

I figured someone would bring this up. Seinfeld and Friends did portray massage therapists poorly, but not as dancing strippers.

Ivy Hultquist
Advanced Massage Techniques

Choice Kinchen said:

Gloria, c'mon. You been in the biz for 25 years and you're not aware of the innuendos men therapists have had to deal with too? Maybe not as often as women, but it happens. I've also had to deal with chiros and other "professionals" incl. medical that said they would not hire me cause I'm male and not female. Can we say discrimination?

So did anyone send petitions to the "Friends" people or the "Seinfeld" people for their seemingly lack of respect towards their portrayals of massage therapists? Just askin'.

By the way, I'm not a newbie. I've been in the biz for 10 years.

Permalink Reply by Lisa on February 8, 2010 at 8:48pm

we see stereotypes all the time in marketing. i don't see why everyone is so up in arms over one about massage. but that's just me and this subject has gotten me tired. sure i've dealt with a handful of those clients that i'm certain were lookin for something extra. but it's dealt with by upholding my professional ethics. and those that were disappointed won't be coming back and i still made my session fee.

the fact IS that sexuality is and has always been a huge part of marketing. and if you don't think it affects massage you're fooling yourself. i'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that i would suspect that many times when a person is looking for a therapist, they are gonna call the person they find appealing and not necessarily to our credentials. most new clients to massage have no clue the difference between swedish or deep tissue. I intentionally made sure I used an image of myself that is attractive without being sexual because there IS going to be that element. i even know for myself that many times when I am looking for a therapist for myself, i "browse" the photos and tend to view the profiles that are appealing to me. it's all around us.

if i were gonna be up in arms i'd be more irritated with the places like Knockouts that require their MTs to dress in short shorts, tight Ts and require them to be socially attractive. to me that is far worse than a silly superbowl commercial intended to capture your attention. however, would i go as far as to try to dismantle them? no. there is always going to be the client that DOES want something more or wants a massage done by an attractive person. and i would much rather there be people THEY can go to so that they don't come to me. but i'm just a "noob" what do i know. ;)

Permalink Reply by Robin Byler Thomas on February 8, 2010 at 8:56pm

Thanks Ivy, signed and commented.

I noticed they used a woman (Danica Patrick) as the massage recipient; possibly shows their awareness we'd be offended and so they tried to tread lightly??

Not good enough; you train people how to treat you and we want respect.

Permalink Reply by Choice Kinchen on February 8, 2010 at 9:05pm

Thanks Ivy....I also knew, that, after sharing my opinion about Friends and Seinfeld, that someone would bring me up on it. Once again, while,I'm amazed at the outrage on this subject, I understand the concerns. If it concerned me and my clients, then maybe I would be too. But what I don't understand is why someone can't give a differing opinion without being taken to task over it.

Permalink Reply by Bridget Turnbach on February 8, 2010 at 9:15pm

I was massaging a weekly male client when this aired. I was offended! My client looked up at me after the commercial was over and I said, "I didn't like that one bit" He knew why. He said it was a DUM commercial and that the general public would not make the stripping/massage connection that I did. I said, it didn't help the general public's perception either. I was annoyed, it was distasteful and how many children saw this?

Permalink Reply by Lisa on February 8, 2010 at 9:19pm

Ivy, I don't see how she was portrayed as a dancing stripper either. I saw her as trying to audition to be a GoDaddy girl. I also hear the actual GoDaddy girl client making comments that indicated that she wasn't pleased with the interruption to her massage.

and quite frankly...as an MT, i thought it was kinda smart to use massage to advertise their product. let's face it, MTs aren't known for having great web sites, let alone any at all. So it makes sense to target us. as a matter of fact, if i didn't already have a web site host, that commercial would have definitely made me think about using them.

Permalink Reply by Lisa on February 8, 2010 at 9:33pm

and we'll break those stereotypes by upholding our individual professional ethics. not by leading a witch hunt. but that's my opinion.

massage will ALWAYS have some sort of sensual affiliation to it. we massage nude bodies with our hands in very private settings using creams/oils, with candles and music. that's how most people will see what we do because they don't go through the schooling we do. and most of my clients could care less about the education behind it. they just want to be pain free, stress free, etc. massage has come a LONG way in social acceptance as a needed health benefit. and that will only continue to organically grow. i just don't see why everyone's so bent out of shape over this. it wasn't even one of the better superbowl commercials and will be forgotten about in a month from now.

personally i would have been more offended if it was a commerical for an actual massage/spa business.

Rick Britton said:

its about maintaining perceived stereotypes, which may be ok depending on the category.
think about typical stereotypes that we see all the time such as: (note UK sterotype)
tabloid journalist (dirty old man, alcoholic, creep)
police officer ( dumb, racist)
university professor (dusty, forgetful, bachelor, mad/crazy)

unfortunately the stereotypes for MTs are: sex worker, bimbo OR hippy, freak, way out there weirdo

and we dont want to be stereotyped do we

Permalink Reply by Ivy Hultquist on February 8, 2010 at 9:42pm

I honestly was not trying to take anyone to task. I was just thinking the same thing earlier in the day about Friends and Seinfeld and trying to compare this to those situations.

As far as the dancing stripper... she ripped off her shirt, then her shorts, and then danced around. I just chose to call her a dancing stripper.

I do not want you to think I am losing any sleep over this commercial. I just noticed a large number of colleagues were upset, deserve better, and thought I could do something to help them voice their frustrations. I set up the petition in a very short amount of time and I will take it in next week when I go grocery shopping : )


Ivy Hultquist
Advanced Massage Techniques

Permalink Reply by Vlad on February 8, 2010 at 10:17pm

Wow - this is one helluvathread!

Good idea, Ivy, on getting the petition going.

I wasn't impressed by the ad at all, but it didn't make my blood totally boil the way I've had it with other things on T.V.
Anyone watch HBO? Ever seen an episode or two of Curb Your Enthusiasm or Entourage that would make you want to take a sledgehammer to the T.V.?

I like this thread because it shows a bit of "we-ain't-gonna-sit-back-and-let-this-happen" attitude.

Yep, I like it.

Permalink Reply by Marilyn St.John on February 8, 2010 at 10:58pm

Wow, this turned into quite a lively discussion! After posting here earlier today, I stumbled onto the Fox entertainment site somehow and was able to see all the commercials. Included in that bunch was just the trailer for the one we're discussing...and while the full-length version didn't particularly upset me, that trailer sure did, because they stopped it just as the MT was ripping her shirt off and saying "I have something else to show ya!" (or something similar.) At that point I decided to email the GoDaddy people as a couple other people did. If it serves no other purpose than planting a seed in some ad exec's brain about being more thoughtful next time they're putting an ad campaign together, I'll be satisfied. Will sign that petition, too ~ good idea, thanks Ivy!

Permalink Reply by Gloria Coppola on February 8, 2010 at 11:13pm

I did not say I wasn't aware of it ,Choice, I meant, I don't know really know how much you get the same innuendos as females? I have only heard of very few incidences of males reporting to me that they have had suggestions or comments made to them. That's all I know.

As for all the comments on here,I am also not boiling over about this ad. It did not provoke me in the way it may have for some. I am just saying it is about time we speak up.

Some people seem to take it lightly, Some may be more upset and some in the middle of the road. Like we said, everyone has their own opinion.

I did bring up the TV shows and Yes many years ago I did write in about the Seinfeld episode along with other colleagues. Unfortunately, no one responded and there wasn't social networking to organize everyone.

Let's face it! There is a stereotype. Maybe our clients don't accuse us because we are professional but it doesn't mean we don't encounter problems.
So I will tell you a story.

20 years ago a woman gave her husband a gift certificate. He waited until the last minute to use it.
We had a discussion and he admitted he didn't know what to do if he got an erection?
Months later the wife wanted to get him another gift certificate, he came in again just before it expired.
He said to me he had been seeing another massage therapist and he wanted to know if I did those other things, y'know, moves? When I told him absolutely not, he begged me to not tell his wife and he apologized to me.

So you see they will assume and ask even if we are presenting professionally. I was working in a chiropractors office at the time too. And another older gentleman in his 70's did not hesitate to play head trips and then exposed himself. In a medical professional atmosphere can you imagine?

I had another gentleman come in one day and he was dressed in a suit, a school teacher by the way. He was dressed very professional.
He read the disclosure at the bottom of the intake form and hesitated to sign. He said I never had to fill out one of these forms. I said you obviously are in the wrong place. I politely dismissed him and he said thank you.

So for those of us commenting if we represent ourselves professionally and take responsibility, this won't happen. Wrong! It may not happen as often, but it happens occasionally.

Fortunately ,it has not presented it self to me in over 15 years. I do hear from other LMT's that encounter this occasionally.

So, if we don't start speaking up, we can expect that some of us may be put in this uncomfortable position and why???

I don't think any one should have to feel compromised or threatened.

I have been teaching for years and many new students are concerned about this being a possibility because of what is "out there" and comments family and friends make. It is an awful feeling.

And Like Terry said, she was only asking Did it bother anyone or was it just advertising?

By the way if you are on FaceBook Bodhi Haraldsoon has started a page:
Massage Therapist offended by the Go Daddy ad

Someone posted a comment from the owner of Go Daddy:
Dear Deborah,
The commercial was not damaging to massage therapists in any way. Lighten up. You'll live longer.
Bob

By the way , do any of you massage in 3 inch heels?






Choice Kinchen said:

Gloria, c'mon. You been in the biz for 25 years and you're not aware of the innuendos men therapists have had to deal with too? Maybe not as often as women, but it happens. I've also had to deal with chiros and other "professionals" incl. medical that said they would not hire me cause I'm male and not female. Can we say discrimination?
So did anyone send petitions to the "Friends" people or the "Seinfeld" people for their seemingly lack of respect towards their portrayals of massage therapists? Just askin'.
By the way, I'm not a newbie. I've been in the biz for 10 years.

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