Assvertising, Part 132 in an Ongoing Series

[Trigger warning for stalking, rape culture, ableism.]

I saw this advert a few weeks ago and meant to write about it, but I couldn't remember what company it was (so much for their advert being effective, lulz). Coincidentally, however, after seeing my post about Dove, Mama Shakes emailed to ask if I'd seen this one, and she fortunately remembered it was a (previous offender) Virgin Mobile commercial.

[Creepy, ominous music. Nighttime. A young, blond white woman sits in a tree outside the window of a house, in which sits a young white man. She is clutching a mobile phone.]

Woman, getting increasingly manic throughout: Brad and I just had the best first date. I think he's the one! And now, with my Android-powered phone from Virgin Mobile, I can email the pics I took to my mom, and, with unlimited data and web, I can go through his Flickr stream to make sure I'm hotter than his exes, follow his Twitter feed to see if he's mentioned me yet—I can even watch his Foursquare check-ins for patterns! It's only $25 a month. That's CRAZY, right?!

[She makes "crazy" face; lightning strikes. Text onscreen in b-movie horror font: "Go CRAZY on Android." She grins "crazily" and pants; lightning flashes and the music mimics the theme from Psycho.]

Okay, there's so much wrong with this piece of shit, I don't even know where to begin, so let's just start with the obvious: "Our product makes stalking SO EASY!" is a loathsome campaign.

Stalking is not funny. Making the stalker a woman and her victim a man does not make stalking funny. Suggesting that female stalkers are harmless and men can't be hurt by them does not make stalking funny. It does, however, stand to tacitly discourage men from reporting being stalked, because it's somehow "unmanly" to think a woman is capable of hurting them.

Mental illness is not funny. Stalking, of which most violent perpetrators are men targeting women, is also not generally associated with mental illness, but entitlement and patriarchal narratives of ownership, foundational to the rape culture of which stalking is an inextricable part. In cases where stalking is associated with mental illness: Still not funny.

Virgin Mobile USA is a property of Sprint Nextel, who assert to be "committed to the belief that we all share in the responsibility to conduct our businesses in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. We base this on the premise that a company is much more than the products and services it sells; the effect a company has on the environment, the people and the communities it serves reflects the company's dedication to being not only a good business, but to being a good corporate citizen."

They also have a Human Rights Policy in which they claim to be "committed to improving the lives of customers. ... Through technology, Sprint can provide customers with advanced tools to enhance their lifestyles, improve work/life balance and protect their loved ones."

LOL FOREVER.

You know, Sprint is a widely-held stock and I'll bet lots of Shakers have Sprint shares in their retirement accounts. If you're a Sprint shareholder, maybe you'd like to contact them and let them know that you'll be divesting yourself of shares in companies that promote stalking via their advertising.