RCL3: Bad Ad

Cheat on your girlfriend

“Cheat on your girlfriend, not on your workout”

This ad is insinuating that your personal relationship is not as important as getting gains at the gym. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s not how the majority of people prioritize, Reebok.

Not only are the the appeals in the ad are very inappropriate, but also the argument is unethical!  Also, there is a clear target at men, making this a clearly disrespectful and sexist ad.

First, it is inappropriate to suggest that a company would condone cheating in any way. A person’s personal relationship is their business and their business alone, and the fact that reebok would insert itself into your personal decisions seems to me like the company lacks the common sense when seeing where their opinions are appropriate.

As most would agree, implying that cheating on anyone in any sense is not okay. Cheating on a workout, while you could argue that it’s still a form of “cheating,” it isn’t nearly as dishonest and harmful to personal relations as cheating on someone you’re in a relationship with. The argument itself suggests that cheating on your girlfriend is more acceptable than cheating on your workout schedule, which is completely unethical. On one hand, cheating on your workout schedule would mean you are cheating yourself, only hurting yourself in the long run. On the other hand, cheating on your girlfriend ends up hurting both people almost immediately, and could have very serious repercussions. In my opinion, relationship > your workout.

Lastly, there’s the issue of how the ad makes it seem as though your “girlfriend” doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, at least not when compared to your abs. The use of the world “girlfriend” is clearly disrespectful towards women. It suggests that a man’s manliness is first comes from his physical appearance and strength, and then, maybe, from his woman. This is not an okay message to be spreading, Reebok.

Thankfully, the ad was taken down within a month.

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