This is a commercial for the Little Tikes toys, Bark Bark Vacuum (a toy vacuum machine) and Moo Moo Moower (a toy lawnmower). Narrated by a precocious young girl, the little sister helps mom around the house, while the little brother “mows” the lawn with his toy lawnmower as the dad looks on, standing next to his real lawnmower. After introducing these toys, the narrator sighs, “Ah, to be young again.”

discussion

What assumptions does this ad make about the division of labor in the contemporary American household? In other words, what do the marketers expect to be the type of household work that men and women are engaged in?

Consider the effectiveness of this ad. Do you think this ad would do a good job in selling the toy products? What about the commercial do you think would make it either successful or unsuccessful? What  aspects of American culture would make it either successful or unsuccessful?

Do toys have a gender? Should they? Why or why not?