I thought it was awesome!!! In this day and age, this is a bit empowering to the indivdual man on a personal level, not men as a whole.  If the subjest of the ad was reversed and the target audience was the female gender, then the response would be the opposite. You all would have no problem with the ad.   .   .   .   .That being said, as far as effective ads go... this probably isn't one of them.  There are certain things you need(and don't need) in an ad. This ad is a bit lacking in some areas, and has too much in others.-Tyler Durden

FYI--here is the response from Levi's (parent company of Dockers) upon writing to complain about the ad: The Dockers(r) "Wear The Pants" campaign is intended to give men a reason to love their khakis, the focus of this campaign.  We apologize if our efforts did not resonate with you.

While it is the case that many boys/men get lost some where between childhood and adulthood, it seems unlikely that wearing or not wearing dockers or khakis is the root of that problem. What I see and hear is a society where violence and anger are still the only sanctioned emotions for boys to feel and while we have begun to create models that challenge those rigid gender lines, they are still staunchly in place. Nostalgia - myopic nostalgia - for a time when "men were men" is lazy and tired at best and dangerous at worst. The ad is a cheap and not even very interesting comment on contemporary society. I agree with the person who said this is simply more evidence of the need for public art to fill our space rather than advertisements. Shame on Dockers for it's pandering to sexism and misogyny to sell pants - and yeah when did Khakis become the symbol of masculinity?

Just to add to this discussion-- Focus on the Family is hailing this ad as a victory for the crusade to maintain traditional gender roles. While some bloggers encourage folks to call to complain about this ad, the Focus on the Family bloggers are encouraging folks to call to thank the company for standing up for manhood.

Right on, Lane! Personally, I find the whole thing offensive--mostly this whole "decline of civilization" thing they're asserting as somehow connected to the decline of masculinity among men (and the rise of it among women) which has allegedly produced a genderless society? Just b/c some guys eat salad and some women eat steak (not metioned, but I think it's implied as being a problem) and an older woman may actually be capable of crossing the street without the patronizing assistance of a younger man does not mean our society is any less gendered. Shame on Dockers! If I owned any dockers pants, I would burn them.

Great. Somebody watched Glenn Beck and then decided to write an ad for pants that his viewers would want to buy.

The folks at Dockers are obviously ignorant of the fierce drag queens of the stonewall rebellion and high femmes like Joan Nestle.  Clearly no one told them that we never gave up our power, chivalry, and gender performances when we cast off patriarchy and misogyny.   This is yet another sign that public space should be covered with free art, not consumer advertisements.

Good thing Dockers is here to make sure we take away whatever power women have, and to hide the overwhelming domination men continue to have over women, regardless of the fact that some men eat lettuce and dressing sometimes.