That, in a nutshell, is the creative direction of a lot of current advertising. Make a conscious effort over the next few weeks to watch the TV, listen to the radio or review online or print ads through this analytical lens and see how often marketers have used base stereotypes of gender differences in their advertising.  As household and discretionary expenditure has become increasingly controlled by women, marketers have pandered to this primary source of purchasing power. Men are being presented on the one hand as lovable and cuddly, but also prone to acting like a cute dog that doesn’t know better. On the other hand, men are being presented as misogynists. (more…)

People lie. It is a sad fact. I don’t. But then maybe I am lying. What gets really interesting, though, are those circumstances when people do lie. Take this recent study that suggests that email is the most deceitful form of communications in the workplace. Not only that, but people actually felt more justified when lying by email, as opposed to lying using a pen and paper. (more…)