{"id":3737,"date":"2014-06-11T21:00:25","date_gmt":"2014-06-12T02:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertfeder.com\/?p=3737"},"modified":"2014-06-11T21:09:52","modified_gmt":"2014-06-12T02:09:52","slug":"kurtis-mancation-ads-bear-scrutiny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robertfeder.dailyherald.com\/2014\/06\/11\/kurtis-mancation-ads-bear-scrutiny\/","title":{"rendered":"Kurtis \u2018mancation\u2019 ads bear scrutiny"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Bill<\/a>

<\/a> Bill Kurtis and a bear<\/p><\/div>\n

Chicago\u2019s beloved anchorman emeritus Bill Kurtis is back to doing funny commercials again. But this time not everyone is laughing.<\/p>\n

JWT Chicago<\/a> (formerly J. Walter Thompson) this week unveiled a series of seven digital videos for the Illinois Office of Tourism<\/a> featuring Kurtis waxing rhapsodic about supposedly masculine vacation pursuits across the state. All have been posted on EnjoyIllinois.com.<\/a><\/p>\n

Kurtis delivers his spiel in the mock-serious persona he perfected as narrator of Will Ferrell\u2019s two \u201cAnchorman\u201d movies and in a series of commercials he did for AT&T. In the latest campaign, he touts the virtues of vacationing \u201cwith the guys\u201d in Illinois.<\/p>\n

\u201cStart your engines. Place your bets. Double down and play ball. It\u2019s time to vacation like a man,\u201d Kurtis intones with grave sarcasm. \u201cIt\u2019s time to mancation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Early reviews have been mixed.<\/p>\n

From Steve Hall\u2019s Adrants:<\/a> \u201cThere's nothing more hilarious than dropping an elderly, statesman-like gentleman perceived to be reserved, conservative and, well, ordinary into a crazy ad campaign touting vacations for men. But that's exactly what J. Walter Thompson did. . . .\u00a0In a series of videos laced with very guy-like explosions, trumpet playing bears and stock cars, Bill encourages men to vacation like men during a mancation in Illinois. There are seven videos in all; each filled with an much testosterone as you would expect from a very manly campaign such as this.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Erik Oster of\u00a0Media Bistro\u2019s Agency Spy,<\/a>\u00a0branded the whole campaign \u201cslightly misogynist,\u201d adding:\u00a0\u201cIn the spots, such 'manly' activities as stock car racing, golf, horse racing, and casino gambling are highlighted,\u201d Oster wrote. \u201cIt\u2019s hard not to feel a little bit insulted watching the ads, which appeal to and reinforce outdated stereotypes while implying that a vacation can\u2019t be gender-neutral.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kurtis, 73, whose last anchor gig at CBS-owned WBBM-Channel 2 ended <\/a>in February 2013, has been the voice of Illinois tourism since last July when he signed on with the Illinois Office of Tourism.<\/p>\n

\u201cBill Kurtis embodies all that is great about Illinois and Chicago,\u201d Jen Hoelzle, deputy director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Tourism, said at the time. \u201cHis unmistakably recognizable voice will be an asset to our efforts to drive more people to enjoy Illinois.\u201d<\/p>\n