Skip to main content
This was in the mail:

Life’s Too Short To Clean Your Own House.

A lovely brochure, featuring a lovely couple, with two lovely blond children, sitting in a lovely family room. The dad is reading a book with one of the daughters. The mom is laughing over a laptop with the other daughter. A pretty picture.

Short answer portion of the quiz:
1. Why did the advertising folks choose to put two girls in the picture instead of a girl and a boy?
2. Why did they choose to have the mom pose with the laptop?
3. Who cleans the housecleaners’ houses?

Bonus question: are the perky college students pictured on the inside of the brochure real housecleaners or just models?

Comments

John said…
Sorry, too easy.

1. Because 'girls at leisure on account of not having to clean house' send a more powerful message than 'boys at leisure.' Boys are always at leisure.

1a. Maybe they don't clean houses with boys in them. That would make sense.

2. Come on. It's clip art.

2a. Okay. Because Mom is still responsible for the housecleaning, and she is using the internet to requisition the cleaning service.

2b (for real). Because Mom works professionally outside the home. We can assume Dad does. But we need evidence that this Mom's life in particular is too short.

3. Who cuts the barber's hair?

Bonus: They're in a brochure. Ergo, they're models. However, this is a misstep. You want for housecleaners a dour frumpy couple of middle-age, who despise you only slightly less than they despise filth. Have you seen a college student's room lately?

I recommend you do not hire this company, and put the brochure in a time capsule for the day women are liberated. Oh, wait....
John said…
Follow up (I know, I'm a nerd):

(a) A better way of expressing number 2 is: If the roles were reversed, and the mom were reading to the child, one would be compelled to ask, "Hey! If she has time to sit and read, why ain't she cleaning?"

(b) Thanks for the quiz. I enjoyed it. I'll expect my grades in the mail. Along with a gross of Mr. Clean.
listeme said…
You get an A, John.
Anonymous said…
Now, John - think hard: how could you have got that elusive A+? (you're tough, Marsh, tough!)
John said…
I suppose my answer to #3 was too smart-alecky.

Although, to be honest, until you mentioned it, I wouldn't have looked for anything higher than an A. But I'm an underachiever.
listeme said…
Smart alec remarks earn bonus points with me!

(Although I should be careful saying that where my children can hear me...)
Anonymous said…
By bonus points do you mean a solid whuppin'?

I couldn't resist. ;)

- Dan
Anonymous said…
Smart alec!

Popular posts from this blog

This has been a very long week -- perhaps 16 or 17 days, at least. I have been offered -- and accepted -- my younger sister’s finished basement for the next year and a half. This will be a major cost-saver for me and a big help for her (she has two toddlers and is expecting a baby in August.) So that was a humongous start to the week. My other sister and her teenaged son have had to make some really hard decisions. She gave me permission to quote her: “spent yesterday at the hospital with my son. about eleven hours. sitting here writing and rewriting this entry trying to find just the right words. how to explain-- he is not healthy. he is mentally ill. he is not safe at home. none of this really covers it. so here's one image from the day. we walk into the east wing at maine med escorted by security. the very nice guard LOOKS like a skinhead but actually has incredible kindness and compassion for my snarly boy. he tells us gently that he has to check ian for weapons and sharp o...

Foggy morning

Next to my bed , I keep a pad of paper and pen (and flash cards and water and ear plugs and an alarm clock…). All the writer’s guides suggest this for writing down middle of the night inspirations. This is a fine plan. I’ve had great results. I’ve come up with solutions to difficult plot situations. Names of evil villainesses. Entire worlds. I’ve remembered doctor’s appointments. Occasionally the light of day reveals something less like a solution and more like the mystery of all mankind: “the plumber trumps! Seventeen children, be aware.” But usually the pad of paper holds something… useful. This morning’s result: One word. Mist. Is it a metaphor for my future? A laundry detergent? A new name for Sprite? A weather report? I don’t remember waking. My dreams remain stubbornly opaque. My subconscious mind obviously felt “Mist” to be of enough import to rouse me to reach for the pen. I even capitalized the word. Hmm. I wonder how many seeds of “great Ame...
Eighth grade mall dilemma . Say Ashley and Nicole have been best friends since kindergarten, but now, because of a suspicious incident at last week’s dance, Ashley has decided that Nicole is out to Steal Her Boyfriend. So she doesn’t want to hang out with Nicole, of course. Nicole is furious that Ashley has accused her of such a thing. Ashley’s boyfriend isn’t even that cute! So, Nicole doesn’t want to hang out anywhere – I mean ANYWHERE – that Ashley might be. Unfortunately, the mall is still the best place to hang out, and she is not going to stop hanging out there, for god’s sake, not because of that horrible Ashley certainly. But clearly it wouldn’t hurt to try to show up there when she knows Ashley won’t be there, like during Ashley’s bassoon lesson on Thursday night or Sunday morning when Ashley’s family is at church. But there is a problem. If she only goes to the mall at those times, then Ashley will hear about it and know that Nicole is only going during times whe...