Budweiser, "Body Bridge"

by Winnie Wong



The Budweiser delivery truck is stuck on the other side of the bridge. Without thinking twice, everyone available in town rushes to the bridge and works together to form a “human body bridge” for the truck to cross. The image was amazing with everyone working together regardless of gender, sex, ethnicity and even species. You may think that there can’t possibly be any sexism and stereotype here but it is time to think twice. With such an ideal commercial, having everyone work together, there is still the stereotypical gender roles used.

The only people who have the opportunity to talk are white men. Again, the one who has leadership and is in charge is a man. The rest of the people just happily take his orders and work as he directs. The women here are used as the “background setting”. It would be strange without them but since they are there, they do no more than take orders. She is displayed as submissive as traditional women were expected to be years ago.

Taking a closer look at the smaller details of stereotypical gender roles, there was one frame in which a woman drops her groceries and runs to help build the bridge. Society accepts that women are the ones who buy groceries and men do not cook. This is why it was so “normal” for us to see the man in the beginning of the commercial order food in the diner. Even at the end, there was one woman drinking with the guys who delivered the beer but she still never had the chance to speak.

Although there was still stereotypical gender roles used in this commercial, I was still shocked when I watched it. Beer commercials are largely aimed at men since they have beer for almost any occasion. This is also a stereotypical gender role because there are women who love beer as much as men do and I have also come across some men who hate the way beer tastes. Budweiser could have made this commercial more sexist with half dressed women loving the man with the beer but it would also be very cliché. Perhaps Budweiser was trying to aim for something more significant. Budweiser seems to be trying to not be racist or sexist but it seems that they have more to change before they achieve that idea.