And regarding #5, “The Sun” check their editorial line: you might understand that it is far more literal then that.
[The Sun is a working class daily in the UK who has been showing naked pin-ups on page 3 (the one you see when you open the paper, page 1 was never possible) for a decade now. Thank you Rupert Murdoch: nothing like cheap porn to empower the masses! Whether that is woman-bashing, you bet; the advertising is just adapted.]

Why do we hear so much about “misogyny” (hatred/contempt for women) but never “misandry” (the hatred of men) which is at least as common in the general population. Has anyone seen “Sex in the City”?

When will we put stereotypes behind us and recognize most advertisements for what they are… poor attempts at humor.

I concur that there are some sexist ads being made today but really none of these ring terribly true. Sure, they harp on stereotypes, such as nagging, but is that sexist? My boss is a nag, but my boss is also a man, and is wealthier, more powerful, and more intelligent than me.

I would argue that there are far more pro-woman (women shown in powerful, non-”traditional” roles) adverts than sexist ones.

To the extent that women are seen as sex symbols, I don’t see that as sexist per se. To portray them as nothing but an object of sex is wrong, but then again, what advert is designed to accurately sum the entirety of humanity? Must a 30-second spot give a backstory, that the beautiful girl in the bar is a successful patent attorney?

Companies are now far more likely to show men as sex symbols when selling products to women (a recent Bud commercial comes to mind, where a woman can see through the clothes of a male construction worker outside). This perhaps isn’t a positive trend but illustrates a growing equality between the sexes nonetheless, and shows that selling sex is not necessarily a bias against women, but an appeal to the most primal of urges in both men and women.

My mother is someone who is extremely intelligent but got shoved into a subservient role by my father. After they divorced, she went to law school and became extremely successful. I got to see that as a boy and, frankly, always saw my mom as the rock, anyway. I’m a man with great sympathies for the rights of women and am not blind to the continuing inequalities they face.

However, I also think energy in combating sexism should be well focused. The above appears to be a poorly-researched report of sexism in advertising, which only lends intelligent people to conclude that the problem has been solved, and unintelligent people to reinforce their belief that sexism never existed in the first place.

Surely you could present a list of far better examples, and point to the specific negative issues reinforced by the particular ad. A man treating a woman as subservient, a scenario making light of unequal pay in the workforce, or of a woman’s inability to get promoted over a lesser qualified male counterpart, or a woman having to deal with sexual harassment . . . show how these and similar issues are reinforced in advertising and you will do a great service to the cause.