Falk's car dealership to end pseudo-military TV ads that angered female veterans

60%? That's a big number and I'm willing to bet some of your poor undermanned MALE crew participated in that 60% pregnancy rate. But that is beside the point. The point is that PROFESSIONAL Navy women like those in this article probably hate that number more than you do. Images like those in that stupid commercial only contribute to the poor perception of women in the military. The comments here are proof positive that that is true. It is an insult to all of the many, many women who weren't/aren't a part of the problem. And try "manning" a ship (or anything else) without them!

Good point, Rob Maz. I experienced the same thing on the Ashcan in '94-'95. I think it was only 8 of our 40 who decided they didn't want to deploy, but it left me 6 and 6 for an entire cruise.

Still, you're not supposed to bring up issues like that. You can only talk about the "positive contributions." :)

Has nothing to do with the FACT that on 5 different ships whenever we were getting ready for a cruise up to 60% of the women onboard (such as on the USS Tortuga LSD 46 in 92 for the 60% example) turned up pregnant and did not make the cruise therefore making the rest of the MALE crew suck it up and get underway undermanned. Oh but that's chauvinistic...

I haven't heard anyone say anything about the male enhancement drug commercial that shows a bunch of office women lining up to sit on the gentleman's lap, but are we to believe that's how all women who work in an office act? Come on now, there are better things to speak up about than a sales pitch.

The commercial is reverent to women, not demeaning. The women depicted are youthful, attractive and appear as military professionals. The ad implies that they are hard working and responsible enough to make car payments. I suspect anyone who claims to be offended by that is either being less than honest or, in the case of the female veterans, harboring some resentment.

It seems to me that if you are a man, particularly a poor excuse for a man, your opinion on whether these commercials are demeaning to women is somewhat irrelevant.

Demeaning to women (or women in uniform)??? I can't see it. It was a TV commercial girls! Do you really have nothing better to do? If they were acting as if servicewomen were loose, trashy, or sexually promiscuous, then maybe, but they were not. They were spoofing/acting/creating a parody - it's make-believe, AND it's still a TV commercial...

If I'd been Charlie (and I don't really care too much for him or his companies), I'd have told "give me something to do" Webb to kiss off.

Can't they just wear bikini's like all the other models? Bikini's sell everything! Car wash, beer, cars, motorcycles, boats, Sports Illustrated, diet pills, excercise equipment, perfume, mens clothes, womens clothes, watches, . . . you've seen the ads.

Rob - Fortunately, (slightly less than) 98% of the men I knew in the Navy were not REALLY sexist jerks. But the other 2% sure were a pain in the neck -- I can guess which group you were in. I am quite certain that these retired women did more for their country than any of you making your smart aleck remarks about them here. And they probably continue to do many other meaningful works today -- they earned their right to complain about this cheesy garbage. And their determination to "get it done" tells me they are not the kind to sit at home letting others do the work. They are not "thin-skinned," they are proud. It is SOOOOO frustrating to see how little really has changed when you get right down to it. A woman in the military complains and...well you know. sigh...

how this commercial was disrespectful??? I've seen it many times and found nothing wrong with it. Seriously though who ever complained needs to get a life. Seriously!!

Webb contacted the Navy's legal department, which warned the company that federal laws forbid the use of an officer's uniform in commercials that may discredit the Navy.

What about that little law called the First Amendment? I don't remember anything in it concerning bad taste.

I guess Mr. Webb and the Navy's legal department haven't watched much television or the myriad of bad movies out there.

Remember Super carrier or Navy Seals?

Then again, what do you expect from Mr. Webb? At best he can be described as irrelevant and unproductive.

You can get with the rest of DACOWITS and give yourselves BRAVO ZULUS..

98% of the Navy women I ever knew never looked anything like that... They were rounder.

Well at least they got Sen. Webb to do something. Maybe that is why he is so busy he can't get the off shore oil drilling ban lifted to help ease future gas prices.

Hay Mr Falk use real women from the services with real uniforms

If this had been a group of retired MALE sailors protesting that Charlie Falk had portrayed them inappropriately, I have a feeling that most people in Hampton Roads would have backed them all the way..."Support the Troops" and all that. But because it's WOMEN protesting, the commenters here are waving their concerns aside, calling them "bored housewives", dismissing them as "insignificant", and telling them to "volunteer...at an animal shelter or something". Nice to know that sexism is still alive and kicking in Hampton Roads.

Of all the things that need fixing in this world, these women focused on a used car lot commercial? I hope they exercised better judgment than that while they were in uniform. What a waste of time....

I am a proud female Navy veteran and I hate it when I see veterans who are thin-skinned and get upset about things like this. I see advertisement all the time that I don't like. You don't like what a company does. JUST DON'T BUY FROM THEM!!!

What veterans should be upset about is how disabled veterans are not able to get the proper care that they deserve or how the MGIB needs to be updated. You know, things that ACTUALLY affect your LIFE!

Jim Webb wins again, defeating insignificant car infomercials for feminist.

I don't see what the problem was. The women displayed wore more and looked more conservative than what the vast majority of military women wear when off duty. Sounds like some seriously jealous women who wish they looked so good and hid behind their own alleged military uniforms.

yeah...that's the ticket!

Concur. They are far more attractive than a goat. I have to wonder if those retired military women hated all 30 minutes of that infomercial.

I thought the ad was meant in good fun. The only reason I paid attention to it was because the women are attractive. I suspect the women who objected would never be considered attractive.

Good for Charlie Falk for being a free wheeling American capitalist. To those whining, over the hill female veterans, isn't Charlie Falk simply enjoying the freedom you helped preserve?

Personally I'm glad to see these commercials go. Maybe they seemed like no big deal to most people, but they definitely pandered to the lowest common denominator. Women who served in the military and lived through the "good ol' boys" eras of the 70's and 80's know exactly why these images were so insulting. Those of you with nasty things to say to these two ladies who served honorably and proudly need to adjust your viewpoints. It's called pride...

When I was in the Navy that's what they really looked like????

You've won the insignificant battle against used car ads. Will you now put your energies toward solving real problems, or was this all the steam you could build up?

As a retired military nurse, I too was SO irked with that commercial. I called the dealership several times to complain and just got the run around. As far as I am concerned, no one should ever deal with that company. Their business may be selling cars. but yanking them back from poor customers who are delinquent is their speciality. To see that...just look at their montly 'auction lot' in Portsmouth.

Are they still blacklisted for the military?

Thanks to all those who worked to get this ad pulled. Stand by though...they will probably put out another one just as obnoxious.

I personally would like to thank these ladies for their effort. I feel like that at a time such as this, we need people to stand up for what we believe in. I support these veterans 100%. It saddens me to find that people have no more respect for our veterans, and in lots of cases,our troops. They wear these uniforms with pride, and we should respect the uniforms as well. Thank you ladies for caring enough to stand up. And most of all, thank you for your service to our country. I appreciate the sacrifices you may have made. As for being bored housewives, I hardly doubt that. I wonder if the comments such as that one are made out of lack of knowledge of the situation, be it a housewife or a U.S.Military Veteran? Obviously, they have no idea of either situation. Thanks again for standing up.

AJ, I believe the article stated that they were retired sailors, not bored housewives. I don't know about you, but I think there is a huge difference there. I personally have not seen the "infomercial" but given Falks reputation around here I don't think anything representing the military should be used in his advertisments!

Submitted by AJG8ter on Tue, 05/13/2008 at 5:44 pm. "Why don't they spend their time volunteering at an animal shelter or something."

Thanks for that kind offer AJG8ter, but this is the kind of help we could do without......

Gee whiz, and here I thought we were fighting a war.........