Article content

A new ad for the 2015 Calgary Stampede meant to “represent all Calgarians” is drawing criticism for using a sexist “stereotype” in its portrayal of women.

The ad, a 46-second clip called “Champions Buckle Up,” shows eight people getting ready to go to Stampede. Among the actors are two adult women, one of whom is only shown in one clip while pulling on her jeans. The other woman is wearing “Daisy Duke” shorts and a tied-up plaid shirt.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Stampede ad lacks diversity, critics say Back to video

“I think we’re trying to represent all Calgarians,” said Theresa Howland, the director of consumer sales and sponsorship for the Calgary Stampede.

“That’s why you see everything from the rodeo competitor to the older gentleman to a younger guy, to the little girl, to the two other women.”

But some critics find the ad’s representation of diversity — especially women — problematic.

“It is utterly beyond me what on earth Stampede thinks they’re selling with this ad,” said Rebecca Sullivan, a social sciences professor at the University of Calgary who specializes in cultural studies. She said the ad focuses too much on white, able-bodied men, at the expense of women, visible minorities and the disabled.

“The purpose of the ad is to reflect Stampede’s values,” she added. “The ad reflects some pretty awful values that I don’t think Stampede stands for.”

In the video, the central character is a rodeo cowboy preparing for competition, while the others — four other men, a school-aged girl and two young women — are only shown in short fragments, often with close-up shots focusing on a single action or part of their body. Their full bodies only appear in the mirror into which the rodeo competitor is looking, Sullivan said.

“They only get to exist as reflections,” she said.

Sarelle Azuelos, the co-host of “Yeah, What She Said,” a feminist radio show on CJSW, said the ad disappointed her.

“It seems to fall into a lot of the same problems or traps that you see with what people generally expect of the Stampede,” said Azuelos. “It’s kind of unfortunate that they didn’t take the opportunity to move away from that.”