“When we were watching theSuper Bowl in a room of about 20 people and it came on, I actually didn’t know where to look,” Beckham told Ryan Seacrest of his David Beckham Bodywear spot.
“I’m very shy.”
The ad showed the soccerstar in his underwear, the camera lingering over his many tattoos as well as his posterior.
“It was kind of embarrassing,” Beckham said.
The England star, who has four children with wife Victoria Beckham, said his kids didn’t exactly know what to make of the racy ad either.
“The kids loved it,” he said.
“But they were also embarrassed as well because there was other people in the room.”
Beckham concluded that the commercial was easier to shoot than to watch in public.
“Shooting it, there wasn’t too many people in the room so it was pretty easy,” he said.
I watched the commercial because I had heard the huge sum that Beckham had made for bearing all (a nice switch if you ask me). I was really impressed with the ink. Very cool stuff. I am jealous mostly of that. I always wanted to get some wicked neck ink but just don’t have the courage to pull it off.
Anyhow we recently published an awesome piece called “The Success Myth” in which Noah Brand tells of his greatest professional failure, explaining his theory of The Success Myth, and introducing the idea of the female gaze. Well, in a very interesting discussion on the comments guess what? It all came down to our boy Beckham.
Just take the Super Bowl commercials, for example. Women don’t love to see David Beckam in his underwear because they are aroused by suggestions of soccer. (Okay, maybe for some, but those women generally call it “football.”) It ain’t primarily because they think tidy-whitey underwear is sexy. It’s the body. I have stubble and it’s time to shave. He has stubble and it’s gorgeous. (Unfortunately, that’s about the only way I can realistically put him and me in the same paragraph.)
Now, does the fact that he’s rich make any difference? I’m guessing yeah, it totally does.
What do you make of this commercial and what is says about gender, men, and women?
I think David Beckham looks ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! It’s a wonderful ad that shows that men’s bodies are sexy, too! I honestly believe in the female gaze and that social construct has inhibited us from acknowledging it and publicly exercising it. Women have been shamed into being asexual for much of history – it’s time for that to change. I welcome the female gaze in the media and advertising – it’s time for men to be appreciated for their bodies (and they will have to deal with the highs and lows of that, just as women have for so long).
I remember recently he was scheduled to be on the Ellen Degeneres show. I didn’t see it, but I remember the commercial blurb she did to announce it. She said that he would be one of her guests that week, which made the women in the audience go crazy. Then, deadpan, she said, “You know what I just found out recently? Did you know that he plays soccer?” I don’t follow soccer/futbol. Is he a really good player worthy of all this attention because of his skills, or is he just famous for his modeling and his marriage? Or is… Read more »
hell, yeah. he’s not my first type either (slight, boyish, glasses, a flop of dark hair – more johnny depp than harry potter), but he’s the archetype. in this commercial, anyway. he represents the masculinity craved by the feminine. the guy who is focused, individual, unashamed. there is something about the controlled strength and the softness in his gaze that says, “my balls are right where they’re suppose to be.” sure we live in a culture of warped media-driven ideals that can wreak havoc on our sense of self and what matters. but if we bother to search for our… Read more »
Eh, I get that he’s conventionally attractive but he does not appeal to me in any way. I have no idea what kind of conversationalist he is etc, but he looks like he’d be quite dull. I’d much rather see Edward Norton or Ewan McGregor acting, than Beckham standing. But to each their own fantasy I suppose.
Sports Star/Rock Star Cool: tattoos on anybody else brands them white trash….! Edgy stuff…but his Romeo tattoo and wedding ring are endearing! I love the intensity of his gaze…you can almost hear the gears turning in his head…he carefully weighs what he says ( if he says anything at all)…
I think it is great. Why not? When we have to watch Victoria’s Secret commercials etc etc etc. I thought it was very tastefully and artistically done. David is not really my type looks wise but he is attractive. So I would not be using my female gaze on him lol.