While skipping through channels in our Chicago hotel room last weekend, we came across a NutriSystem commercial. NutriSystem is some kind of weight-loss gimmick for people who don’t think a healthy diet and regular exercise will work for them. Anyway, the commercial ends with a success-story-testimonial of a woman who says “now my husband calls me his trophy wife.” 
I think it is time we women sit up and take notice of marketing and speak up when it is offensive. “Trophy Wife” is not a compliment…just take a look at the following definitions:
An attractive, young wife married to a usually older, affluent man.
Trophy wife is a highly pejorative term, usually applied to a physically attractive younger woman married to a man who has observed a high level of success, be it physical, financial, or otherwise. Usually, the Trophy Wife is not the first wife of the man who has a high level of success and has little to do with the achievement of that success. The term is often used to imply that the man’s intent is to exhibit his wealth and success, the social phenomenon known as conspicuous consumption. The term “gold digger” is used to describe a woman who intentionally seeks this arrangement.
The marriage of former Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith to oil magnate J. Howard Marshall is an extreme example as at the time of their marriage, he was 89 years old and she was 26.
a wife who is an attractive young woman; seldom the first wife of an affluent older man; “his trophy wife was an asset to his business”
Ugh. What a horrible way to be identified. I do not want my husband to be proud of me for how I look, I want him to be proud of me for who I am and the positive things I contribute to this world. Hello? What woman wouldn’t want that from a man?
I just did a little Google research on NutriSystem and sure enough, their marketing CEO is a man by the name Tom Connerty. Hey NutriSystem – it’s time to hire a woman to head up your marketing department! Perhaps then your marketing focus would be on the healthy benefits of losing weight and staying healthy rather than how the woman looks to the men in her life. /:)
Nutrasystem should fire their advertising execs. Their “men’s” version isn’t much better – all about how their sex life has improved. My favorite quote is “My wife doesn’t find me as disgusting as she used to.” My husband asked, “Does that mean she still finds him disgusting?” Yes, honey, it does. Losing a few pounds doesn’t suddenly mean you’re not a pig…
=)) I was going to post about the men’s side of it, too, but didn’t. Thanks for pointing it out. Yes, I agree they should fire their advertising personnel. Or maybe we should be more worried about the shmucks who fall for this type of crappy advertising and keep these companies in business?
The sad thing is that NutriSystem may even be a decent program, it’s just that their advertising is insulting to anyone with an ounce of intelligence in them. [-(
Yeah, I remember that commercial well and going, “WhaAAA???” :O
That’s the way of the world today…it’s all about appearances. I just read an article about Kate Beckinsale (an actress) who said that she looks back at photos of herself and thinks, “Wow, I used to look so great, what happened to me?” and then she remembered, “I never did look like that…it was all airbrushed.”
) She said her young daughter can even walk down the streets of L.A. with her and point out the women who have too much Botox. =))
I know none of us want to look like utter crap, but the trophy wife thing was just insulting to me…it’s like saying, “Wow, you’re better now just because you lost some weight, and now the other guys will be jealous of me.”
*shrug* I don’t get it. What if we called our significant others “boy toys”?? It’s about that equivalent for me.
Amen, sistah! I hate that commercial. Not only for the “trophy wife” part, but the fact that they chose a “dumb blonde” with a deep southern accent (I don’t have anything against southern accents — I am from the south. It’s the stereotype that bugs me) to be the model in the ad. The only thing I can think is that they are trying to appeal to two groups of women: Those who were cheerleaders / prom queens / “popular” girls and think that losing weight will get them back to that, and those who have always WANTED that image for themselves. Come on girls, we are so much more than that!
In a similar vein, I had a rant over a year ago now about the Weight Watchers commercials, on my blog.
Weight-loss and body-image are such huge issues (no pun intended) for women. I’m always pround to see people stand up to the stereotypes.
On the flip side are the Curves commercials. Curves is a gym / fitness center for women. I find all of their commercials extremely empowering. They emphasize health and strength, and being happy with yourself. They do not emphasize miracle cures or perfect bodies.
Just came across your site and love it — great work! I completely agree on the NutriSystem commercial and I cringe when it comes on, especially when it comes on during a show my daughter is watching. Which leads me to ask — why the heck are they showing Nutrisystem ads to kids watching Cartoon Network? Ugh.
Thanks Linda.
I think advertisers show a lot of inappropriate commercials inbetween cartoons. We don’t have cable TV so I’m referring to the Saturday morning cartoons that my kids watch on occasion. I have seen some pretty racy stuff, including a Victoria’s Secret commercial. 
What happened to the toy and cereal ads? /:)
>>I do not want my husband to be proud of me for how I look
I loudly told my husband that a MAN would have to have written those lines for that “I haven’t had this smokin’ hot a body since college.”
Women don’t describe themselves as “smokin’ hot.” Period. Even the most vain. Those choice words were written by a man.
Ms. Smokin’ Hot: Your grandkids’ll be real proud.
I defiantly have to agree, when I saw that I turned to my girlfriend and asked “Since when did Trophy wife become a compliment”?
http://garysgrl.blogspot.com/
***Note: Most folks don’t click on unknown links, so I wanted to mention that the above link goes to the blog of the woman in the Nutrisweet commercial where she defends her comment of “trophy wife”.
in the same commercial … the girl “Kelly” .. .well her before picture is when she was pregnant!
“Ms. Smokin’ Hot’s” voice sounds like she’s been “smokin’” since grade school. Who cares what she looks like? Get her to a pulmonologist.
Good one, Mike!
)
“Look at me. I’m SMOKIN’ HOT!”
Lighten up. You’ve got the quote wrong anyway. She says “My husband JOKINGLY calls me his trophy wife”.
So it’s a joke between her and her husband. One that obviously flew over your head at Mach III.
There are much more serious issues in the world for you to pay attention to. Starvation in Africa is one.
Mark – you have to address the small issues in life before the bigger ones will ever be resolved.
Gretchen;
Thank you for addressing this issue.
I am the pastor of a church and I am preparing the sermon for this Fathers Day. My focus is on the fact that as “Fathers” we must first be Godly “Husbands.” It is wrong to view women as possessions or trophys. So as fathers we must guard our children against such teachings. When I typed “Trophys” the memory of this offensive commercial came immediately to my mind, but I could not remember the sponsor. So I did a google search and typed in,… “My husband calls me his trophy wife.”
I was immediately directed to your site. (I see there are many others as well)
It is hard enough for me to remind people that God commands us to love our wives, and not treat them as trophys without commercials that portray such a comment as a “Joke” or even as a “Compliment!” as some seem to peceive it.
But it is nice to see that there are other people who agree that we must stop teaching our youth that women are simply collectables to be gawked at.
Thank You
Chris – thank you for posting that last comment. You have summed up my feelings perfectly. =d>
All due respect (as Tony Soprano would say), the woman did say “jokingly calls me his trophy wife,” we’ll have to admit that. Still, I have always found the Nutrisystem (not Nutrisweet) commercials to be insulting on many levels, not to mention the annoyance factor in airing them 25 times per day on CNN alone.
Good for you ladies and gents out there who have lost the weight. Billy Crystal’s Fernando Lamas may have said “It’s better to look better than to feel better.” I’m sure the reverse is much more to the point! .
Lighten up. She said “jokingly” and what man doesn’t want his wife to look hot? It’s human nature and will never change because it’s the way men and women are wired, i.e., men are sight oriented and women want to look good for men.
“and women want to look good for men.”
I call total bullshit on this one. Some women want to look good for men. Some women want to look good for themselves. Or other women. Or their careers. Some women are vision-oriented. Some men want to look good for women, too.
However, I know no woman who wants to be a “trophy.” Trophies don’t do anything. They sit on a shelf, gather dust, and show how great their “winners” are. Maybe you want to be that for your partner, but I seriously doubt that most of the strong women on this site will side with you.
It’s not BS, it’s the way it is and I didn’t say anything about being a “trophy.” You all take a little too much offense where none is intended and turn against any woman who doesn’t hold radical feminist views. I am a strong woman with a professional career AND I do like looking good for the man in my wife. I find the power a good looking woman has in a bikini to be very invigorating. My man can’t get enough and has my bikini shots on his desk at work. Some of the women are jealous but you bet the other guys give him props and wish their wives did the same. That’s what a man wants. And, deep down inside a woman wants to please her man by looking great in bikinis and lingerie! You all should try putting a little more effort into being sexy for men instead of driving them away with all this hateful feminist drivel.
It™s not BS, it™s the way it is and I didn™t say anything about being a “trophy.” You all take a little too much offense where none is intended and turn against any woman who doesn™t hold radical feminist views. I am a strong woman with a professional career AND I do like looking good for the man in my life. I find the power a good looking woman has in a bikini to be very invigorating. My man can™t get enough and has my bikini shots on his desk at work. Some of the women are jealous but you bet the other guys give him props and wish their wives did the same. That™s what a man wants. And, deep down inside a woman wants to please her man by looking great in bikinis and lingerie! You all should try putting a little more effort into being sexy for men instead of driving them away with all this hateful feminist drivel.
I don’t see how it’s hateful that not everyone wants to be objectified by a man, husband or not. It’s all well and good to care for your appearance, but to use it as a weapon seems wrong. Also, wake up. Not all women want to please men. Not all women even find men attractive! And we don’t all have to show flesh to get ahead in the world. Sex appeal is not the only way to get what you want.
For those who say to lighten up it was a joke…what if he jokingly called her his “whore”? Would it be acceptable then? /:)
I also wanted to address the “hateful feminist drivel” part. I don’t see where it is hateful to form an opinion. I am not opposed to women looking good. I encourage it, but not to the extreme that we have to look a certain way, be a certain size or wear (or not wear) certain items of clothing. To me, attractive is equal to “healthy” and that is what I strive for. Yes, I work out, dress up and make myself look good – every day – whether I am leaving my house or not. When my husband goes to work and puts my picture on his desk, I want him to say “that’s my wife” and then proceed to tell people about who I am and what I am doing with my talents, not go on and on about what I look like. I want to be valued for me as a person, not me as a supermodel.
I stumbled upon this site when I was doing a Google search for “Nutrisystem bikini girls.” Good night, those girls are hot! I was hoping Nutrisystem would put out more of a dedicated website with tons of galleries of these girls or maybe a behind the scenes video of their bikini shoots, and maybe a calendar, too! But, I regress. I must say I didn’t expect there to be this much resistance to the premise of these commercials in this day and age where tolerance should reign. I see a leap in logic from most of the posters on this topic. Some posters assume since they use good looking girls in swimsuits that men will automatically objectify them. I’m a guy and I like seeing attractive girls in bikinis just as much as the next guy but that doesn’t mean I’m going to objectify these girls just because they have “smoking hot bodies” and they are showing them off in these commercials. I don’t think you give men enough credit. We can appreciate a hot bikini girl and NOT objectify her. I’m sure I’ll hear different from the women on this site but you don’t speak for men and it’s not like you’ve been in a man’s head. Second of all, the commercial is marketed towards women in the first place. They are trying to get the women to buy this not men. Lastly, look at the men’s commercial. It has John Kruk saying “My wife told me I’m not as disgusting to her as I used to be.” I find that humorous but I can just imagine the reaction it would get if it was a woman saying instead of a man. Oh my, this board would be in an uproar over the hateful misogynist comment! What a double standard that is.
Finally, to answer your question Gretchen, it would not be acceptable to call that girl a “whore.” I’ve never heard that term used as a compliment and I would be appalled to hear that in a commercial as I champion the equality of women and advocate for them whenever I can. But the use of trophy wife was meant as a compliment. In this case the husband is so pleased with his wife’s appearance that he uses this term to describe just how good she looks. She uses “jokingly” because he must already treat her as an equal and value her character, talents, and personality. Having her improve her looks is an added bonus.
I’ve never seen the nutrisystem ad, but it makes me glad I don’t watch TV. There so much of that ridiculous mentality out there. People are judging books by covers way too much these days. If someone ever called me a “trophy”, I think I’d have to find a REAL trophy and bean them over the head with it!
You all need to lighten up. I’m sure you have bigger things to worry about then coming on a forum and bitching.
Wow….I can only say, I am so surprised to read the remarks on this forum. I accidentally came across this researching Nutrisystem. Anyway, God gives everyone an opinion and because we have freedom of speech, we tend to voice our opinion of others. Why?
Why? Because the world would be a very boring place if we did not all think differently. I love hearing the viewpoints of others and engaging in healthy debates. I always learn new things.
My last girlfriend broke up with me because, in her own words: “I was a trophy girlfriend and you didn’t treat me like one.”
I can’t make that stuff up.
And besides, she was only a year younger than me, and subjectively, I think I look the younger of the two. Objectively, that’s exactly what the bouncer of a pub thought one night when we both managed to show up without IDs (he said she looked 25, but he thought I was under age). We’re both in our early 40s.
Which is my way of saying some narcissists out there have embraced the term. Blech.
Seriously Ladies,
Dontcha think that anyone (male or female) looking for a quick fix to improve their appearance (versus modifying their diet and exercising), may just be shallow enough to respond to marketing like this?
These ploys can offend some yet appeal to the sheeple. C’mon, give credit where credit is due.
come on, cry me a river :’(
Uh yeah, right, you’d MUCH prefer it if your husband didn’t find you attractive, and liked you for your “personality” LOL