I saw a Walmart commercial the other day that made me think that they've managed to subvert the BBQ as well.

It was essentially a short clip of a soyboy, beta White husband type alone pushing a shopping cart (maybe containing a new BBQ box?) who unsolicitedly gets greeted by a dumpy, mystery meat bluevested middle-aged woman employee with a "There’s nothing better than having a BBQ".

The juxtaposition of the soyboy husband buying consumer goods and goyslop food from Wallyworld vs the more classic images of more masculine cultural figures like Hank Hill or Tony Soprano and the themes around grilling meat for family and friends just a few decades ago.

It also hit me with the irony of some box store wagie declaring how great BBQing is on holidays and weekends while physically stuck in the deadend retail environment that probably has them scheduled to work those times they'd be BBQing anyway.

I've also seen a lot of "Keeping Up With The Joneses" advertising targeted more at women surrounding back patios and grills from outfits like Wayfair, Walmart and hardware stores.

Where the marketing is all about being envious of your neighbor's backyard setup, so you rush out and buy entire sets yourself to show off for status.

The marketing is more of an interior decorating/accessorizing focus surrounding the BBQ rather than any Hank Hill one that has anything to do with the grill specs themselves.

I saw a Walmart commercial the other day that made me think that they've managed to subvert the BBQ as well.

It was essentially a short clip of a soyboy, beta White husband type alone pushing a shopping cart (maybe containing a new BBQ box?) who unsolicitedly gets greeted by a dumpy, mystery meet bluevested middle-aged woman employee with a "There’s nothing better than having a BBQ".

The juxtaposition of the soyboy husband buying consumer goods and goyslop food from Wallyworld vs the more classic images of more masculine cultural figures like Hank Hill or Tony Soprano and the themes around grilling meat for family and friends just a few decades ago.

It also hit me with the irony of some box store wagie declaring how great BBQing is on holidays and weekends while physically stuck in the deadend retail environment that probably has them scheduled to work those times they'd be BBQing anyway.

I've also seen a lot of "Keeping Up With The Joneses" advertising targeted more at women surrounding back patios and grills from outfits like Wayfair, Walmart and hardware stores.

Where the marketing is all about being envious of your neighbor's backyard setup, so you rush out and buy entire sets yourself to show off for status.

The marketing is more of an interior decorating/accessorizing focus surrounding the BBQ rather than any Hank Hill one that has anything to do with the grill specs themselves.