Mother's Day: La-Z-Boy Ad

“A man’s home is his castle, his scepter is the TV remote control, and his throne is the La-Z-Boy.” – Carole Achterhof

The practice of placing hidden (subliminal) ideas in select print advertisements is a technique used by advertisers.  Advertisers know that most people will not spend much time looking at print advertisements.  Therefore, hidden (subliminal) ideas, imagery, and words can be placed in print advertisements without immediate detection.

The Dark Side of Subliminal Advertising is a blog site that exposes the advertising technique of placing hidden (subliminal) ideas, imagery, and words in advertisements. 

It is important to realize that ads are not designed for the conscious mind, they are deliberately designed to reach the subconscious mind.  The subconscious mind operates under a different set of laws compared to the operations of the conscious mind.

On average, people look at a print ad for no more than two seconds.  Therefore the advertiser has two seconds in which to convey a message in order to increase sales.

With this in mind, look closely at this advertisement and see if you notice anything interesting:

Doesn’t this ad show an ideal situation for a mother on Mother’s Day?  The mother is relaxing, in a La-Z-Boy chair, while her son is bringing her flowers.  Also, her husband is doing the yard work so that the yard looks nice on Mother’s Day.

Maybe later they will all go out for dinner to further celebrate Mother’s Day.  This way the mother will be able to take the day off and relax and won’t have to cook or be concerned with dishes.

The advertisement pictured above has had the ad copy removed from it.

Now, with the ad copy included, take another look at this advertisement again:

Wait a minute, this isn’t a Mother’s Day ad at all, it's a Father’s Day ad!!!

Now why is the mother sitting in the La-Z-Boy on Father’s Day?

Why would the son be giving flowers to his mother, and nothing to his father, on Father’s Day?

Why would the father be doing yard work on Father’s Day?

LA-Z-BOY RECLINERS AND FATHERS:

Before these questions are answered, consider the fact that there is a strong association with La-Z-Boy recliners and fathers.  The La-Z-Boy recliner is considered the father’s chair in many homes.

Here are three quotations concerning the association between La-Z-Boy recliners and fathers:

“When I was growing up, my father never sat ANYWHERE other than his La-Z-Boy recliner.  No one else ever sat in that chair if he was home. That chair was his throne in his kingdom.” ¹

“But she only realized that things were truly serious when she came into the family room and saw the big La-Z-Boy deluxe lounging chair, her father's throne.” ²

“A man’s home is his castle, his scepter is the TV remote control, and his throne is the La-Z-Boy.” ³

PSYCHOANALYSIS:

This advertisement is one of the best examples of an ad that contains concepts found in psychoanalysis.

The beginning of the ad copy reads:  “My Mom’s a real executive type.  She’s a great one for making decisions.”  The ad caption is written from the son’s narrative. 

This statement is a critical key for revealing the psychoanalytic elements in this advertisement.

An executive is the person in whom the supreme executive power is vested.⁴

The mother is the executive power in this household.  She is sitting in the executive chair (La-Z-Boy).

Notice that there is an open book in the mother’s lap:

An open book is a symbol of the state's sovereignty.⁵

Sovereignty represents supreme and independent power or authority over a geographic area.⁶

The open book further symbolizes the mother’s supreme authority in running the geographic area (household).

In this advertisement, the father has been dethroned by the mother.  The mother is sitting on the throne and she rules and runs the household.

Notice that the boy is getting ready to give flowers to his mother:

Also, notice the colors of the flowers:

Pink flowers are a romantic color because they are not as intense as deep reds and therefore express a deeper spectrum of love’s possibilities.⁷

Yellow flowers represent trust, compassion, and respect.⁸

White flowers all communicate pure, thoughtful love and undying fidelity.⁹

The boy is giving flowers to his mother on Father’s Day, and is not giving his father anything.

Notice that the mother is paying attention and giving affection to her son on Father’s Day, not her husband. 

This is reinforced by the way she is touching her son with her hand:

The father has been dissed by both his wife and son.

OEDIPUS COMPLEX:

The phenomenon called the Oedipus complex first appeared in Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams (1899).  In The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud proposed that in a male child there is a subdued desire for his mother, and wishes to supersede his father.  The Interpretation of Dreams is Sigmund Freud’s seminal work, where he proposed theories of psychoanalysis.¹⁰

Here are a couple of definitions of the Oedipus Complex concept:

“While he is still a small child, a son will already begin to develop a special affection for his mother, whom he regards as belonging to him; he begins to feel his father as a rival who disputes his sole possession.” ¹¹

“In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrates upon a child's desire to possess the parent of the opposite sex.” ¹²

Concerning the concept of the Oedipus Complex, Sigmund Freud writes:

“Being in love with the one parent and hating the other are among the essential constituents of the stock of psychical impulses which is formed at that time and which is of such importance in determining the symptoms of the later neurosis...This discovery is confirmed by a legend that has come down to us from classical antiquity:  a legend whose profound and universal power to move can only be understood if the hypothesis I have put forward in regard to the psychology of children has an equally universal validity. What I have in mind is the legend of King Oedipus and Sophocles' drama which bears his name.” ¹³

The concept of the Oedipus Complex is blatantly portrayed in this advertisement because the boy is showing affection to his mother, by giving her flowers, and is totally ignoring his father on Father’s Day.

The mother reinforces the Oedipus Complex by ignoring her husband and giving attention and affection to her son on Father’s Day.

FROM THE FATHER’S PERSPECTIVE ON FATHER’S DAY:

Notice the rake in the advertisement:

Now why would a rake be inside of the house?

There is no logical reason for the rake to be inside of the house.

Therefore, in this advertisement, there must be a symbolic reason that the rake is in the house.

Notice the positioning of the rake.  The rake appears to be coming out of the boy’s head:

In this ad, the rake symbolizes the boy’s character.

A rake, short for rakehell, is a historic term applied to a person who is habituated to immoral conduct.¹⁴

Also, a rake is a dissolute person.¹⁵  A dissolute person is indifferent to moral restraints; given to immoral or improper conduct.¹⁶

The father views his son as a rake because of the way the son is showing affection to his wife by giving her flowers and ignoring him on Father’s Day.

Notice the color of the La-Z-Boy. 

There is a reason that the La-Z-Boy is green.  Green symbolizes envy and jealousy.¹⁷

Also, notice that the background behind the father is all green.  There is no other scenery behind the father.

The father is jealous of the affection that his wife is showing his son.  Also, the father is feeling envious over his son’s advantage with obtaining attention and affection from his wife. 

In other words, the father is "green with envy."

Therefore, the son has become the rival of the father for getting attention and affection from his wife.

Now why is the father covering his mouth?

Holding a hand before your mouth means that you are hiding something.¹⁸

CASTRATION ANXIETY:

The psychoanalytic concept of “castration anxiety” is blatantly portrayed in this advertisement.

Here is a definition of castration anxiety: “the boy remains ambivalent about his father's place in the family, which is manifested as fear of castration by the physically greater father; the fear is an irrational, subconscious manifestation of the infantile id.” ¹⁹

According to psychoanalysis, “Boys suffer a castration anxiety, where the son believes his father knows about his desire for his mother and hence fears his father will castrate him. He thus represses his desire and defensively identifies with his father.” ²⁰

According to author Miriam M. Johnson:

“Freud generally depicted the father as a terrifying person threatening castration if the son did not give up the mother.” ²¹

Now back to the question presented earlier.   Why is the father covering his mouth, what is he hiding?

Do you see what the father is holding in his hand?  

Garden shears.  These shears symbolize an instrument of castration.

[Side note:  in 2012 two men planned to stake out, castrate, and assassinate Justin Bieber.  A set of garden shears was found on one of the men at the time of his arrest.] ²²

Notice that the father’s gaze is directed towards his son.

Notice that the shears are aimed right towards the rake (symbolizing the son’s character):

The meaning of the father covering his mouth now becomes clear.  He is hiding his subconscious desire to inflict injury on his son due to jealousy and envy over the attention and affection that his son and wife are showing each other on Father’s Day.

CONCLUSION:

According to Kendra Cherry:

“Freud believed that his discovery of the Oedipal complex and related theories such as castration anxiety and penis envy were his greatest accomplishments” ²³         

If Sigmund Freud were alive today, he would most likely praise this ad as a brilliant example of psychoanalytic concepts in operation.