Thank You AutoZone for Recognizing That Of Course Women Wrench on Cars Too

"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro) 01/10/2018 at 17:00 • Filed to: autozone, ad watch, women who like cars

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Screengrab: AutoZone

Just look at this ad. AutoZone gets it .

(This 30-second spot was published on YouTube nearly a year ago, but for some reason I’m just seeing it for the first time today.)

What’s the standard context for women in auto parts store commercials? They’re often portrayed as the damsel in distress, right? Something along the lines of “ !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ”

But in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , this woman isn’t here because she needs help choosing and changing wiper blades. No, she’s in the middle of a friggin’ brake job and just stopped in to pick up a few things.

We don’t actually see her doing any wrenching, but look at her outfit. That’s the first thing that caught my eye here. No dress or fancy hairdo, just work boots, jeans, a hoodie, her hair tied back. (Her clean hands probably just indicate that she wears gloves, or washed up before heading into town.)

And judging by her general attitude, she’s on a mission, too. Notice her reaction when the counter guy presents the caliper tool: she carefully inspects the case to make sure that no parts of the kit are missing. This ain’t her first rodeo. And she’s not here to spend a lot of time shopping around either. She’s just eager to get the job done.

Screengrab: AutoZone

As for the parts that she’s buying, we see a rotor (just one, look at the way the empty box is sagging under the weight), brake pads, and a caliper. She already knew that she needed a caliper! Hell, I’m just going to go ahead and assume that she brought the old one in for a core, and that it’s been transferred to the new box, which is why we’re not seeing the caliper box here on the counter.

Oh, and speaking of boxes, check out the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! on the brake rotor box. That’s right: she’s working on the rear brakes of a 2003-2011 Panther-platform car.

Am I reading too much into this? Yeah, probably. It’s an ad. It’s staged. The only thing that really bothers me about this ad is how she’s about to leave with a “free” tool, yet doesn’t seem to realize that there’s a deposit involved. Did she pay yet or not? But I digress...

It’s just refreshing to see women portrayed like this, especially in a parts store ad. It’s long overdue.

Looks like the only damsel in distress here is this poor guy:

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Urambo Tauro 01/10/2018 at 17:05

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I was expecting the title to be sarcastic

For Sweden > Urambo Tauro 01/10/2018 at 17:05

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You might say she got in the zone

AutoZone

yamahog > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/10/2018 at 17:10

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For Sweden > yamahog 01/10/2018 at 17:10

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This gif has three frames at most

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > For Sweden 01/10/2018 at 17:10

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yamahog > Urambo Tauro 01/10/2018 at 17:14

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clearly they’re inspired by my patronage and my years of shoddily repairing domestic heaps without having adequate tools on hand

yamahog > For Sweden 01/10/2018 at 17:17

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Ash78, voting early and often > Urambo Tauro 01/10/2018 at 17:21

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Oh, she most definitely paid.

If she was in an Autozone, she’s been checked out and cat-called at least three times.

BOLD ERRAND!

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Urambo Tauro 01/10/2018 at 17:22

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Now we just need for Victoria’s Secret to recognize that men want to feel thirty and flirty and thriving too.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Urambo Tauro 01/10/2018 at 18:58

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That sweatshirt doesn’t look nearly dirty enough!

Urambo Tauro > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 01/10/2018 at 19:09

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Eh, works for me. It’s totally possible to get that far into a brake job without getting very dirty.

Dusty Ventures > Urambo Tauro 01/10/2018 at 19:27

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...is that Urkel in the second ad?

Urambo Tauro > Dusty Ventures 01/10/2018 at 19:41

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It’s not, but oh man I paused it at just the right moment and I see what you mean.

Stef Schrader > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 01/10/2018 at 19:42

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SOON.

Stef Schrader > Urambo Tauro 01/10/2018 at 19:45

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10/10, have borrowed their compression testers before.

Urambo Tauro > Stef Schrader 01/10/2018 at 19:54

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Last tool I borrowed from the ’Zone was a set of noid lights. My sister also recently needed a ball-joint press. That loaner program really comes in handy!

dogisbadob > Urambo Tauro 01/10/2018 at 20:12

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the local Autozone and the Advance Auto near me each have a few women employees at the parts counters, but not the pep boys

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > For Sweden 01/10/2018 at 20:31

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I count 9

Stef Schrader > Urambo Tauro 01/10/2018 at 21:49

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It’s so good!

NeonBlaqk > Urambo Tauro 01/10/2018 at 21:49

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Car girl 101 is hair up in the garage. Roll over your hair once with a floor jack and you won’t make that mistake again. I’m partial to a French braid myself, more secure.

But really, this is nice to see. Going to the parts store is always one of the worst parts of being a car girl. All the condescension and the damsel in distress thing. Add in ownership of unusual cars and it gets annoying. Last time I went to get an oil filter for my 500 Abarth, I was asked if it was a 500e or 500c. I looked at the counter guy and said “one of these doesn’t require an oil change and the other is just a different roof.” Like seriously, I don’t expect fiat proficiency from sales clerks, but why were these options even presented when I said straight off “1.4 turbo?” For me, it’s a minor annoyance, for a girl who doesn’t know what those pointless variants are, that question would mean a lot of stress

wafflesnfalafel > Urambo Tauro 01/10/2018 at 23:53

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interesting - I was thinking the same thing when I saw those, “hey, this isn’t another stupid auto parts store ad.” Additionally, it’s one of the few ads that doesn’t really make fun of either sex and still works great. Smart, effective marketing. Kudos.

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > Urambo Tauro 01/11/2018 at 10:10

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No, that’s false (unless you’re using a lift)

Schaef_Camaero Z/28 > NeonBlaqk 01/11/2018 at 14:50

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To be fair, it seems like there are very few parts store clerks that know their left from their right, let alone much about cars to begin with. There are some good ones, but more seem pretty useless. Just a couple weeks ago I went into AutoZone to get parts for my Saab 9-2x... I don’t dare open that can of worms, so I told them I needed front calipers for an ‘05 Subaru WRX. Clerk: “Subaru? *puzzled look* All the computer has is Impreza, Legacy, Outback, etc. etc.” Me: “Oh, Impreza then, with the 2L turbo.” Clerk: “OK, Impreza, does it have the 2.0 or the 2.5?” Me: “ =\ Two liter turbo”. Clerk: “Let’s see...... it looks like we have 2 in stock.” Me: “Yeah, I just called to make sure like half an hour ago.” Clerk: “Oh, did you ask to hold them?” About this time, the girl I talked to on the phone popped out from behind some shelves and said “I talked to him earlier, I’ll go pull them” and about 30 seconds later she had them on the counter. Then: “That’ll be $123.45... and we have fuel system cleaner on sale 2 for $5?” No thanks. “Do you need an oil change too, we have a special going on!” *Sigh* No thanks....

Every time I go in there I ask myself why..

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > NeonBlaqk 01/11/2018 at 16:13

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Given that most of the guys behind the counter don’t have a clue what they’re selling, they were probably just reading off the options on the screen.

Which begs the question, why was a part number for an oil filter listed under the “e”...

yamahog > NeonBlaqk 01/11/2018 at 18:40

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similarly, after one too many jiu jitsu partners rolled over my hair, I chopped most of it off and now I have a weird mohawk thing

PowderHound > Urambo Tauro 01/11/2018 at 20:16

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Do people actually use caliper tools? I’ve never used anything other than a block of wood or the old brake pad and a c clamp. How much have I been missing?

Urambo Tauro > PowderHound 01/11/2018 at 21:03

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Some calipers have pistons that have to be screwed back in.

bhtooefr > Urambo Tauro 01/12/2018 at 08:00

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Yeah, basically anything with rear discs that the parking brake works on the disc needs the piston to be screwed in rather than pushed in. (Some designs have drums specifically for parking, and those don’t need it.)

And, a lot of those need it to be done with a caliper retractor tool. (My Miata was an exception, it has a plug you can remove and use an allen key to pull the piston back in.)