Dear Advertising Companies: We men do a lot of the cooking nowadays and would like to be pitched commercials for products other than prewrapped hotdogs. We would like to be featured in gauzy ads, cooking in a spotless kitchen, surrounded by perfectly polite children (just as women are presented).

But don't take my word for it. Some New Zealand marketing guru penned this piece on how men are the primary grocery shoppers in more than a quarter of New Zealand homes (up from 16 percent in 1997). The piece, aimed at advertising execs, goes on to consider how and why more ads should be aimed at guys.

This is an invitation, of course, to a number of new stereotypes and unfortunate commercials. But better that, probably, than the marketers ignoring us. As I've argued before, ads can be an window to real social standards. Getting a few more commercials featuring dad at work in the kitchen would go a long way in convincing folks that the kitchen (like the boardroom) isn't a gender-specific area.