I'm not one for bitchin' about musicians doing Coke adverts. Okay, I am... but there's been some great bands in the past to pimp Coca-Cola (there's a nifty little article on that very subject here). However, doing a Coke ad' and doing a Diet Coke commercial are very different prospects. You see, Diet Coke adverts are aimed squarely at women, because, presumably, Coke think women need to lose a bit of that chub. The best way to do that is to stare at some rugged bloke doing manual work like he's a piece of sausage meat. With Duffy, sisters seem to want to do it for themselves...

Related: More Commercial Break ramblings here

In certain feminist circles (don't worry, it's not that dirty a word), the Diet Coke commercials have been seen as something of a set back for Wimminfolk. They've been saying that 'equality' shouldn't mean taking the worst aspects of maleness. Of course, there's still commercials that have women prancing around in next to nothing in an attempt to get men to buy stuff... but it sure doesn't make it right. As for those Herbal Essences ads ("Yes, yes, yes!"), I've no idea who they're aimed at.

Anyway, Diet Coke commercials have always been a bit crap. Nearly as bad as the dreadful Coke Zero adspots (ie, Brothers Doing It For Themselves By Saying Women Are Rubbish). However, none have been as bad as this new, woolly, fluffy, touchy-feely Duffy break.

Duffy, bless 'er, is looking more like Dolly Parton by the second. She's like a little doll who has a string you can pull and she sings. However, of late, it sounds like the batteries are running out. Go listen to 'Mercy' and there's no hiding the fact she can hold a tune... however, of late, be it live or in this Cokespot, she sounds like she's a baby in a bike basket going down a flight of stairs. You noticed? Once she knew when to cut a line short... now they drift on with a trembling R'n'B bottom lip, fading away like distant moped.

In this commercial, our Duffy decided to randomly warble to herself, minutes before going on stage. She sings "I gotta be me", implying that she just can't be herself in the musical world. No, the only way to express herself is to jump on a 5 speed racer and tootle off down the supermarket, singing all the way.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with singing to yourself when down the shops. I mean, the world would be a slightly more bearable place if people had song in their soul... but really, as an advertising statement, I'm not sure what this advert is supposed to be saying. "I've gotta be me... and only Diet Coke lets me be myself" is surely not the message.

Weirder yet, is the notion that a diet fizzy drink, which has notoriously preyed on women's need to feel slimmer, should implore you to be 'you', via a song sung by a Cartman soundalike! The result of this messy advert is the will to throw shoes at your telly like you're at some Dubya press conference.

This commercial probably cost a lot of money... and mercifully, I don't think we'll be seeing it on screen for much long because, in essence, it's dreadful. I'd rather we go back to the sexist women, like those in the Kinder Bueno ad. At least they don't sing.