Gambling advertising usually draws heavily on gendered stereotypes, including portrayals of male gamblers as tough and successful. Meanwhile, representations of men in advertising have grown increasingly diverse, with emotional and sexualized men accompanying heroic, muscular portrayals. In this article, both these bodies of research are drawn upon to discuss a series of Swedish sports betting commercials which encourage the viewer to “bet hard” while also “being soft.” The celebration of “softness” is ambiguous but can be seen as referencing gendered, political discussions about men and masculinity. Engaging with hybrid masculinities theory, postfeminism, and discourses about gambling and betting, the article demonstrates that meanings around “softness” are ambiguous, ironic, and serve to normalize gambling by distancing it from discourses about addiction. The commercials represent a shift in gambling advertising, but the linking of men’s politics to gambling also represents a new complexity in narratives about “new,” or “soft,” men.

赌博广告通常会大量使用性别刻板印象，包括将男性赌徒描述为艰难而成功的人物。同时，广告中男性的代表越来越多样化，伴随着情感和性欲化的男性伴随着英雄般的肌肉刻画。在本文中，将利用这两个研究机构来讨论一系列瑞典体育博彩广告，这些广告鼓励观看者“努力下注”同时“变软”。“柔和”的庆祝活动模棱两可，但可以看作是涉及有关男性和男性气质的性别政治讨论。结合混合的男性气概理论，后女权主义以及关于赌博和博彩的论述，该文章证明了“柔软”周围的含义是模棱两可，具有讽刺意味的，并通过将赌博与关于成瘾的论述区分开来使赌博正常化。商业广告代表着赌博广告的一种转变，但是男人的政治与赌博的联系也代表了关于“新”或“软”男人叙事的新复杂性。