‘Little Bob got his snake out’: Why millennial women are in a state of confusion

Robert Irwin’s new ad in his knickers has got everyone’s knickers in a knot and I’m here to tell you why, writes Nikki Osborne.

ehind the Scenes images of Robert Irwin promoting Bonds underwear in the US Picture: Supplied

Now unless you were living under a rock recently, you can’t have helped but notice Robert Irwin’s new ad campaign for a well-known Aussie brand of underwear.

And given that I’m a massive fan of the Irwins and one of my characters is kinda known for running cheeky ad campaigns on my socials … kudos to everyone involved in creating this new ad.

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But in an ironic twist, Robert’s new ad in his knickers has got everyone’s knickers in a knot. That’s right, little Bob got his snake out and broke the internet!

Now this has confused a lot of middle-aged women, me included. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we’d see little Bob as a snack and yet here we are.

Little Bob got sexy and not even I know how to process this information. See, until now, Robert has always been that sandy-haired cute kid who likes to take photos and sounds like his dad, wholesome, safe, and had the sex appeal of … well … Barney Rubble.

But they’ve tricked us! They’ve made Bob sexy? How?! In the ad … he doesn’t speak. We’ve always loved Bob Down Under but now we’re thinking of him down under and it’s not right!

As soon as I saw it I thought to myself, this sort of thing has happened before, except then the shoe was on the other foot.

I’m of course referring to that time before social media when all the dads were busy raising their kids on a steady TV diet of Hannah Montana and Giggle and Hoot.

Robert Irwin promoting Bonds underwear in the US Picture: Instagram

I can finally relate to how all of the dads felt when Miley Cyrus went from squeaky clean Hannah Montana to swinging naked on a wrecking ball licking a hammer! We aren’t built to handle such a swift turn of branding.

So now it would seem it’s the mothers’ turn.

Millennial women are in a state of confusion and don’t know how to act.

I have a feeling half of them will be packing out the confessional booths and the other half, well, let’s just say he’s at risk of being in a wild cat enclosure and the cougars are on the outside!

And heaven forbid there should ever come a day when Jimmy Rees (Giggle) rolls out a calendar sporting a washboard stomach!

A friend of mine even said: “Did you see Bob’s rig?” To which I replied: “Back off Battle Cat. He’s mine.”

I’m sorry Terri, but little did I know that Robert, like most Australians, are sexy if you just put them on mute.

Nikki Osborne.

Now, when I mentioned this initial reaction online I was met with a torrent of blowback from men saying “imagine if this were men talking about a 21-year-old woman”?!

Which I totally understand and which is why I drew the comparison between Robert and Miley. We know you’ve been there dudes, and we know how easy it is for you to be villainised for simply narrating a response.

I’m actually interested to hear how Robert feels about the reaction to this campaign. Does he feel objectified?

Does he feel safe walking home? Or does he feel like it’s just a bunch of cougars making banter online? I hope it’s the latter.

Regardless, to the ladies out there, I know it’s a confusing time. Just skip past the ad.

Originally published as ‘Little Bob got his snake out’: Why millennial women are in a state of confusion