Sometimes it feels like our blog spends a lot of time shaking our collective finger at companies who dip products in pink paint and then label them "for women." On the flip side, if companies would wise up and ditch the antiquated "shrink it and pink it" mindset, we wouldn't have anything to rail against.
Enter the Fujitsu Floral Kiss notebook. This laptop (available only in Japan where apparently women want everything they own to be splashed in pink, even their cars) is, of course, pink, but not just any pink, "feminine pink," just in case you thought it might be targeting a masculine audience.
Now, we understand that you must market to women and men differently, and many companies have been successful selling different versions of the same product to both sexes (shampoo is a good example). So where's the line? Why is it that Bic can market for-him and for-her razors, but not ink pens?
The answer lies in common sense. Take razors, for instance. Razors perform the same function (on a very basic, functional level) for both men and women, but each sex uses them differently. Meanwhile, women don't write with their feet while men write with their hands, so maybe a pen that is more ergonomically friendly to females isn't worth developing.
By that same token, a for-her computer makes even less sense. Women may visit different websites, play fewer or different games and install dissimilar programs than men, but computers perform the same functionality for both sexes regardless of the color.
When we posted a story about the Floral Kiss on our Facebook page, one of our fans made a comment that sums up our feelings perfectly:
I find myself fortunate that all the women I know would never buy a PC based on color. They prefer things like processing speed, memory size, software and operating system. It's unfortunate that Fujitsu chose to leave these details out of their advertisement.
Well said.
FletcherPR is a national communications firm that specializes in reaching women through the power of media. Headquartered in Knoxville, TN with staff in Nashville & Los Angeles, we are a full-service agency providing strategic public relations, social media and marketing communications services to our clients throughout the U.S.
