Its official. Ladies, get your pink handbags out. The new ad from PC World and Dell is officially the most patronising ever. It starts with the line
My world is fashion. I just have to colour co-ordinate everything. Even my laptop. That’s why I love the new Dell laptop.
Pass me the barf bag. Please. It just gets worse. Should I get pink to match my shoes…. Must I go on? I am sure you get the picture.
This is an example of 2 companies who have money to waste. 2 companies who have no idea of how to talk to women and most importantly, no idea of the role that technology plays in a women’s life.
I thought that Dell would have learnt from their latest Della ‘for women’ website which seems to have such bad press that they have renamed it. This is disappointing as the Dell Inspiron mini 10 is a fantastic piece of kit. I also thought PC world had made some progress with their latest work. But alas, it seems a group of middle aged balding in marketing (sorry but it has to be) decided that “women are the answer.”
Here’s the logic.
Women like shoes.
Women like pink.
So to make women like technology, we need to pink it up and dumb it down and make it match her shoes.
Do me a favour. None of the professional women I know (which is where the biggest financial opportunity is) would be seen dead with a pink laptop. For most women over the age of 12, pink is definitely not their world.
And even more offensive is not the colour, but the positioning. The women I speak to love technology. The creativity and human interaction it adds to their life. Not because it matches their shoes.
On the positive side, it confirms how much technology brands need specialists such as Lady Geek to put an end to patronising ads like this.
you’re so right about this! i’d *never* buy a pink gadget.
Here’s the funny thing – I quite like pink. As a fortysomething married bloke with a passing resemblance to Tony Soprano, it would certainly make me stand out in Starbucks if I were tapping away on my pink Dell. My 8 y/o daughter would quite like it too.
Not sure about Mrs H though. I think she’d prefer black, if she had to choose a colour.
I have two daughters one five and one ten, five year old wants a pink one ( no way) she is too young. ten year old thinks pink is gross and wants it in black, do they not know what henry ford said, any colour as it is black
AWFUL. Even the voiceover is patronising.
Dell should hang their heads in shame.
People (especially women) change their minds a lot.
People want neutral canvasses they can personalise and change (think of the ever popular LBD – little black dress). There’s nothing worse than an expensive buy that’s out of fashion next season.
Even if I DID want anything pink on my computer (which I DON’T), the most I’d want is a desktop picture or screensaver. I change mine every month to give my MacBook a slightly different look!
Change is good.
One of the many reasons I love my iPhone so much – the new software updates and apps always make my phone feel shiny and new!
I think I would get one, but it would be hugely tongue in cheek and a massive statement (I also proudly own a pink Moleskine book).
I am proud to be a professional female and I do like pink. But the stereotyping was indeed a faux pas.
I agree with the sentiment – some manufacturer’s and retailers could be accused of adopting a patronising attitude towards women by assuming they want and must have a pink laptop :
for example: http://www.pinklaptops.org.uk/
However, are they attempting to set a trend or merely following one? There is, undoubtedly, a demand for more colourful electronics and gadgets – maybe they are jumping on a bandwagon, and not creating one? Maybe the causation is deeper – think ‘hello kitty’, ‘Jordan’ ‘Ms Hilton’, et al?
Personally, my own laptop is dark grey, I’m not really bothered what colour it is although, I must confess, the bag I carry it in is of a which could be described as erm…. (whispers nervously) pink!
I have a pink laptop, and I love it. It’s a Sony, about three years old and has a kick-butt processor. I’m also 37 and love the look on people’s faces when they see me using it. As an older woman, having a pink laptop is rebelling, as I’m not meant to have a pink laptop at my age. I’m meant to have a serious colour, like black. I love breaking the rules, and the above statement proves that I’m on the right track.
Couldn’t agree more.
I have the same issue with bike companies (I love gadgets, I love bikes). Here’s a whole industry (making bikes, and stuff to wear while you’re riding bikes) that for years just assumed women could buy men’s kit in a small size. A few years ago they wised up to the fact that women are proportioned differently and could/should be sold women-specific gear – great, but what colours do they make it in? Yep, most of the time: pink!!