CNN asks if women are "saviors of the world's economy," noting increasing earning and spending power:

For companies, the growing economic power of women would seem an obvious market to capture. But according to a global study by the Boston Consulting Group, women feel at best underserved by companies, and at worst ignored.

"The current way companies appeal to women is to take a male product and paint it pink," said Michael Silverstein, a partner at BCG and coauthor of "Women Want More," a book based on the study results.

Shrink it and pink it strikes again! However, the most out of touch industry is also the industry that would most want to take advantage of women's new found wealth:

For women, the worst offender is the financial services industry. The BCG survey of 12,000 women in 40 regions around the world found that financial services — such as providing ibanking, investment and insurance products and advice — are worst at connecting with female consumers.

In doing so, the industries risk alienating the greatest growing spending bloc on the planet, Silverstein argues. Whether in the workforce or not, women are increasingly the drivers of consumer spending. Women globally control $20 trillion in annual consumer spending; by 2014 that could climb to $28 trillion.

The article also discusses trends in China:

The economic story of burgeoning economies such as China is also the story of "factory girls," young women who have found new spending power as a result of new economic opportunities. Despite the financial crisis, domestic spending in the first nine months of this year was up 15 percent, driven in large part by women under the age of 35, said Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group.

"Women are starting to make as much, if not more, than men, especially in third and fourth-tier cities," Rein said.

Interestingly, the factory girls phenomenon doesn't just discuss changes in the workplace and in domestic spending. It also represents the changing ideas about a woman's worth, particularly in rural areas of China.

In the Women's Review of Books, Xujun Eberlein reviews Leslie T. Chang's Factory Girls:

In an intimate, nonjudgmental voice, Leslie T. Chang's refreshingly rendered Factory Girls opens up the fascinating and gritty world of female migrant workers. While many of the young women find economic improvement, their rudderless lives raise the question of whether this new migration is a progression or regression in Chinese women's emancipation.

Before the free-market economic reforms, China's urban women largely enjoyed equal status in society and the family. This was because, for various political and economic reasons, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) strongly promoted woman's equality, albeit within the larger frame of collectivism, in which individuals were cast as part of a social machine. Meanwhile, in the countryside, the traditional patriarchal system maintained its grip. In the village I was sent to in the 1970s, girls were regarded as nothing but dowry-debt. The birth of a baby girl always made her parents miserable. In one instance, a poor young mother tried to stage a "falling-off-the-cliff accident" to get rid of her infant girl; fortunately the baby survived. Only one young woman in the village had a middle-school diploma; most had not gone beyond the second grade because they were needed for work. Few showed any interest in education.

This kind of sex discrimination in rural areas has a long history; it is not the result of the one-child policy as some Westerners believe. In fact, the policy was not implemented until 1979, after I had left the village, and even then, the enforcement of the policy was often lax in the countryside, as reflected in Factory Girls.

Some of the major shifts in power dynamics were explored through the story of Min, a migrant worker who had recently gotten a factory job and started contributing to the family:

Not education, but money changes Min's status in her family. Two years after going out, Min lands a high paying job. She is able to send back big money and expensive gifts. Her relationship with her parents changes:

Min was able to dictate family affairs from afar. She monitored her father's purchases and rejected his business plans, and the fact that she had sent home $1,300 gave her such authority.

What the government was unable to do in the twentieth century, money may do in the twenty-first. While Chang never heard a single person express anything like a feminist sentiment, one can reasonably guess that the role of young women in the migration may eventually eliminate rural discrimination against girls and women.

Reading through these articles, I wonder how much can be achieved by removing women's dependence on men, either financially or through societal mandate. How much has capitalism helped women seeking equality, and how often has capitalism hindered women's advancement?

Women: Saviors Of the World Economy? [CNN]
Anomie In The New China [Women's Review of Books]

Earlier: "Shrink It And Pink It" Gets Slaughtered By The Femme Den

I've written about this before, in most directly for the online magazine Cerise. My colleague Andrea also had a regular series called "Market to Me," as kind of an open letter to the marketing arms of major games makers.

I mean, the statistics are fairly clear. When I reviewed the academic work Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat, the stats revealed some interesting trends:

The book's introduction lays out some pertinent facts: about 38 percent of video game players and 42 percent of online game players are female. About seventy percent of casual gamers are women. Estimates vary, but it is clear that women have become a major subgroup in gaming. Yet the industry still ignores them. [...]

The population that does play games is frequently seen as an anomaly rather than a prime informant for understanding how play works. Researchers, and people in the gaming industry, often talk about trying to capture that demographic of nonplaying "Vogue readers" to the exclusion of looking at the group that actually seems to be succeeding in inhabiting game culture now.

Instead of paying attention to why women play certain games or speaking to women who identify as gamers, it appears that game companies prefer to work with stereotypes. This isn't something that is characteristic to the gaming industry - it plagues advertising in general, as we last discussed when talking about the Femme Den and their aversion to the "shrink it and pink it" strategy of marketers trying to reach women. This attitude runs rampant at all levels of game marketing, from the games that are even recommended to women down to store displays.

The photo illustrating this post? It was snapped at a Gamestop, and Wired blogger Eliza Gauger sums up my thoughts perfectly with her choice of title: "Games 4 Girls at Gamestop: Gagging, Weeping, Bleeding From the Eyes ."

Will someone please tell me who was in the back yelling "More pink! More sparkles!" for this display? Remove them from your marketing department immediately. Instead, have your remaining employees pay attention to some things that should be fairly obvious.

1. Women Gamers Are Not a Monolith

Let me just run down a quick list of people I know personally.

P: Some would term her "hardcore." P actually works at a gaming store, part time, to help feed her habit. She maintains all systems and normally keeps a PSP and a DSI in easy reach. She also has modded machines for import games and spends multiple hours a week in play, often using XBox Live to connect with our other friends and other players in games like Left4Dead, Gears of War, and Halo.

H1: Plays a lot, often with P. Also plays a wide variety of games, everything from Beautiful Katamari to Gears of War. She also spends multiple hours a week in play.

H2: Social gamer. She prefers to play either handheld games with friends or linking up through XBox to enjoy the Left 4 Dead insanity. She is a big fan of party games, everything from Rock Band to Mario Party.

H3: Loner. She will occasionally participate in the linked games like Left 4 Dead, but generally prefers survival horror games like the Resident Evil franchise, the Fatal Frame franchise and other high suspense games.

T: T lives for first person shooters. She's highly into competition, and prefers games that allow her to let out some aggression. However, she also has a spot for well-crafted, innovative games, which is why Okami ranks among her favorite games.

V: What many would term the casual gamer, she doesn't identify as even liking video games. Yet, her cell phone has a wide range of games downloaded, and she takes part of different games on Facebook. She will also play social games, but prefers sports games on Wii.

Me: I game a lot less than I used to, but I am a sucker for any and all RPGs and the occasional fighting franchise. I'll try playing just about anything, but tend to stay away from first person shooters.

Here are some key trends: None of us wished upon a star for something pink or sparkly. (Though we have been known to play Lego Indiana Jones.) Some of us like pink, some of us don't. Some of us have all the latest tech, some of us don't. Some of us prefer computer games, some of us don't. Getting the picture? We're all different. Stop using a marketing strategy aimed at twelve year olds for everyone, and stop assuming all women are driven solely by a desire to lose weight. Please take a lesson from the ill-fated Della.

2. Switch Up Your Advertising

Advertising through the same old outlets will get you the same old results. In order to find girls who play video games, try researching where there is over lap. For example, the now-defunct magazine Shojo Beat was a monthly magazine aimed toward 12- 17 year olds who like to read manga. There was also an interesting tidbit in the media kit - the majority of the readers of the magazine also played video games. While the editors quickly responded, providing coverage of popular video games releasing in the US and Japan, game makers were slow to advertise in the magazine. Even though Japanese clothing companies like Baby, The Stars Shine Bright found it worthwhile to purchase advertising, the gaming industry was not represented on a regular basis.

Recently, this ad aired for Rhythm Heaven:

While the ad didn't personally appeal to me, I liked quite a few things about it. Positing Beyonce as a player, using a black DSi, having a celebrity promoting a game rather than the hardware are all important steps to take that defy stereotypes. Additionally, this is just one of many spots Nintendo has used in their quest to appeal to non-traditional gamers which feature a wide range of players enjoying their content. It's really just that simple.

3. When Rethinking Marketing, Start Internally

A while back, I read an interview by Fast Company with Will Wright, the creator of mega-blockbuster The Sims. Wright made one small comment that actually illuminated a lot of key issues:

Having more women in the industry would help a lot. We've been making games that cater to ourselves, to 40-year-old men. We've noticed with Spore that women don't mind if there's violence in the game, as long as they have a path they can take that doesn't involve them having to kill everything. I think one of the reasons The Sims did so well with women is that 40% of our development team were women.

If you want to attract more women, involve more women in the process of creating games. Hire more women at your organization. Reach out to women who already identify as gamers.

However, none of this will work if people aren't willing to challenge stereotypes. The Wall Street Journal article states:

Making games for girls has "had a transformational impact on Ubisoft," Mr. Key said. The company in 2004 also began sponsoring an all-female team of game players called Frag Dolls, to help promote women in gaming.

The Frag Dolls play games like Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, and Heroes Over Europe. What games are mentioned in the article? Petz, Littlest Pet Shop, Charm Girls Club, and Your Shape.

Gentlemen, we still have a problem.

Videogame Firms Make a Play for Women [WSJ]
Attention Game Designers: 5 Steps to Attract Girl Gamers [Cerise]
Market to Me [Cerise]
Gamer Girls Rising [Women's Review of Books]
Games 4 Girls at Gamestop: Gagging, Weeping, Bleeding From the Eyes[Wired]
The Simemperor [Fast Company]

Earlier: "Shrink It And Pink It" Gets Slaughtered By The Femme Den
Dell Discovers Ladies Use Computers For More Than Diet Tips

The 2LoveMyLips gloss is available in five different "seductive" colors. On the website, the product is described as "sasy (sic) zestful two-in-one lip plumping breath freshening lip gloss, cleverly packaged to include a drink spike detector testing kit!" Tracy Whittaker, managing director of 2LoveMy, says that the date rape kit is easy to use and requires only a single drop of the suspicious drink. "If they turn blue tell your friends immediately and get help from security and the police," she said.

The website describes the design more fully. It seems like the gloss is not actually attached to the drug testing strip, but instead comes with a separate card inside the box. In their mission statement, 2LoveMy explains:

Our primary goal is to promote 2 LOVE MY LIPS as a fashionable brand with a distinctive logo that is easily recognisable to women within our target age group of 16 to 50.

2 LOVE MY LIPS aims to bring safety and beauty to the finger tips of women of all ages. A revolutionary female concept, where women's beauty and safety blend together so transparently that the customer buys beauty and acquires safety almost subliminally.

Something about this rubs me the wrong way. It is great that they want to help women avoid creepy rapist assholes, but it seems a little odd that this is marketed as the merger of beauty and safety. Whittaker says she hopes to sell the gloss in vending machines and bar toilets, the very places, Cosmetics Design notes, that women will need it most. This just seems like an obnoxious way to sell their lip gloss to scared women, who are forced to buy their pricey ($16 plus tax!) product when what they really want is a way to tell whether or not they are in immediate physical danger. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it, but given all the restrictions stated on their website (you cannot use the test with wine, most fruit juices, and the test does not detect Rohypnol), it may just give women a false sense of safety while promoting sales of yet another beauty product we don't really need. In fact, the best thing about 2LoveMyLips is a paragraph on the company's website that advises women to buy their own drinks, throw out any beverages that have been left unattended, and trust their own instincts. But if we do all that, what's the use of the lip gloss?

Date Rape-Preventing Lip Gloss Debuts [Cosmetics Design]
2LoveMyLips [Official Site]

Now, I have nothing against pink as a color. I own some pink shirts, some books, some pens. It's fine, one of the many colors I enjoy looking at.

What I hate are pink technology pimps, those marketers/salespeople that assume that since I am walking around in the possession of a uterus, everything I touch must be coated in pink and/or rhinestones.

And I am not alone.

Writing for Wired's Gadget Lab, Priya Ganapati breaks it down:

[G]adget companies seem to find it difficult to design, produce and market products to women without resorting to stereotypes. The current strategy among most gadget makers is that if it is for women, it must be pink or sparkly.

And worse still is the insult that normally comes with the assumption that I'm a pink sparkly princess. It's not enough that they want us to fit in with their pre-existing color palette, but then they have the nerve to think we will be so blinded by the rhinestone bling that we'd forget to check for important things. Like, you know, cost and functionality. Ganapati made me put my fist in the air when she wrote:

If you think pink and sparkly strategy is lazy, so is slapping a designer label on a product for women and pricing it much higher than similar products. HP Vivienne Tam netbook, I am looking at you. The netbook hit some of the right notes. It's a pleasant red, has a stylish exterior and comes with a matching Vivienne Tam designed clutch. But for those perks, women have to shell out $700, much more than the $350 for a comparable HP black or blue netbook.

Now, I'll just put it out there. I'm a slut for pretty. And so this was actually the first netbook I looked at when I was in the market to purchase one. While I loved the color (ooh!), the design left me a bit cold. I was planning to cover it with a skin. But then I realized:

I may be a slut for pretty, but this whore has standards.

So, away I went to give Samsung $400 for sleek, white machine with the battery life, keyboard size, and RAM I wanted that also manages to fit into the tiniest of totes. And for some reason, men go crazy when they see it, eagerly inquiring about the experience and specs. Man, if I was single, this thing would be better than a cute puppy.

Slapping pink paint on some basic ass technology isn't going to help you move units - tailoring it to a woman's needs will.

So marketers/product developers/entrepreneurs, please do me a favor: stop and think before you make it pink.

Official Site [South by Southwest Interactive]
What Real Women Want in Their Gadgets [Wired]
Vivienne Tam Netbook [Amazon]

Usually manufacturers just slap a coat of pink paint on when the marketing electronics to women. Sony Ericsson clearly put a lot more thought into its Jalou phone, which comes out later this year, but still managed to come up with one of the most insulting pieces of electronics on the market. According to the press release:

Sony Ericsson explored art, architecture and furniture trends whilst delving deep into the couture and fashion world to ensure Jalou encapsulates some of the hottest fashion trends which will emerge next year. Structured forms, intricate corners, hidden depths and jewel accents are set to be some of the hottest fashion trends in 2010... Jalou reflects these trends with its delicate facet-cut diamond shape design, clean and expressive lines and variety of different shine and matt finishes, that give depth to the handset.

Jalou is "encased in a beautiful facet-cut jewel form," just like the engagement ring we desperately want on our fingers. Apparently, the hot colors in 2010 will be Deep Amethyst, Aquamarine Blue and Onyx Black, but if you simply must have a pink one, there is a more expensive rose-colored Dolce & Gabbana edition (which comes with a silk jewelry bag). Plus, the phone is only 73mm long, which the press release explains this is "shorter than your favourite lipstick." (Sony realized that sometimes ladies get confused by math.)

Since Jalou "exudes style as well as substance," Sony Ericsson provides a list of the phone's features and how a stylish woman might use them. For example, you can use the 3.2 megapixel camera to "snap your favorite outfit and send it to your friends." There's a button that turns the entire screen into a mirror so you can "check your hair before a hot date," and the phone "automatically updates with zodiac signs," since all women are into flakey stuff like horoscopes. It's also the first Sony Ericsson phone to feature a BMI calculator and the Walk Mate step counter, "to help you stay in shape wherever you go."

But as Mother Jones points out,

Vanity, body image, and horoscopes aren't the only stereotypes Sony Ericcson made sure cover. Catfights will also be all the rage in 2010. Jalou is derived from the french, jalouse meaning jealousy.

There's nothing wrong with designing an attractive phone (or even liking the color pink), but like Dell and Memorex, the folks at Sony Ericsson seem to assume that female consumers care mainly that the phone is cute. Certainly women aren't using their cell phones to make business calls, read news on their web browser, or download stock quotes like a man would.

As mentioned earlier, electronics companies are still designing products for women as a niche, as if we're a feeble-minded minority rather than half of all electronics consumers. The European Information Technology Observatory just reported that mobile phone users make up 2/3 of the world's population, so some women must have already figured out how to operate a cell phone. Maybe Sony Ericsson should have asked some of these ladies why they bought the wretched non-jewel shaped phones they're using now, rather than imagining how to make this newfangled device simple and pretty enough for a woman to use.

Communicate In Style With Jalou, The Irresistable Compact Fashion Phone From Sony Ericsson [Sony Ericsson]
Dolce&Gabbana Design Special Edition Jalou For Sony Ericsson [Sony Ericsson]
Diamond Shaped Phones Are Girls Best Friend [Mother Jones]
More Than Four Billion Mobile Phone Users Worldwide [EITO]

Earlier: Memorex Launches Electronics Line By Women For Morons
Dell Discovers Ladies Use Computers For More Than Diet Tips
Della Website Suggests Marketers Don't Consider Women Regular People

Although Brennan seems qualified to talk about "feminine brands"—she is CEO of consulting firm Female Factor and has recently seen the publication of her new book Why She Buys: The New Strategy for Reaching the World's Most Powerful Consumers—her definition of what qualifies as female friendly is somewhat confusing. She recalls a recent visit to her mother's house, during which the two women struggle to work the remote controls on her new flat-screen television. After several minutes of pressing random buttons on the remotes, she wonders:

My mother is a smart woman who runs her own business. She values her time and has no desire to spend it configuring devices that should be elegant and easy to use, given their high cost. I couldn't help but think: Why does the consumer electronics industry make things harder the more advanced technology gets? And then my thoughts turned to fantasy: Why doesn't Apple make remote controls?

Why Apple? Apple makes electronics that are easy to use, simple, and sleek. And apparently, only women value these important traits. She breaks down Apple's lady-killing formula into a few simple steps: Apple products are elegant and small, Apple stores are light, bright, and full of helpful employees, and Apple products are incredibly simple to use, even without manuals.

As Brennan notes, women are responsible for nearly 80% of all consumer purchases, and in the "male" industry of electronics, women buy almost half of all consumer products. Somehow, even though women are buying their fair share of electronics, these simple items have remained part of a "masculine" field. While so much of what Brennan says about the Apple appeal is true, the fact that "female friendly" somehow means "made so everyone, even a woman, can operate it" is incredibly frustrating. No one likes products that are difficult to use, and by casting Apple as "feminine," Brennan unintentionally insults the intelligence of women everywhere. I'll concede that this is slightly better than the "pink is for ladies!" trend that painted everything, including power tools, a garish Barbie hue, but I'm not sold on the argument that Apple, with it's something-for-everyone vibe, is really just "discreetly feminine."

Apple: The World's Most Discreetly Feminine Brand? [Forbes]

The trend started in 2004, when Kraft introduced their 100-cal packs of Oreo Thin Crisps (they also introduced an infuriating commercial to promote these cardboard wafers), Wheat Thin Minis and Nabisco Mixed Berry Fruit Snacks. The next year, Kellogg and General Mills followed suit. Kraft's individually packaged bags of cookies and crackers sold extremely well: more than $75 million in sales in their first year (a figure that does not include Walmart sales).

In the past year, however, sales of the mini-packs have drastically fallen. Although Kraft maintains that its products are still selling well, dollar sales of Kraft's Nabisco 100-calorie Oreo Thin Crisps fell 30.5%, and other items show a similar trend. Some believe that the 100-cal packets are over:

Tom Vierhile, director of product launch analytics for Datamonitor, said the segment has run out of steam. Vierhile's research shows that there's still a lot of products on the market making the 100-calorie claim-190 were introduced last year and 68 have come out so far this year, but they may be too late to market. "This has been a big trend the last couple of years, but has dropped off this year and at this point it looks like we're going to come in below where we were last year," he said.

It seems that most people have realized that 100-calorie packs aren't at all useful. They don't taste as good, they fill our landfills with useless packaging, and they provide servings that are way too small to sate most cravings. Phil Lempert, a food analyst who calls himself the "Supermarket Guru," says that one reason the 100-calorie snack craze has fizzled is due to the ability of "newly frugal customers" to measure servings by themselves.

Furthermore, it appears that the strict portion control imposed by 100-calorie packs may not actually work for weight loss. A study conducted last year found that participants given 100-calorie snacks while watching TV ate significantly more than those who were handed a regular-sized bag. Brand Week also points out that portion control dieting may be on its way out, to be replaced by the already annoying weight loss buzz word "satiety."

100-Calorie Packs Pack It In [BrandWeek]

Related: 100-Calorie Snacks Are The Downfall of American Civilization
100 Calorie Packs Turn Women Into Crazy, Screaming Lunatics

When Della launched earlier this week to promote the computer manufacturer's line of Inspirion Mini 10 netbooks, the site included a video on shopping for vintage clothing and "Tech Tips" explaining how ladies could use this strange device, as of course, we don't know how to use real laptops.

Joanna Stern summarized on LAPTOP magazine's website:

The Tech Tips page, with its patronizing "Seven Unexpected Ways a Netbook Can Change Your Life," is full of stereotypes of how women's lives can be changed with a mini-notebook... "Track your exercise and food intake at free online sites like Fitday," is Tip Number One, like any self-respecting women's magazine would recommend. Number two: Find recipes online (just because we have laptops doesn't mean we don't still belong in the kitchen). Dell, is this all you think us women do with our laptops? Or do you think women are that slow at the technology uptake that we don't know that a netbook is capable of these activities?

In response to the huge amount of criticism the site received online, yesterday, Dell revised the site, adding the message, "Some of you have read this article over the last several days & will notice a few modifications. You spoke, we listened. Thank you for your ongoing feedback." The "5 Ways to Use a Netbook" section now boasts that the product can help women get organized, read eBooks, track workouts, and is easy to take along when traveling. The page on "featured artist" Robyn Moreno and her video on vintage shopping are still up.

"Some brands go too far with the girlie stuff, and that's when they start getting into trouble," said Andrea Learned, author of Don't Think Pink - What Really Makes Women Buy in the New York Times. Learned said Della emphasizing netbook colors and computer accessories, but burying price information and specifications, seemed condescending to women. "Della's marketing strategy sounds like it's advertising a purse," Ms. Learned said. "There's a level of consumer sophistication they're missing."

"There was certainly no intent to offend anyone and if we did, we apologize," said Dell spokesman Bob Kaufman, according to MSNBC, adding, "Many people do see their laptops and netbooks as a style statement, and we want to be part of those conversations." Style is an important consideration, especially since you'll hopefully be staring at the computer for several years, but it isn't the most important factor in purchasing a computer, nor is it something only women care about. As several of our commenters pointed out earlier, Apple and many PC manufacturers have used style as a selling point to both male and female consumers, but don't assume in their commercials that people don't care about the product's performance as well.

Though Dell revising the more egregiously annoying aspects of the site is a step in the right direction, it still takes a few clicks to find any specifications on Della. The section about Mini 10 Netbooks on Dell's main page seems to include a comparison of the three netbooks' prices, processor speeds, and display sizes. We're not sure what all those crazy numbers mean, but we still don't want a Dell netbook, even if it does come in pink.

Dear Della, Sexism Doesn't Sell Laptops [LAPTOP]
5 Ways To Use A Netbook [Della]
What Do Women Want In A Laptop? [The New York TImes]
Let's Market PCs Like It's 1959 [MSNBC]
Mini Notebooks - Products [Della]

Earlier: Marketing Madness

What with the economy in the tank and all, and Mad Men a cultural phenom, "Advertising" (which as we know is a big amorphous entity, kind of like "Media") is turning to nostalgia. Says a guy at Pepsi, which is unveiling some retro packaging: ""It's about yearning for the past, a simpler time, even though the '60s and '70s were not simple...They just seem simple, looking back."

Like Pepsi, the usual Capitalist suspects - think Mickey D's, Coke and General Mills - are resorting to vintage jingles and old timey logos to foster a sense of security and, presumably, both retro-low pricing and antique quality. Even in cases like Target, which didn't actually exist in the eras it's seeking to evoke. The results, however subconsciously comforting, are consciously mixed: for every "Fabric of Our Lives" return (Zooey Deschanel's apparently covering it, no less) there's an annoying "Meet the Buttertons," with all the subtlety of a Sam Mendes take on suburban malaise. And the "How Many Licks" Tootsie Pop campaign has yet to make its appearance - possibly due to unfortunate Urban Outfitters Ironic Shirt associations.

While the trends are obviously demo-driven, it's still peculiar to think that we're harking back not merely to times of tremendous civil and cultural unrest, but also economic instability. Are we supposed to take a "this too shall pass" attitude, or merely remember a time when we were too young to care? Alternatively, is the message more profound? Here, says PepsiCo, was Joy. In the midst of life we are in death. Live each day to the fullest because youth is not eternal. Or - horrifyingly - is this movement a cultural Dorian Gray of sorts? Are we just plastering over our problems with vintage packaging and familiar pabulum? I guess the answer will be in the numbers. (Which, ideally, will be brought to us via Mathnet.)

Warm And Fuzzy Makes A Comeback [NY Times]
The Touch, The Feel Of Nostalgia [AdAge]

Debuting in the United States after a run in Australia, M&M/Mars brings us the Fling bar, a "lite" candy bar designed to take all of the flavor and fun out of candy and replace it with pink! and sparkles! and low calorie filling! Because women are like so totally into like sparkles and shit that they won't mind eating a candy bar laced with mica, you guys! For real! And perhaps if the candy shimmers enough, our insides won't recognize that we are eating the candy equivalent of a Sex in the City sequel instead of say, a Snickers bar. As Andy Wright of Mother Jones writes , "Couple this with the oppressive pinkness of the campaign, and one is left wondering when marketers will figure out that in order to make women buy things, they do not have to, literally, shove sparkles down their throats."

The campaign that Wright is referencing is the Fling marketing blitz that paints the bar as a naughty, sparkly little secret for chocolate-obsessed women. "Your boyfriend doesn't need to know," is one of the themes of the campaign— because god forbid a man see you eat chocolate! What would he think!? What would he say?! THE HORROR, you guys!

The Fling bar is just the latest in a series of products marketed toward women; both Dove Promises and Hershey's Bliss, two perfectly delicious chocolates, market themselves as some sort of spa retreat in a metallic wrapper. Dove Promises also list a groan-inducing "inspirational" message on the inside of each wrapper, like, "love is a flower, friendship is a sheltering tree." Now I love candy beyond all things. And I love Dove Promises. But I hate buying them, because there's a "aww, pathetic lady!" stigma attached to them, thanks to the commercials, that makes me feel like an ass each time I put them on the grocery store conveyor belt.

The concept of "indulgent" candy marketing is this: women may not be willing to drop the money they once did on expensive items for themselves, but they might be willing to treat themselves with a slightly fancier piece of chocolate. Small indulgences, like paying an extra 2 bucks for quality chocolate, will be the next big push. Because ladies, you are worth it, and so on and so forth. The strange thing about Fling, however, is that unlike Dove Promises and Hershey's Bliss, which seem to push the idea that you should buy this candy proudly because you deserve it, Fling pushes the notion that candy buying is something to be slightly discreet and embarrassed about. As Cybele at Candyblog notes, "It's packaged like tampons (the individual fingers sold in stand up boxes moreso), so maybe it gives women who are embarrassed to be seen with a chocolate bar a more discrete package to disguise it."

What the candy companies don't quite understand is that for those of us who truly love candy, we don't see it as gender-specific. And for every bar like the "Fling," which CandyAddict.com described as "a wanna-be Twix, minus the caramel," that arrives, the idea that candy is something women should feel guilty or careful about is perpetuated, leading to a public perception that some things are "bad" and "good" for women to eat. It's already happened with frozen dinners: you never see a man sitting down to eat a Lean Cuisine in a commercial; the men are always marketed a Hungry Man dinner, complete with "one pound of food!"

Will the Fling bar be successful? Probably, for a while, based on curiosity alone. But the shadiness of marketing a bar to women who clearly aren't comfortable with food and therefore need to view their candy as a "secret" or something to be incredibly sneaky about is just disappointing and gross, and even if the chocolate below the wrapper is delicious, there's a sense of bad taste that already overwhelms the product. And besides, why have a Fling with a novelty bar when you can have a lifelong relationship with a Snickers? I mean, really.

Finally, Candy Makers Market Directly To Women With Food Issues [MotherJones]
Candy Review: Fling Chocolate [CandyAddict]
Fling Review [Candyblog]

[Image via Candyblog]

As you see, it's eggs. With Disney characters stamped on the shells. Possibly selling at a markup. Is this some kind of tie-in to a movie, or further proof of the evils of agribusiness and the coming apocalypse? And while marketers obviously want to trick kids into believing that the plain old eggs are going to come out magically Mickey-shaped, we want to know: 1. Do the eggs come with the mold? 2. How much does said mold cost? 3. Does egg actually seep out from under edges of said mold, rendering shape unrecognizable, as has been the case in all our experiments with whimsical egg-shapery? The only way I can see this strangely low-fi "new product" swaying any egg-hater is if you give them something shell-on, ie hard-boiled or soft-cooked. Even then, any kid is quickly going to get wise to the fact that it's just a plain old egg, but a prancing Donald Duck might buy you a reluctant bite or two.