By Shari Graydon, published in Marketing
Magazine, 17 November 2003
It may not be
quite as succinct as the original, but perhaps the expression should be updated
nevertheless: Hell hath no fury like a woman enraged by sexist advertising.
As a result of
that fury, unleashed on the apparently unsuspecting marketing team at Terra
Footwear, the work boot company suspended a controversial campaign gracing
close to 600 billboards in major cities across Canada. The advertisements featured lingerie-clad
female models holding construction tools in suggestive poses. The come-hither
vixens were juxtaposed against clumsy double-entendre headlines and supported
by a pornographic video available on Terra's website to viewers over 19 years
of age.
When confronted by
the fury (delivered via dozens of email messages), Terra's marketing manager,
Mark Krausewitz acknowledged that his company is "in the business to sell
boots, not offend people." (Unfortunately, he then appeared to blame those
who were offended for failing to have a sense of humour.)
But all is not
lost: the ill-fated promotional effort offers a storyboard full of marketing
lessons:
1. THE YEAR IS
2003: Female consumers have been attempting to educate advertisers about their
irritation over the use of irrelevant sexual appeals for decades. Mobilized by
the women's movement in the late 1960s, and supported by ongoing public
initiatives recognizing their right to be taken seriously in the workplace and
protected from assault in the streets, they've delivered this message
repeatedly, and backed it up with boycott behaviour. Just because images of
near naked women can still be found in men's magazines and movies, on TV and
the Internet, doesn't mean the approach is advisable as an advertising
strategy.
2. MEDIA IMAGES
HAVE SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES: Women's belief in advertising's responsibility for
helping to perpetuate discrimination and harassment is now research-supported.
Studies have documented the role that pornographic-style media -- whether
dressed up as consumer ads or not -- play in normalizing sexual harassment in
the workplace. Informed female consumers know this; others just sense it as a
result of their day-to-day experience. As importantly, Advertising Standards
Canada recognizes the issue in its gender portrayal guidelines.
3. SEXUAL APPEALS
HAVE LIMITED EFFECTIVENESS, ANYWAY: Despite their ubiquity, provocatively
undressed beauties are not the best means of moving product. They're great at
attracting attention -- period. Research shows that people often remember the
sexy image but don't register, let alone recall, the product name. And even if
they do, unless the product is actually seen to be associated with sex -- as in
perfume, for example, or alcohol -- the appeal doesn't motivate product trial.
Last time I checked, spike heels and strappy sandals were favoured over
steel-toed boots when arousal was the name of the game.
4. APOLOGIZE LIKE
YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU DID WRONG: This one could also be called "The
customer is always right." Just as
politicians never win when they blame the media for their failure to
communicate their message, advertisers who blame consumers for failing to
appreciate their creative genius only dig the hole in which they're standing
deeper. Saying "We're sorry you were too humourless to appreciate the
joke" is like spitting in a bull's face after you've already flashed him
with the red flag. It will probably prolong the hostility.
5. WHY ALIENATE
POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS: The campaign's target audience was guys between the ages
of 18 and 45. But traditionally male-dominated industries have been expanding
their female workforce for a number of years now, and women who operate heavy
equipment or labour on construction sites are required to wear the same kind of
appropriate footwear expected of their male colleagues. In other words, they're
potential customers, in addition to being vocal influencers.
6. YOU CAN'T
TARGET AN OUTDOOR CAMPAIGN: Finally, the decision to place the racy images on
outdoor media was especially risky.
Billboards invariably attract the attention of people outside of the
campaign’s intended audience. And an ad that’s specially designed to make young
men's hearts pump faster is unlikely to have the same salutary impact on
working women in their 40s, or even fathers of young daughters.
The good news
story arising from Terra's campaign is that the facility with which people can
express their disenchantment via electronic media now means that companies
actually hear about the ways in which they're undermining themselves in a
timely fashion. Even people who volunteer that they're often offended by
advertising messages rarely complain. Instead, they engage in silent boycotts
and spread bad word- of-mouth.
But email and the
Internet have made communicating with companies much easier. Although some
marketers might resent the ease with which a mobilized group can now inundate
them with complaints, a better way to view the scenario is as free consumer
research.
