Playing the Gender Card

In this age of feminism, if you can feature a female in your story, the more likely you gain empathy with audiences these days.

For example, just look at the Happy Egg Company that panders to women, claiming it houses its hens (called “their girls”) in large pastures instead of cages and treats their birds with loving care (company slogan: “raised with love”). Well, at least that is what its advertising pitch says. Happy Egg Co. even appeals for donations so it can farm its chickens out to pasture once they have finished their egg-laying days and are ready for retirement.

Marketing eggs is not about product or price any longer, it’s about gender. Appeal to the feelings of the female buyer. If hens are being mistreated by being caged, make a play for the sympathy of female consumers, especially when you can get women to pay up $6.99 for a dozen eggs from “loved chickens” versus $1.95/dozen for eggs from unloved hens.

Not a word of objection from feminist organizations about being pandered to. What we’re not hearing is: “What do you think we are, mindless females driven by our nurturing hormones to make purchasing decisions?”

I was trying to think, if men bought most eggs how would the guy in the marketing department make a pitch to them? Maybe a saucy-looking hen on the top of the egg carton like Disney did with Jessica Rabbit, wife of Roger Rabbit (24 million views on YouTube), who provided eye candy for bored fathers when they took their young kids to the movies.

A woman ‘s plight carries the torch for eminent domain issues

So the movie LITTLE PINK HOUSE, a cause-driven chick flick based upon a real story (Amazon.com), uses a woman’s plight in facing a legal challenge to her home ownership by the local municipality, which served as a shill for a large pharmaceutical company that wanted her property. In the end the movie’s heroin loses her appeal in a challenge before the Supreme Court, giving legal precedent for large private companies to buy off government officials using eminent domain to seize private property.

But just like the anti-gun movement in the Obama era spurred sales of guns, the outcome of that Supreme Court eminent domain case was 21 States enacted laws against private entities benefiting from eminent domain laws by buying off public officials. Lead with a helpless female and you win any way.

Over-use of eminent domain laws to confiscate property from citizens for private entities is a serious issue. It took a woman’s plight to get this public issue into theatres.

On the authority of a woman

I recall the vitamin C company that in 1999 had a female 2nd grade school teacher say she developed the product and it kept her from getting colds from her students. The product was strategically placed in airport stores and was branded under the trade name AIRBORNE and sales soared after exposure on the Oprah Winfrey show.

The company claimed it had conducted a clinical trial to prove its efficacy but later it was found there was no credible evidence it prevented colds. The company eventually paid a $23.3 million in a class action lawsuit for exaggerated product claims, but that was announced nine years later after the company became a major brand.

Airborne had revenues of $70 million a year in 2012 before it sold for $150 million, all initially based on the claim of a 2nd-grade female teacher who was touted as an entrepreneur on the Oprah Winfrey show. So playing the female card can be profitable even if there is no truth to the sales pitch.

From youngest female billionaire to complete flop

Let’s not forget Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos who became infamous for her fraudulent misrepresentation of the capabilities of her blood testing equipment to perform many tests from a single drop of blood.

She fooled Walgreen’s who had signed up for Theranos to open up minilabs in their drug stores. She misled investors who put up $700 million of capital. She falsely claimed Theranos’ products were deployed in the battlefield in Afghanistan and had generated over $100 million in revenues. She duped Stanford Business School that invited her to speak as an expert in business venture development.

This was all well and good till a reporter from Forbes.com called her claims into question. She went from being the “youngest self-made female billionaire” (estimated $4.5 billion) to zero wealth. The lesson here is that a female can be very convincing but in the end there has to be substance and marketability for any successful commercialized venture.

Products for women

Frito-Lay is now considering a lady-friendly Dorito’s chip with low crunch and less flavor stick on the fingers.

Johnny Walker just introduced a special version of its whiskey under the trade name “Jane Walker.” There’s nothing like gender equality when it comes to whiskey.

Of course a woman could start a business venture and if she owns 51% of the company and as a female holds the highest position in the company, the company gains advantage when bidding for business with government agencies. Designation as a “Certified Woman-Owned Business” is available. However, hiring an all-female work force may have its drawbacks.

And with the me-too movement in full swing, it’s still OK to promote Diet-Coke to women who lust for men, something that certainly wouldn’t fly the other way around.

Uh oh, and now another woman, who has been endorsed by Jesus A. Christ of Waterboro, Maine, is thinking of running for the highest office in the land. Who dares oppose her with god on her side? And she may run for office on a platform offering a free automobiles for all. But like most free offers, there was a $7000 catch.


By Bill Sardi
Source: Lew Rockwell

 

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