Alienation and Advertising

A few commercials have recently piqued my interest into the art of advertising, especially when the marketing of a product alienates users. This is, of course, a natural by-product of items such as feminine hygiene products that have gender specific functions, but for products that are not gender-specific, what would be the purpose in alienating possible buyers?

The first example that comes to mind are "Yorkie" candy bars that my family used to eat growing up. These are purpose chocolate bars that are so dark they are "not for girls"

Eating chocolate is obviously not exclusively a male-centered act nor is chocolate a male-centered item, but the advertising for Yorkies caters to this divide. The sign in the artwork implicates a standard restroom sign, so although the language might imply that "women" might eat the chocolate, visually, the statement is exclusionary to all genders.

My thoughts about Yorkies were initiated by the new Dr. Pepper commercial about their 10 calorie brand. As the first comment on the YouTube video states, "if people could just politely unknot their knickers we could all appreciate this for what it is: a joke." But what damage do jokes, even at their most parodied and stereotyped forms do for the formation of genders? Make a judgment for yourself while watching the video below.

Even as a joke, albeit not a very funny one, there is one statement in particular that is impossible to ignore: "keep your romantic comedies and lady drinks, we're good." The distinction between a 10 calorie soda and a "lady drink" is an interesting parody, as one might typically associate "diet" drinks as a female market. What is inherently "manly" about a 10 calorie soda is left unknown in the commercial, but the action movie backdrop (complete with large weaponry, a robotic snake, motorcycles and "catchphrases") as compared to a romantic comedy, makes the statement that women are less likely to enjoy these types of movies over romantic comedies. As a female who despises romantic comedies and adores horror and action, these types of generalizations are offensive and unnecessary. One might assume that even women who fall into these preferences would find the commercial distasteful. Even if not, why would marketers run the risk of alienating a large percentage of the consumer-base. Especially in a society where women are still the main shoppers and Robertson's theories of "low commitment consumer behavior" indicate an ease of changing shopping conditions, marketers are taking huge risks in associating the feminine with interpretative messages of weak, averse to excitement/action, boring, overly sensitive, and other negative notions often associated with "girly" tendencies. 

I have issue with the association of the genders as a dichotomy, in general, but these dichotomies are rampant in mainstream media and are thus areas for criticism in scholarly research. What would advertisers say to transitioning consumers? Consumers that identify as both or neither male or female? How successful are these stereotypes still in reaching wide audiences for long-term brand association when the changing of the population indicates a trend away from these black and white distinctions? 

Robertson, T. S. (1976). Low-commitment consumer behavior. Journal of Advertising Research 16(2), 19-24.