The birth of gender neutral marketing. We live in a world where many of us claim to be \u2018equals\u2019 in terms of gender neutrality. However, a lot remains to be seen for the way both sexes are portrayed in the media. We all hear \u2018jokes\u2019 how men are useless at housework and women can\u2019t read a map. We are also aware of what colours are socially acceptable to dress our children in once they are born. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marx claimed that everyone is affected by the media. The media is run by opinion leaders who influence the public to make them believe whatever suits them at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the birth of the Internet the world accepted that freewill, free speech\nand self-induced influence exists. I\u2019m not suggesting we all move to the forest\nand shut ourselves off from the media. What I am saying is that it\u2019s important\nto look at things from a subjective viewpoint and consider what it would be to\nbreak the boundaries of the \u2018norm\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As marketers ourselves, we spend our entire lives breaking down businesses results and analysing them<\/a>. We use it to look at company culture and give them the best results we possibly can. So the question begs, what is gender neutral marketing? Does it actually exist? What makes a \u2018masculine colour\u2019? Is it dark hues of shades? why so? Is it because it makes them look rugged \u2013 like the alpha that apparently, every girl \u2018deserves\u2019? Or in fact, does a male wearing a softer colour make them more masculine because they are embracing their \u2018feminine\u2019 side? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Pink is in fact named after a flower which previously was described as \u2018roseus\u2019 or \u2018rosey.\u2019 This simply means a lighter shade of red. Pink was traditionally worn by boys as men wore red. Boys are just younger versions of men and the pink colour of their ribbons and clothes reflected that. In the 1800\u2019s boys wore white and dresses until they were 6 or 7, which was also the time of their first haircut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been suggested that in the same way we want everything instantly in modern consumer culture, we also want to instantly define a person\u2019s gender. A scary thought when you break it down in its most simple terms \u2013 instant sexualisation in marketing even from a tender age.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Girls were traditionally adorned in blue as it was a daintier colour, and\nyet after the First World War there was a massive lean in the opposite\ndirection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We live in an age where there are less \u2018rules\u2019 than ever to define what is\nacceptable. It is still important that as ambassadors and leaders in the\nmarketing world, when we feed people information it can be taken from a\nsubjective viewpoint and that it is fair and equal to all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A good case\nstudy: A few years ago Marks and Spencers announced they were making gender\nneutral marketing the norm. This was in response to criticism to the \u2018Boy\u2019s\nStuff\u2019 and \u2018Little Miss Arty\u2019 lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It caused a\nlot of discussion in our office because it seems to go much further than just\nmarketing. Some of us have very strong opinions on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Good on M&S\nfor modernizing their branding. Companies such as Kinder with their pink or\nblue eggs and stores who segregate their toys make me quite cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have two\nchildren; both girls. One loves anything sparkly, sings songs from Tangled and\nwon\u2019t wear anything that doesn\u2019t glitter. The other is often seen with a car in\none hand and a dinosaur in the other. She pretends to be Spiderman and loves\nrobots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Due to my marketing background I understand better than most how marketing needs to be targeted but surely the example above is more than good enough to show you that gender-based marketing, especially for children<\/a>, is absolutely not a good idea!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We then color code toys and their wrapping to fuel a boy to play sports and entice girl to nurture. So is it really any surprise to any of us when men dominate management roles and women more compassionate occupations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you can tell I believe it really does go much further than marketing for a particular sex. By presenting children with different messages we are saying that there is a vast difference in their gender and therefore interests; we are setting them up to expect different things from their future.<\/p>\n\n\n\nShouldn\u2019t men be able to wear and appreciate whatever colour they want?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
What is clear is that sexes have been defined by colour for centuries and this\nis still seen today. Note the breast cancer campaign \u2013 pink for femininity and\nwomen.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Should marketing to children be gender neutral?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Opinion\nOne (Sarah)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
From the moment they are born we dress our boys as superheroes and girls in pink. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n