SuperBowl ads ignore women

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Thanks to AskPatty for pointing this out on AdWeek. Did you watch the game? Did you see the famed SuperBowl ads?

I was stunned to see in one of the first ones the man is eating something or other (I had to go look it up to remember that it was Doritos) that allows him to make magic things happen–and the first thing he does is cause an attractive woman’s clothes to be stripped off her body. She’s standing there in her black bra, black underpants, and black GARTER BELT and stockings. Huh? What day and age is this?

If nearly half of the SuperBowl audience is women, and those women make 50 to 90% of the buying decisions in any particular sector of this country’s economy, what are you accomplishing by pandering to male fantasies and completely ignoring women’s sensibilities?

Never mind the GoDaddy ad suggesting women should shower together online to entertain male customers. What? I wonder how many of GoDaddy’s customers are women–women who increasingly set up web sites and need hosting and other services.

What’s the conclusion we can reach? That the companies that make the billions of dollars necessary to be able to spend millions on SuperBowl ads know the research–that 38% of the SuperBowl audience is female–and just plain don’t care. We’ve come a long way, baby…not.

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Barbara Payne, February 4th 2009 | Posted in SuperBowl ads, women unimportant

A beautiful Valentine idea for all SWWANs and friends

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Thanks for this wonderful idea from Beth Bradfish, single-working-woman publisher of Express Harmonies and owner of Beth Bradfish, Inc. workshops and seminars.

A Heart-made Valentine
February, 2009

“Get out your scissors and paste.” Remember the valentines you made when you were a kid? How much fun was that?!

Here’s a way to do that again with a grown-up twist that promises a powerful impact.

Step 1. Thinking about your loved one, identify his or her three greatest strengths. If you need some words to choose from, try this list from Martin Seligman’s Authentic Happiness (Simon & Schuster, 2002): curiosity, love of learning, judgment, ingenuity, social intelligence, perspective, value, perseverance, integrity, kindness, loving, citizenship, fairness, leadership, self-control, prudence, humility, appreciation of beauty, gratitude, hope, spirituality, forgiveness, humor and zest.

Step 2. For each of the strengths you choose for your loved one, write down a recent admirable example in which he or she displayed this strength. (See #1 below for an example of what this might look like.)

1. Strength: KINDNESS

Example: Monday, before you left for work, you cleaned the snow and ice off my car windows. That was so kind of you and reminds me of all the kind and thoughtful things you do for me and so many other people.

2. Strength: _________________

Example:

3. Strength: _________________

Example:

Step 3. Draw a nice big red heart around what you’ve written and hand it to your loved one on Valentine’s Day. (And then wait for a big smile to break out!)

“What underlies this exercise is the importance of the ideal self, both in our own mind and in that of our partner. The ideal self is the image we hold of the very best we are capable of, our highest strengths realized and active. When we feel that we are living up to the ideals that we hold most dearly, we are gratified, and exercising these strengths produces more gratification. When our partner sees this as well, we feel validated, and we work harder not to disappoint our partner’s faith in us.” –Martin Selgman from Authentic Happiness.

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Barbara Payne, February 4th 2009 | Posted in Valentine card, Valentine gift, Valentine's Day