For generations, men have been told that the worst gifts they can give women are products for cleaning the home or for working out.
Cleaning products, like vacuum cleaners, are a message to women that they should tidy the home, reinforcing a sexual stereotype. Exercise gear is a message to women that they need to lose weight or get into shape, implying that they aren’t attractive.
For this Mother’s Day, iRobot is promoting its floor-washing robot Scooba, which is basically an intelligent mop. And GameStop is marketing Nintendo’s Wii Fit, a fitness video game, as “fun for Mom.”
Sure, Scooba is a great time-saver for mopping the kitchen floor, but it still requires some work. (Filling the robot with cleaning solution and emptying the dirty water when it’s finished.) IRobot also sells Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners.
And Wii Fit may be a fun video game, but it is still a fitness product.
I wonder how well those marketing campaigns have worked.
Pictures above:
Advertisement for iRobot’s Scooba (top) and GameStop’s promotion for Nintendo’s Wii Fit.
Cleaning products, like vacuum cleaners, are a message to women that they should tidy the home, reinforcing a sexual stereotype. Exercise gear is a message to women that they need to lose weight or get into shape, implying that they aren’t attractive.
For this Mother’s Day, iRobot is promoting its floor-washing robot Scooba, which is basically an intelligent mop. And GameStop is marketing Nintendo’s Wii Fit, a fitness video game, as “fun for Mom.”
Sure, Scooba is a great time-saver for mopping the kitchen floor, but it still requires some work. (Filling the robot with cleaning solution and emptying the dirty water when it’s finished.) IRobot also sells Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners.
And Wii Fit may be a fun video game, but it is still a fitness product.
I wonder how well those marketing campaigns have worked.
Pictures above:
Advertisement for iRobot’s Scooba (top) and GameStop’s promotion for Nintendo’s Wii Fit.
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