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HEAR HEAR!!!!!!
I couldn't agree more Dierdre, this is the kind of thing that really gets my
hackles up.
Put it this way, if Mindstorms is perhaps the kind of thing that parents would
usually not consider for a girl ( speaking of the "average" parent here) then
isn't that more reason to include girls in the marketing pitch??
To pitch the advertising towards the converted, (nay, that was not just a
pitch it was exclusionary) Lego are not only being sexist but stupid!
NOW parents who MAY have considered it for their daughter, will perhaps
think "oh she won't be interested in that it is made for boys" How about
including the rest of the population (of which females comprise more than 50%
actually) and trying for the ones that may not otherwise consider buying it,
thus more than doubling your expected market?
It is one thing to realise that your child will play with whatever he/she
wants regardless of what you purchase at times, (yes my boy has dolls, etc and
my girl always had cars etc and neither of them showed more than a cursury
interest despite my best efforts, but so be it, I still try!)
However, the majority of parents will not buy "gender inappropriate" toys for
thier children.
This marketing faux pas WILL affect the sales of Mindstorms and more
pertinantly mean that there will be girls that will miss out on getting it for
xmas(a great shame). Advertising is a powerful, powerful medium, don't be
tempted to underestimate the effect that it has on sales and clientele.
Rachel
> > > What? You (Lego) mean that I can't get a Mindstorms set for Christmas
> > > after all? I thought I'd dealt with all the "you can't program computers
> > > because you're a girl" stupidity 10+ years ago and now a respected toy • company
> > > that supposedly is encouraging children's development comes along and
> > > spouts the same thing?
> >
> >
> > Okay, I think that this isn't sexist at all. It's just a case of directed
> > marketing, where the manufacturer pitches the sale towards the largest
> > demographic.
> <snipped>
>
> I think we may have to agree to disagree on this :) Though I shan't form
> further opinions until I've seen the rest of the catalog, at the point
> I was looking last night there were only the first 3 or so pages.
>
> Deidre
> drb@tasmail.com
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