I have the opposite problem to the OP.
I much prefer the iconic yellow lego minifigures to the weird skinny Friends ones, but I find my DD is generally a lot more attracted to the subject matter of the Friends sets.
At the moment, she really likes the look of the cruise ship, the lighthouse, the hot air balloon, the new airport and planes (I am quite excited about the airport myself), the riding stable, all the jungle sets...
She already has the caravan and car, which she loves.
Of the other standard Lego sets, she likes the look of the beach hut in the creator range, and the ice cream van looked good from the Lego Movie range, but has been discontinued, I think.
She quite likes pirates, police and fireman, and coastguards too, but if she had to choose, I think the beach and animal themes of the Friends sets would win for her, even if they weren't pastel coloured and containing Friends figures.
I think it's a shame it has to be so polarised. There's not much for boys who might also be into vets and jungle adventures. Surely it's worse for boys, who are less likely to want to buy a very girly looking set with Friends written on it, than it is for girls, for whom it is much more socially acceptable to play with both.
I'd be much happier to buy the Friends sets for DD if they had normal yellow minifigures. (But I still will buy them for her, because those are the sets that will capture her imagination the most.)