Marketing to women discussion - Tuesday 1pm

[carriemumsnet]

Hi all

We've been asked by a new specialist female marketing company www.prettylittlehead.co.uk to find out what women think of marketing that's targeted at women. By marketing they mean anything from radio/TV/ newspaper/magazine ads to direct marketing that comes through the door. We're not talking about marketing to children (that's a whole other subject) but more what brands you like and which you don't and why? What irritates you about the way companies market to you and which brands or products should be more aimed at women which currently seem completely focused on men. Do you think advertisers try and make you feel good or bad about yourself in order to flog their products to you? Who or what do you trust for advice on products ? (need we ask? ) There is of course no compulsion to take part in the debate/discussion, and as usual with online chats you can post your thoughts in advance, but anyone who joins in between 1pm Tues and 1pm Weds (to give all the night shift a chance) will be entered into this week's competition.

Hope to see you there

Carrie, there are ads that I find merely annoying, in which case, they probably would work in making me think of the company and at least check them out, but there are also ads that I feel are somehow morally wrong and make me vow to have nothing whatever to do with the company in question even if the product is quite good.

(eg there is a baby food company at the moment whose advert is all about making people think baby nutrition is so complicated you can't possibly feed your kids properly without their help. This strikes me as an immoral message, so I wouldn't buy their stuff.)

oh yes, the only way to make me actually buy the product is to give me money off it.
(Are you listening, Johnnie Boden, eh? eh?)

I do quite like the sentiment of L'Oreal "because I'm worth it" (damn right I am) I don't like the way that they think they can make us believe that Eva Longoria, Andie McDowell etc colour their own hair at home.
Particularly in this day and age where the hairdressers to the celebs are as famous as the celebs themselves.

Oh yes, the farking airbrushed-out wrinkle ads. ROC is the worst company - their ads imply that wrinkles are the work of the devil and not a lovely natural product of age, experience and laughter.

Have never even considered approaching Sheila's Wheels for a quote, have heard they aren't actually cheaper a lot fo the time anyway.

tbh most marketing switches me off, I rarely try anything based upon an ad. What I really dislike are advertorial type articles in the free supermarket mags, glossy magazines aimed at women, websites (and MN has had this too in the past) and so on which apparently gives tacit endorsement to the products mentioned but which are funded by the manufacturers. Seems a particularly insidious tactic tbh.

agree with Lady MacBeth in hating ads that demean men - just as bad as ads that demean women, so why do they need to do either? I hate the assumption that women will respond to that.

I agree that it would take more than real women to make us switch brand but there is always going to be advertising and I would rather it featured real people or humerous things than all the other awful stuff.

What about Green issues - the buzz word of today. Would that make us switch brands? It has me - I changed my bank account to an ethical bank and am happy to see more bio-degradeable enviro-friendly products more readily available.

A good tune is great for advertising - obviously hard to please everyone though - Citroen car ads recently were very catchy and well thought out. Shame their cars are

A strange thing is the ads regarding germs/bacteria etc. We are all being warned these days about the links betrween being too clean and the rising rates of asthma, allergies - yet we are shown babies in high chairs and food on toilet seats How does that work?

What about accents on voice-overs? Sorry but Brummy accent is awful. Apparently the Irish and Scots do well.

the ad i hate the most is the flash ones with the guy who used to be on brushstrokes. She has spent hours cleanign soemthing, or uses hundreds of different products but he the MAN just uses one, its he clever and she stupid.

Persil washing up liquid. Have you seen the ad? the man is laying on the sofa whilst a woman calls " thanks for doing the dishes for ME I will have to think of a way in which to pay you back " the man then dashes to kitchen and with the aid of said wonderful washing up liquid does the dishes in seconds.

yes thankyou for reinforcing that housework is a womans domain and that men only do these things as a favour becuase ultimatley we have sexual power.

huge groan.

What does anyone else think about the green issues thing? Are you more likely to go for something because it's green/environmental?

I really hate feeling patronised by some of the ads directed at women.

My favourite ads have been some of the Honda ones, and I don't know, were they directed at men? They were clever and funny and that is what I liked about them.

The constant bleach / air fresheners / cleaning product ones, I hate pretty much all of them.

Yes.

Sorry I haven't read all the thread or I will never catch up! I am sick to bloody death of "aspirational" marketing. If you want to sell something to me make me laugh. Like the weight watchers Gorgeous ad. Also If I ever see the Oust woman who "can't stand bad odours" I will head butt her.

I like the free samples you get in magazines - not when they cause the pages to stick together though.

Increasingly the ads seem to be dubbed either from US or Europe.

Exactly Rumpel free samples or money off please !

Green issues - yes if I believed it, but I'm a bit cynical about corporations jumping on bandwagons.

spot on re the Honda ads - a well-made advert appeals to everyone purely because it's well made (we still sing 'Hate something, change something' from their diesel campaign)

And yes I'd buy things if they were greener and could prove it. Hate ones that say eg 'New greener ingredients' and expect you to lap it up with no evidence.

yes free samples are wonderful. I particularly hate paying for sanitery towels. I regularly look iin on freebie sites and often get them sent to me free.

LOL wildwoman - me too! I really hate the bad voiceover where the original as is obviously foreign eg the spray loo freshner and the one for those sugar free swirly sweets.

The Audi hi-tech one, where it looks like a spider is fab, well thought out and visually striking.

i would absoluetly buy more products if they were green/environmentally friendly - hate most advertising - the hand stuffing the washing in the machine, loading the dishwasher etc etc is always a womans

Oh - and we did buy a Honda too!

I HATE the one where the boy is sat on the loo and his mum goes in to put a new spray thingy in, as DP says "what about a courtesy flush?"

OMG wildwoman, I TOTALLY AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!