**Man Crisps, Bic for Her pens, and chocolate that isn’t for girls. It seems that – in the advertising world at least – the gender gap is rising and consumers can’t get enough of it.**
Earlier this month, Pot Noodle opened a pop-up restaurant offering a unique dining experience for “lads”. Chez Bloke launched in London to promote the new Piri Piri chicken Pot Noodle. Men can enter a Facebook competition to visit the restaurant with friends where they will lounge in Lay-Z Boy chairs, in tuxedo onesies from PrezzyBox, and be waited on by their own waitress.
This type of gendered advertising is nothing new for the brand.
Pot Noodle’s previous television campaign followed “Brian” who became a WAG for an easy life:
The brand clearly knows how to reach out to their target audience of 16-24 year old males, but isn’t the only brand focusing on gendered advertising.
A brief history of gendered advertising
Nestle’s Yorkie has been ruling the gendered advertising game since 2001. The iconic “It’s Not For Girls” campaign has proved to be (link: http://veethemonsoon.wordpress.com/2004/07/02/nestle-uks-yorkie-is-not-for-girls/ text: extremely popular) and position the brand well ahead of the competition.
McCoy’s too, have been running a male-oriented campaign. Their ‘Man Crisps’ campaign had its (link: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/907743/mccoys-rolls-man-crisps-site text: own website), and is memorable for its slogan alone. While the brand’s advertising efforts never went as far as Yorkie, the original campaign from 2009 is still remembered today.
Galaxy is one brand that has chosen – like most other chocolate brands – to channel their advertising efforts towards the fairer sex. The sultry and moody (youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3QBVZdVvAI text: television campaigns) speak right to women and are another example of a brand that knows exactly who they’re speaking too.
More recently, Bic has come under fire for creating a range of pens for women.
Unlike the other brands who do gendered advertising with their tongues firmly in their cheeks, the Bic for Her range is entirely serious. Cue some highly sarcastic comments on the product’s (link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B004FTGJUW text: Amazon listing) and plenty of (link: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/9503359/BIC-ridiculed-over-comfortable-pink-pens-for-women.html text: online ridicule).
So then, gendered advertising can certainly work well for some brands. But it can also be a car crash.
As a leading advertising agency, we can help you avoid a pile up and race your way into poll position. We know the advertising world inside out, and are on hand to offer you the support and guidance you need to pull off a winning campaign.
Here, we’re going to share our top tips for gendered advertising and help you reach out to your target audience efficiently and effectively:
1. Do your research
Before you launch into any advertising campaign, it’s important that you do your (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/advertising/consumer-market-research/ text: consumer research).
When you’re planning something like a gender-specific campaign, you need to know your audience inside and out before you start thinking of ad concepts. For instance; there’s no point in planning a controversial campaign targeting only women when the bulk of your consumers are male.
Find out what your competitors are doing, and see how you can position yourself differently. You can get loads of inspiration here; you might be able to find a gap in the market that only your product can fill.
You should also bear in mind at this point that you shouldn’t be controversial for the sake of it. The reason the aforementioned campaigns work so well is because they tie in with the brand values. These brands don’t take themselves too seriously, making the gendered adverts humorous and impactive.
2. Plan your campaign
The reason these examples of gendered advertising have worked so well is because they were so carefully planned.
Yorkie have a lengthy reason behind their “Not For Girls” campaign, and have continuously stepped up their marketing. There were (youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcjlzSod0CE text: TV adverts), on-packet advertising, and even a pink variety that was aimed specifically at women.
They didn’t just rush in with an idea; they planned each and every aspect. If you want to do the same – without alienating your audience or looking sexist – you have to have everything planned.
Have a humorous and unique angle, have a complete strategy plan, and don’t jump straight to implementation. Be aware that gendered advertising won’t work for everyone; this stage is super important as it helps you iron out any creases before you throw money at the project.
3. Know your goals
As with any form of advertising, you need to have a set of goals in mind. There is no point just running a campaign for the sake of it; you need to have a customer action in mind. This will help you tailor your adverts – whether they are gendered or not, online or in print.
This style of campaign can prove to be a viral success for your business with the right marketing behind you. But all of these brands have goals and justifications in mind; you need them too. Start by identifying you desired end result, and work backwards from there.
Brainstorm with every member of your team to bring as many ideas to the table, and come up with a clear, concise and creative campaign that sets your brand apart from the competition. You don’t have to be as bold and brash as Yorkie, but you do have to be able to laugh at yourself.
Gendered advertising is the latest (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/advertising-themes-for-2013/ text: trend sweeping the industry), and is one that many businesses can capitalise on. By following these tips and working with a creative advertising agency like us, you can see just how effective these forms of advertising can be.