iPhone, Web, Social Networking
Pepsi Apologizes (Kinda) for Sexist iPhone App
Pepsi's latest ad campaign for its latest energy drink has certainly succeeded in getting a lot of people "amped" up -- and crying sexism.
As part of the soda company's efforts to promote its energy drink Amp, Pepsi released an iPhone app titled 'Amp Up Before You Score,' a how-to manual for helping men hook up with women. The app allows the user to choose one (or more!) of the 24 "types" of woman he would like to pursue on a given night. The "women" are displayed as curvaceous, cartoonish renditions of each branch of Pepsi's female phylum, running the gamut from "artist" to "military girl" to "sorority girl." After Casanova chooses the appropriate type, he's provided with a list of lines to drop in his pursuit, along with a SparkNotes-like primer of various subjects that a specific girl would likely talk about. If the guy's in a "punk" mood, the app leads him to a Wikipedia entry on punk rock. If he's feeling more Janis Joplin and less Joan Jett, he's provided with his own "tree-hugger" toolbox, replete with tips on "how to be a hippie." And, as the proverbial cherry on this sexist sundae, the Amp app even sports a special "brag list" feature, which allows the user to keep track of his, um, score, note the name and date of every conquest, and jot down "whatever details [he] can remember." (That sound you just heard was chivalry flat-lining.)
Pepsi, of course, issued an apology via the AMP Twitter feed: "Our app tried 2 show the humorous lengths guys go 2 pick up women. We apologize if it's in bad taste & appreciate your feedback." The company hasn't gone so far as to pull the app, despite any negative feedback from consumers, and we sorta understand the reasoning. The Huffington Post reports that the apology merely fueled the fire, with one Twitter user saying, "@cobra_DeEtta @AMPwhatsnext Your campaign is thoughtless and offensive despite the guise of juvenile humor to excuse it. Lame apology not accepted." Check out #pepsifail for more.
Here, Pepsi is obviously marketing to a specific, energy drink-consuming customer who would presumably find something like this useful, as well as to a larger market of people who would find humor in it. By playing up the stereotype of the taurine consumer as a hormonally charged, uber-promiscuous male, Pepsi is actually using a pretty clever marketing technique of promotion via self-effacement. Still, we're surprised that such a colossal, savvy corporation would risk alienating a chunk of its audience for the sake of a niche product. [From: PCMag, via Huffington Post]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
anna said 2:25PM on 10-13-2009
it's just a silly app, made for amusement more than actual use. if you don't like it, don't download it. people get too hyped up about things that don't matter.
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Lisa said 2:46PM on 10-13-2009
exactly. there are apps out there that are far worse. i saw one one a while ago that shows a girl, fully clothed but when you turn the ipod upside down you see her in just her underwear. im a female and even then i wasnt that offended i just thought the app was retarded. people these days are just too sensitive.
MaryKPamL said 5:53PM on 10-13-2009
Anna
So sad to see that you don't have enough self-respect to be bothered by this.
EGOvoruhk said 6:24PM on 10-21-2009
@MaryKPamL
What does her self respect have to do with some other person?
Shirley Hulgan said 1:44AM on 10-14-2009
Whoever thought up this ad needs to have a visit or 30 with a psychotherapist. The phone showing pics of different girls is sick. The one that got me was the rebound girl shown crying. So, what jerk would target a poor girl who is already heartbroken just to "score" for the night. He could not be much of a man! After all, to use someone who is down and weak at the moment is like a hunter of elephants killing a little bunny rabbit with an elephant gun...just because he could not get the elephant. I would hope that most MEN would be upset that anyone would think they were so pathetic as to stoop this low! A real MAN would not have to resort to the pitiful advice in this ad.
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Dan said 3:07PM on 10-13-2009
Lighten up and get a grip!!! I guess this is why you are lonley!
Cyn said 2:42PM on 10-13-2009
Youth just doesn't get it. They think it's funny. They have no idea how hard women have fought, and what they and to go though, to require respect from men. Young women who have not tried to get a job based on skill and not breasts, young women who have not experienced sexual harassment in the workpace and lost out on a job because they were to "sexy" and might distract the real clients have no idea what they are going to face in life.
Right now, being sexy and having apps written about the is fun and being sexy gives them attention.
And guys, well, they have no idea what the real work world is like either.
So, WHY do we give them so much attention? It is validating bad behavior for fun and profit --
All I can say is "I wish you the real world"
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Lisa said 4:52PM on 10-13-2009
I am a 19 year old WOMAN or as you would probably say "a youth of today" and am well aware of what women went through back in the day. I know about the struggles and discrimination we went through partly because I payed attention in school... and probably partly because of annoying ass (and obviously elderly) feminists like yourself who can't take a joke and shove their views down everybody else's throats. Your views are "Hey, I can't enjoy this so I'm not going to let anyone else enjoy it either." Get over yourself.
Mary said 5:45PM on 10-13-2009
@Lisa: The difference between reading it in a book and hearing it from "annoying ass" feminists is that you never lived through it. People who lived through the golden age of discrimination have every right to bitch, because it was hellaciously tougher than anything you or I will probably ever go through. These forums are open for anyone to post their opinion, even if it's different from yours, so Cyn can talk all she wants.
Lisa said 6:31PM on 10-13-2009
Mary: I totally agree that Cyn can talk all she wants but I also have a right on this forum to disagree with her. It's just very sad that noone has a sense of humor anymore and that we can't laugh at ourselves. We could be doing other more productive things in life rather than complaining about some app that was mainly used for entertainment. If Pepsi came out and said that all women are worthless or whatever, I would totally understand and agree with everyone on this forum who brings up women's rights and all of that but they did not do that. This was just for fun and laughs. We need to take ourselves less seriously and have fun with life.
Rosemary Nichols said 7:57PM on 10-13-2009
SHUTUP!!! Everything doesn't have to be a crusade for women! Respect is earned by YOUR actions, not the actions of others. So GET OFF YOUR POMPOUS soap box and laugh a little sometime. LIGHTEN UP!!
Cheryl said 2:42PM on 10-13-2009
I think the app is hilarious! I don't understand the upset with it.
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Lisa said 2:53PM on 10-13-2009
yeah people are too sensitive and have nothing better to do with their time than to complain about nothing
gru said 3:21PM on 10-13-2009
haha I never would have even looked at this app, but I downloaded it because of this article!
(Wanted to see it work before it gets pulled!)
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Greg said 2:47PM on 10-13-2009
Kool- guys have it easier than we did in the 70's. We had no apps of this sort and had to be clever enough (or not) on our own.
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Paula said 2:48PM on 10-13-2009
I'm already angry at Pepsi for taking "Pepsi Throwback" off the shelves. It was the closest thing to the Pepsi I remembered as a kid.
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jasminerose33 said 2:54PM on 10-13-2009
Im a woman and I do NOT find this offensive at all.
In fact, young men can use all the help they can get when it comes to relating to women.
Hell, I only wish some of the guys I talked to in the past went through all that trouble to research MY interests.
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C.Warren said 3:07PM on 10-13-2009
It is hard for men and women of young ages to understand the women's movement. They think it was all about women who hate men. That is how most of bad history would have you see it. Women who were forced to have sex with their bosses to keep a job, or raped by their bosses and lost in court because they dressed 'a little too provocative.' This all seems like silly ideas to you.
Do a little research, find out why women get so angry over these issues. Don't just blow it off because you need attention from the male sex and will put up with whatever they do just so they like you.
It is just an app, but it makes women cheap and objects, not real. Women are real and deserve better respect than a cheap fantasy of "if only I could get women" game.
Hey, kids killed over one game, you don't think they won't attack women if the game plays on that?
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uglybutt said 6:46PM on 10-13-2009
I kind of agree with you.
kind of.
The women's rights movement was definitely a significant positive progress for women. The problem now is that it is a complete farce. There are almost no other things that a woman can complain about. Sure, there is the occasional sexist asshole or imagined gender-bias. The reason some people think its a joke now is because it kind of is. The women that make up the 'movement' now are really just men-haters.
People are much too sensitive now to realize this is a big joke, and need to stop being so offended!
liljohnny818 said 7:29PM on 10-13-2009
You're taking this way too far. This is an iphone app that says "Hey decode that girl's shirt to see what sorority she's from!" and you're comparing that to having sex with your boss, inequality in the workplace, and total all out sexism? Come on... I swear soon saying someone is a woman will be sexist because you're treating them differently than a guy. lol