Most ads for products are cheesy, ridiculous, or insulting as it is. But products specifically targeting women are often uniquely terrible, and this may ring true, in part, because those products are often designed or marketed entirely by men. But how can that still be the case?
In a piece at HuffPo that looks at the prevalence of all-male teams helming companies that make products for women, we learn that until recently, all-male teams marketed products at Kimberly-Clark, who own Kotex, Huggies and Kleenex brands (P.S.: A woman, Marion Donovan, invented the disposable diaper). That is why we have been privy to a lifetime of blue liquid, precious feels, and monochrome white to show how awesome and inspiring it is to have a period ever month. Kimberly-Clark CEO Tom Falk recalls realizing that it just wasn’t going to cut it to not have women involved in the process:
“If you’ve got a group of all men, and women are half of the population and are buying all of the products, how can you say we have the very best team?” Falk told The Huffington Post recently.
Yes, women can invent hilariously bad products for women, too (Cuchina, Booty Pop). And so the world turns. But we wondered what sort of products might exist (and not exist) if female-targeted product makers such as Kimberly-Clark, Avon, Target, Sears, and others had greater parity in terms of female involvement in the design or marketing of their products. At the very least, marketing ads might be less likely to condescend or outright offend. At the very most, we would have a lot better things.
Would Not Exist
Standard non-rounded cardboard tampon applicator (ow)
Scented feminine products that make your vagina smell like period + baby powder
The scent Freesia
Pink women’s tools
Pink women’s razors
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