Does Dell Know What Women Want In a Laptop? 669
Hugh Pickens writes "Finding the right approach for gender-specific marketing can be really tricky, said Andrea Learned, a marketing expert and author of Don't Think Pink — What Really Makes Women Buy. So when Dell recently took the wraps off a new Web site called Della, geared toward women, featuring tech 'tips' that recommended calorie counting, finding recipes, and watching cooking videos as ways for women to get the most from a laptop, a backlash erupted online, as both women and men described the Web site as 'ridiculous' and 'gimmicky.' Della's heavy emphasis on colors, computer accessories, dieting tips, and even the inclusion of a video about vintage shopping 'seems condescending to women consumers,' says Learned. Instead, Dell should have emphasized function and figured out ways to sell the netbooks that weren't clichéd and reliant on gender stereotypes. 'Some brands go too far with the girlie stuff,' Learned says. 'Della's marketing strategy sounds like it's advertising a purse. There's a level of consumer sophistication they're missing.'"
Della is kind of a "fat" name (Score:3, Funny)
Maybe it's because it's one letter away from Delta, but Della just sounds like a "fat" person name. Like "Gertrude" sounds like an old person name. And "Candy" is a stripper name.
Maybe it wasn't the targeting of women that was gimmicky. Maybe it was the use of an unattractive person name.
I bet they removed the clock app, too (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:5, Funny)
Sales still great! (Score:4, Funny)
FTA
"Despite the backlash from women about the sexist advertising schemes, sales of the Delldo (Dell's new dildo mount for laptops and pc's) was spectacular."
Stereotypes are true for everybody else except me (Score:4, Funny)
I used universals to incite a flame war. Hey it's Friday!
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:5, Funny)
Actually, I suspect that 2 of them are no longer my girlfriends because I stopped answering the phone when they called.
Oh, so you defend your use of a stereo type by promoting another stereotype that women like to talk on the phone way too much? :)
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:2, Funny)
Obvious (Score:5, Funny)
A woman's laptop should use one of those IBM Thinkpad TrackPoint things for the pointer device.
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:4, Funny)
a
Re:Dell's Mistake (Score:3, Funny)
Women are like Linux distros.
They are all essentially the same, but some have different package management.
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:4, Funny)
It's not the jeans that make you look fat, it's the fat that makes you look fat. (my apologies to whichever comedian I heard tell this joke)
Re:I bet they removed the clock app, too (Score:2, Funny)
Except that one shows <blink>12:00</blink>.
A Laptop Named Desire (Score:1, Funny)
"Della.... DELLA!"
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:5, Funny)
It's like telling that girlfriend she should go on a diet, or that she looks fat in those jeans.
Here's a tip that might save you of an evening of sleeping on the couch:
The correct answer to "Do these pants make me look big?" is NOT "There's nothing wrong with those pants."
Talk about having picture but no sound for an entire day.
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:5, Funny)
I'd feel a bit uncomfortable wearing *any* shirt for a month. EEeew.
Re:Stereotypes are true for everybody else except (Score:0, Funny)
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:5, Funny)
a /. poster, with 5 girlfriends?
Yep. They're called Thumb, Index, Middle, Ring and Pinky.
They should hire Mel Gibson (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Fabulous first post! (Score:2, Funny)
This [exonome.com] would be my ideal laptop but only if it had a larger screen/keyboard. A 15.4" version would be lovely.
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:5, Funny)
I'm not even married, but I know that when my GF asks if she looks fat in those jeans, the correct answer is "Of course not, dear". The jeans have nothing to do with it. (I'm sure glad she doesn't read /.)
Since when are women allowed (Score:5, Funny)
to buy laptops without supervision by a male?
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:5, Funny)
So what's the correct answer? How about:
"Yes, but it's ok because it takes attention away from your hair."
Changing color laptop (Score:4, Funny)
Can they make a Dell laptop where its baby pink for 3 weeks, then blood red for the fourth? I think that would sell well with the ladies.
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:5, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Oblig. xkcd ref (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:4, Funny)
Actually that one is true. Geez...I can get on a phone, say what I need and be off within minutes 99% of the time.
The girls? They drone on, and on, and on...and on...usually repeating themselves multiple times. And this is when they are happy and in a good mood. God help you if they are wanting to talk about a problem them have. And yes, I did finally figure out, they just want to talk about it, they aren't looking for answers like guy does when he talks to a friend about problems...
So, I just set the phone down and watch tv...picking it up occasionally to say "uh-huh" and throw in an occasional "I understand". That last one goes a LONG way on brownie points, and keeps you from having to listen or care....
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:3, Funny)
I thought he accurately described his girlfriends in this sentence:
"effectively describes 4 out my 5 last girlfriends, my mother, all my aunts"
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:3, Funny)
Don't forget "I told you that bitch crazy."
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:5, Funny)
Slashdot geeks: putting the semen in basement since 1997.
Re:Abby (Score:3, Funny)
Smart, sexy, powerful, and a geek; what is not to love!
You forgot "fictional". Thus, no chance of rejection. Perfection! Or something.
Re:Della is kind of a "fat" name (Score:3, Funny)
Maybe it wasn't the targeting of women that was gimmicky. Maybe it was the use of an unattractive person name.
Obviously, it's the name of Michael Dell on the town in fishnets on a Saturday night.
Re:Stereotypes usually have some kernal of truth (Score:2, Funny)
Or why do you think men have to get the biggest, loudest and latest TV sets with hifi sounds
Dick size compensation.
Seriously.
A lot of what men do can be explained with one or both of two explanations: compensation and/or pissing contest.
Don't feel too bad though; it's leftovers from our tribal days and there's no much you can do about it.
Otherwise, there's no reason for men to be more tech savvy than women. It's just that men like to compete to be the best, and so keep themselves up to date or even drive the technology forward, while women are more than satisfied to watch them do so from the sidelines and point and laugh when appropriate.
Re:News flash... (Score:2, Funny)
I happen to be in a field
You're a farmer?