A search for speed up my PC on Google (predictably) produces a lot of ads featuring surprisingly happy women. In fact five out of the first ten ads I clicked:
Clearly this segment of the industry believe that deliriously happy (usually blonde) women sell software, but why?
Could it be that they’re trying to sell to women? Unlikely. An old Squidoo lens (no longer available) on Sellling and Marketing to Women estimated that around 75% of all buying decisions today are made by women, but I find it difficult to believe that women are the main user group for this type of software.
So why use pictures of women in ads aimed at men?
Is the idea that the man’s partner is delighted that her laptop (it’s always a laptop) is finally optimised for performance? That her hard drive is defragmented, her boot time is 15% faster, and that her cookie and temp files are finally cleared? Unlikely.
So what is being communicated here.
Woman + optimised laptop = ?
I know there are still an incredible number of shows and exhibitions that use young, attractive women to help sell their goods, but isn’t the software industry a little more progressive?
Surely such an imaginative and creative industry are better than Mad Men?
