17 ms·
Not to defend any of this, but it's true that you can make more total advertising revenue from two shows if one gets all boys and the other gets all girls, rath
by tlb 13y ago
Not to defend any of this, but it's true that you can make more total advertising revenue from two shows if one gets all boys and the other gets all girls, rather than them being split 50-50. Each commands a higher ad revenue by being more targeted.
It's an unfortunate fact of human nature that many boys find toys less desirable if they see girls playing with them too. Toy marketers would prefer to advertise on a show with 10M boys and ~0 girls, than a show with 10M boys and 2M girls at the same price, because those 2M girls might buy their toys, the boys might see them and write off the toy as "for girls".
With a few exceptions, toy marketing is an exploitative business. Don't let your kids watch TV or buy them action figures.
- almosnow 13y agoYup, while the misoginy is more than evident, I agree with you that the root of evil there is their desire to make their shows as profitable as possible.
- Tyrannosaurs 13y agoWouldn't it be more accurate to say "make their shows as profitable as possible in ways they already understand"? The piece mentions Harry Potter and while the lead character may be a boy, the smartest character is a girl and as a franchise that did OK. Sure not everything is going to be Harry Potter but it, Hunger Games, Buffy and so on show it's more than possible to have a franchise that has a mixed audience and still works. It feels more of a "we know how this works and we're comfortable with it" thing than an absolute profit maximisation.
- ps4fanboy 13y agoHow many little boys do you think are asking their parents for hunger games toys this Christmas?
- seanmcdirmid 13y agoI was like...why would they even produce such a thing...oh...wait. http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=12656761 http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=12656761 Made as a Barbie toy no less....
- DanBC 13y agoThey're called 'action figures' because "boys don't want to play with dolls". Some bits of the toy industry are deeply unpleasant.
- Tyrannosaurs 13y agoReminds me of that great flow chart for determining whether a toy is meant for boys or girls: Q1: Is the toy operated using the child's genitals: Yes - it is suitable for neither boys nor girls. No - it is suitable for either boys or girls.
- ars 13y agoWhat about the Harry Potter Nimbus 2000 Broomstick? And if you don't know what I'm talking about google it a bit.
- Tyrannosaurs 13y agoI'm aware of it. I'm not sure "operated" was the right word but still possibly not suitable for kids...
- seanmcdirmid 13y agoOnly the $1 toys left over from the previous movie are action figures, the toys for the new movie are most definitely Barbie...
- DanBC 13y agoI don't know why I messed that! Yes. It's very weird seeing action figures (realistic body shape) next to Barbie (FREAK OF NATURE).
- Tyrannosaurs 13y agoLooking on Amazon I can see action figures (not just the Barbie ones), stationary sets, board games, card games, jewelry (including some leather stuff which boys might like), bookmarks and if someone isn't doing a bow and arrow then the merchandising people are idiots. Plus there are books and DVDs. Sure, some of it is going to be bought by girls but if you look at the action figures, they don't look like they're being marketed at girls. Anecdotally, the kids down the road from me love Hunger Games and chief among them is the 14 year old boy. (He and I talk a lot about books and films - he's my cover for going to see rubbish superhero movies).
- ps4fanboy 13y agoYeah I am just pointing out that the movie itself was clearly marketed for the female audience, and the toys available reflect that strategy.
- Confusion 13y agoThat's not a fact of human nature. That is nurture/culture at its finest. Do you think young chimpansee boys and girls play with different 'toys'? Capitalism didn't create this culture, but it certainly isn't going to make it go away. Blaming managers for capitalist comsiderations is like blaming the wind for uprooting a tree.
- nerfhammer 13y ago> Do you think young chimpansee boys and girls play with different 'toys'? Yes, they do, and their preferences are largely similar to those of human children. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982210014491 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982210... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18452921 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18452921 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513802001071 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090513802...
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- JanezStupar 13y agoOne more proof of impact of the human male misogyny. The patriarchy is so deeply rooted, that even the chimpanzees are affected! We should start a fund that will fight for equal opportunity for female chimpanzees! /s
- lewispollard 13y agoThe difference between us and chimps is that we have a choice in the matter.
- nerfhammer 13y agoIf there really are inborn sex differences in play behavior, isn't this like saying we have a really have a "choice" in handedness? An idea that didn't work out too well for left-handed people when this was believed by society
- chaostheory 13y agoI remember working for an online retailer several years ago. Their marketing department made it clear that targeting by demographic was outdated and they felt that grouping people by their behavior was a more modern and accurate way of keeping track of people and future habits. Maybe one day media companies will enter the 21st century of metrics when most major media transitions to the internet.