They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity, and in many ways, that’s true; if the job of marketing is to get the subject into the forefront of potential buyers’ minds, then it probably doesn’t matter how bad it makes the marketers look, right?
Well, no, it actually matters quite a bit. Can you imagine being so absorbed by the specter of consumerism that you’d be willing to sign off on the most depraved, cynical, any-means-necessary methods so long as it made people aware of your product? The marketing folks behind this Excel shortcut mousepad needn’t imagine such a thing; they are, quite unfortunately, living it.
As you can see, this TikTok account is dedicated to getting you to buy this giant mousepad that has each and every Microsoft Excel keyboard shortcut written on it. Strictly as a resource, you can’t deny its handiness, which perhaps makes it all the more sad that they pulled their marketing strategies straight out of the mean-spirited misogyny playbook.
Indeed, the video above is perhaps the worst in a sea of mild-to-markedly sexist ads for this product, wherein the “customer” claims to be so bad at using Microsoft Excel, that the only way her boss will let her keep her job is if she sleeps with him. The situation clearly causes her a lot of emotional turmoil and shame, and right when she’s about to quit her job (which would have been the real happy ending here), her coworker purchases a Microsoft Excel shortcut pad so she can continue on at this nameless, thoroughly predatory company with renewed proficiency. Hooray?
The comments, unfortunately, were far more divided than they probably should be. The more popular comments, thankfully, seemed to prefer calling out the makers of this mousepad for this worrisome tactic; “Seriously marketing companies should do something better,” said one user, “Removed from my feed,” said another. But the further down you go, the more frequent the laughing emojis become.
Now, is this the most pressing injustice in terms of the constant struggle against physical and social oppression that women have been facing for centuries? No, not exactly, and realistically speaking, this ad is never going to change anyone’s mind one way or the other on how they view women. Nevertheless, it’s clear that this ad is preying upon pretty misogynistic and widely-peddled notions of women in the workplace, and it’s important to not hold space for such things. According to Randstad, responding to sexist comments, actions, and attitudes is a key step to eliminating such things from any culture, be it that of a company or wider social organisms.
So do better, Shortcut Pad team; instead of leaning into the rhetoric of feminine incompetency and how we sleep with our bosses to keep their jobs as a result, why not come up with something a little more creative that leans directly on how useful it is to have all of these shortcuts right at your fingertips? “Did you know you can do (insert shortcut here) on Excel?” or something like that. You can do it; I believe in you.
Published: Dec 10, 2024 02:10 pm