Mars has launched its first new chocolate bar in 20 years. Known as the Fling and wrapped in shiny pink and silver wrapping, this ‘chocolate finger’ is being marketed to women as a low-cal substitute for sex, or more explicitly masturbation with chocolate. With only 85 calories, a tag line that says “Naughty, but not that naughty,” and invitations to “Pleasure yourself”, the sexual exhortations are anything but subtle. A quick romp through the requisite website reveals a chock-full-o-stereotypes campaign in the pseudo-liberated style of Sex and the City. The Product section encourages women to:
Try it in Public
You never know when you will need a FLING™, and at under 85 calories per finger, anytime is the right time. Keep things interesting and try a FLING™ Chocolate Finger in all three flavors – Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, and Hazelnut – a ménage of flavors. Variety is the spice of life, so tear it open and sneak in a quickie.
This marketing campaign manages to stereotype women as creatures easily swayed by sex, chocolate, and glitter (the chocolates are covered in mica so that each flavor has its own shade of shine), and to address them as if they behave as impulsively as children (I want it now!). It begs the question as to whether it really is aimed at women, or if that is perhaps just a guise to target the ‘tween and adolescent markets. After all, it’s well known that girls are preoccupied with their physical appearance and dieting at younger ages. Not surprisingly, our social and cultural messages also encourage early sexual awareness and stereotyping (just take a quick look at clothing and ads targeted at young girls). A shiny pink packet with reduced calories and lots of breathy hype just to sell more cheap chocolate: is it really worth a Fling?
Photo Credit:http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:9HPy_bAOOUqOyM:http://profile.ak.facebook.co
Mars has launched its first new chocolate bar in 20 years. Known as the Fling and wrapped in shiny pink and silver wrapping, this ‘chocolate finger’ is being marketed to women as a low-cal substitute for sex, or more explicitly masturbation with chocolate. With only 85 calories, a tag line that says “Naughty, but not that naughty,” and invitations to “Pleasure yourself”, the sexual exhortations are anything but subtle. A quick romp through the requisite website reveals a chock-full-o-stereotypes campaign in the pseudo-liberated style of Sex and the City. The Product section encourages women to:
Try it in Public
You never know when you will need a FLING™, and at under 85 calories per finger, anytime is the right time. Keep things interesting and try a FLING™ Chocolate Finger in all three flavors – Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, and Hazelnut – a ménage of flavors. Variety is the spice of life, so tear it open and sneak in a quickie.
This marketing campaign manages to stereotype women as creatures easily swayed by sex, chocolate, and glitter (the chocolates are covered in mica so that each flavor has its own shade of shine), and to address them as if they behave as impulsively as children (I want it now!). It begs the question as to whether it really is aimed at women, or if that is perhaps just a guise to target the ‘tween and adolescent markets. After all, it’s well known that girls are preoccupied with their physical appearance and dieting at younger ages. Not surprisingly, our social and cultural messages also encourage early sexual awareness and stereotyping (just take a quick look at clothing and ads targeted at young girls). A shiny pink packet with reduced calories and lots of breathy hype just to sell more cheap chocolate: is it really worth a Fling?
Photo Credit:http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:9HPy_bAOOUqOyM:http://profile.ak.facebook.co