‘Play with my V spot’

[ismnotwasm]

So here I am, minding my own business, writing a long, researched think piece about why more women aren’t in technology, and I get an e-mail with the subject line, “Play with my V spot.”
Having occasionally written the odd line of clickbait in the past, I disregarded the tacky come-on and proceeded to the full e-mail, where I was greeted by a pair of long, sexy legs in high heels and a woman’s red-glossed mouth, parted in a perfect RealDoll state of relaxation.
It was an ad for Voco, a voice-control company. It wanted me to come to their CES booth and test out its tech “Because oral is better,” again with the image of the slippery-looking open mouth.

Sex sells, right? And disembodied female body parts coupled with Beavis and Butt-head-level puns are super-sexy, right?
Guys, this is why we don’t have more women in tech: It’s a cesspool. As long as we’re passing offensive schlock like this off as marketing for a major technology conference, we don’t deserve more women in tech.
Voco calls these ads “playful.” Maybe “playful” is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe the beholder doesn’t think of women’s body parts as playthings. Maybe that kind of play isn’t in any way related to voice-control technology or consumer electronics — you know, the kind that aren’t sold at Babeland.
Or maybe they just pitched a journalist who isn’t in the mood to play those pubescent, sniggering games anymore.
Voco, I regret to inform you that I will be unable to visit your CES booth this year. I moreover regret that I will never review, recommend, or use your products, no matter how interesting and innovative they are. I most deeply regret that you don’t have enough respect for me to put yourself on my level and look at the world and your ads through my or anyone else’s eyes.

http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/03/play-with-my-v-spot/

[SharonAnn]

1. The mentality of junior high school and high school boys. Obsessed with sex.

As IT Director for a Fortune 500 company, I attended I don't know how many product presentations. I finally got fed up with sports and sex being used as the "hooks" for the demos.
And, I started telling the product reps when their presentations were either boring or offensive because of the sports or sex focus.

Don't know if it ever did any good but I had the Cisco regional rep pretty concerned at one event. He asked what he could do to make it right and I told him "Tell your company to stop doing this. It's offensive. I want to learn about the technology and this shit gets in the way."

[seabeyond]

4. as much as a pain in the fuckin ass it is, THIS is the answer. cause we may not think it matters,

but when enough people call it out, just as you, i find that it does matter.

[One_Life_To_Give]

2. If it don't go, chrome it!

If you really had a fast car you wouldn't be using chrome to show it's 1/4 time. And if you had the greatest tech since sliced bread you wouldn't be using Junior-High titillation to get my attention.

[seabeyond]

3. totally amazing. it worked for go daddy. here is another. thanks. nt

[CrispyQ]

5. I'm sure their marketing team & executives all think it's a cool campaign.

I wrote to them. I asked, "How many of your marketing team & company executives have daughters? Are these the attributes you want your daughters to be valued for? Their ability to sell a product based on sexual appeal & appearance? Is that what you want your sons to value? Is that kind of shallowness what you want your product associated with?"

Unlike the Sheetz convenience store, they didn't bother to respond.