Does coBRANDIT Only Want Male Videos?

Over on Church of the Customer I ran across a post talking about citizen marketing and a new company called coBRANDIT.  Intrigued, I mosied on over to take a look.  The company is calling itself "the first open-source ad agency" and is soliciting home-made ads (documentary advertising), for which they will pay $50 each for "acceptable submissions."

Here's the kicker:  The ads have to fall into three categories:  BEER, GEAR and CARS.  Can you think of three categories MORE male-centric than those?  The sample ads are mostly male, as you would expect.

Disappointing.

Comments

[Ben McConnell]

Excellent point, especially considering research showing women are more apt to be buzz-spreaders than men. I hope Cobrandit is listening!

[L.D.]

{Disclaimer: this is a rhetorical response. It is not intended to be offensive for offense's sake but rather to push back on the inference that there is something sexist going on.}

If I could generalize in the manner that you have: Leave it to a woman to have such an oversensitive response to Beer, Gear and Cars.

Last I checked, women consumers bought all of those items mentioned in today's society. While men may make up a large demographic of the consumer base for each item(as many men as women likely drive/own/buy cars & why is it bad if men tend to be enthusiasts about cars in greater numbers?) Gear is so poorly defined, it's perhaps the word's connotation as something men like that is offensive to feminine tastes.

So my point here is why isn't it possible that if this "agency's" customers are car companies, gear companies (I'm baffled as to what that really is - technology or camping 'gear'?), or beer companies....perhaps they are looking to market to an underdeveloped demographic (women). They perhaps know that women are more apt buzz-spreaders (not my claim - that's the commenter Ben's claim) and want their diverse creative perspectives on these types of products. It is certainly possible.

But to be so opposed to it with such little explained about what's really behind the campaign or the venture itself, what's driving the offer, etc., is done with much haste.

Then again, my wife usually makes hasty, emotional reactions to things.

{end rhetorical commentary}

Just something to think about. Men are not all innately evil, bad people. Just 95 percent of us.

[Mary-Ann]

As a female motorsport journalist/blogger, sitting here with an iBook, a BlackBerry and a bottle of Sol, I really do have a hard time getting upset about CoBRANDIT's choice of subjects.

A bit less stereotyping of women's interests wouldn't go amiss!