The computer maker, Dell, recently launched a new Web site geared toward women called “Della”, which advertises Dell’s line of Inspiron Mini 10 netbooks, also aimed at a female audience.
Originally, the site had a heavy emphasis on colors and featured tech “tips” that recommended user their new laptop for calorie counting, finding recipes and watching cooking videos, while details like the product’s specs and price were buried deep in the site. Predictably, the approach did nothing but insult and anger customers, and with internet speed, it received a backlash that echoed across cyberspace.
On Twitter, one man asked “Dell products for women strikes me as incredibly patronizing / bordering on sexist… am I wrong?”.
The company chose to amend the Web site, but it’s not much better. Now the main page includes a few specs and a comment from a user about editing video, but now the “tips” are about organizing your home office, traveling or working out, to which one reader commented:
“Please don’t assume we’re all at home, finally got our first computers, and will now set to organizing our ‘home offices’ and yoga schedules with it.”
Another tip about reading downloaded books elicited this comment on Dell’s Facebook page:
“My god - I didn’t know women could read! At this point you should’ve just created the whole site with images and a big button that says “husband pays” for when you want to buy something. The best part - the head of marketing at Dell is a woman. Does she use a computer for more than calorie counting and shoe shopping? After this marketing campaign, I truly doubt it.”
But maybe the response that will make the most impact on Dell’s marketing department is this one:
“I found this extremely helpful…I’ve decided to buy a Mac.”
Tags: Internet Speed