Although this app was intended to be humorous, many women found it sexist and degrading. "I don’t know what was going on in that marketing meeting that got this application anywhere near a drawing board, but I do know: despite not liking Pepsi beforehand simply because of a difference in taste, now I have a reason to dislike the brand for creating this little gem. I knew guys would put women in groups before (and honestly, don’t we do the same with men?) but this…this is just offensive," one woman wrote.
On the other hand, many guys feel that criticizers need to lighten up. “People need to get over themselves. This is a great app and will be popular. It’s for guys. Don’t tell me girls don’t joke around like this either," someone wrote.
Not only did Pepsi Amp issue an apology, they created a "fail" hashtag on Twitter in order for consumers to criticize the app in a public domain. Although the idea may not have been strategically considered, it was pretty gutsy for the brand to create their own roast via social media.
Thoughts?
2 comments:
This is a really interesting story with several different 'pop media' ties. People can get anything in app form: directions, pizza, music, pets, and apparently, women. Even Facebook has an application that determines your dating style. What's worse, some people actually believe the results. Apps and social media are constantly changing the way we do almost everything- from business to music to dating. What's next?
That Pepsi chose to submit themselves to a virtual roast is, I think, a nice move. It shows that they realize they were wrong and is a step towards taking responsibility for the app. Plus, it sort of diffuses and makes light of the situation. They'll get interesting feedback from a wider variety of customers than they otherwise would have. It's the 21st century and it looks like social media is here to stay, so why not integrate it into every aspect of your business- even if it is correcting a mistake? In my opinion, Pepsi made a good move.
I definitely agree with Pepsi for facing their mistake head on. They know they will be based and talked about for their App. They might as well start it to show they know they made a mistake.
After reading some articles about the app and what happened, I think AMP did a pretty good job about creating buzz about a product. The app probably appealed to their target audience,and they used social media well, incorporating Facebook and Twitter into the app. While I obviously think the app was stupid and would assume most people would too, if you are thinking about trying to come up with a clever new app they did a good job.
They also handled it well. After talking in class today about crisis communication, I think they did a good job of being transparent and telling the truth. From the looks of it, their crisis was averted.
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