Roughriders' `Girl Math' marketing campaign falls very flat
Patronizing and sexist ad greeted with disdain it deserves, writes Darrell Davis.
Once it hit social media, the reactions to a new — and likely shortlived — Saskatchewan Roughriders marketing campaign were swift and mainly angry.
They came primarily from the people targeted in the promotion: Women.
“Ummmmm...,” said a text adorned with a wide-eyed emoji, sent Tuesday afternoon by a longtime fan.
“Ridiculous and, yes, demeaning,” said another.
It started with a mass email from the Roughriders' ticket office address, entitled “Girl Math is When Cheaper Tickets = Free Drinks!” It contains a Rider-green poster bearing the CFL team's logo, with a helmet, watermelon slice and football amid enticing phrases in an ill-conceived attempt to sell tickets and alcohol, particularly to young women.
“Proficient in girl math. It's basically free.”
“Big savings — No influencer code needed.”
“Literally the best excuse for cute matching outfits.”
“Take the stairs. Earn the seltzers!”
Hints at body-shaming. Sheesh. To use comparable language, the Roughriders didn't worry their purdy, little heads about coming across as sexist to half their fan base.
More demeaning content continued in smaller print, pitching tickets “on the best patio in the province” for a “cute price, right?” And there's a warning “'cause missing this is for sure worse than when they run out of Cinnamon Dolce Sprinkles!”
Please stop patronizing women. This certainly targeted a younger demographic and maybe some like its catchy, current phrases that have nothing to do with football. Trying to cash in on the Taylor Swift fan phenomenon isn't a bad idea, but surely there are better ways to pique girls' and women's interest in sports, as a participant or a spectator.
Try treating them equally. Women like sports. They understand sports. They're broadcasters. Reporters. Analysts. Coaches. Players. Administrators. They're fans. They pay just as much for tickets, buy merchandise and enjoy their team's successes and bemoan its failures.
They don't need matching outfits or lattes or seltzers to enjoy a football game. “Girl math” and “influencers” may be part of present-day slang, the first a Tiktok trend that justifies buying things, but this belittles anyone who uses those words.
Hopefully this promotion wasn't spearheaded by a man. Even that couldn't make it worse, other than showing one more male simply doesn't understand misogyny. And quite honestly this is dreadfully out of character for the Roughriders, an organization that boasts about its female employees and strives to be an equal-opportunity employer with a safe workplace.
Women have certainly earned a place in the sports spotlight. Witness the recent Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the Canadian soccer team advancing in its FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying matches, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies winning the Canada West championship and the entertaining Professional Women's Hockey League games several times per week.
None were wearing cute, matching outfits while carrying a Cinnamon Dolce Sprinkle.
Scan the socials. It's obvious this campaign was a bad idea. Of course there are a few neanderthals saying “Lighten up,” in a way that stupid men tell women to not be offended by something this offensive.
Women are offended. Justifiably so.
“I was starting to feel good again about the direction in which the club was going, but I am truly disappointed with this take,” wrote a mother and ticket buyer. “Females, even young ones, have so much more to offer as a fan base.
“(They are) knowledgeable about the game. To debase them to cute matching outfits, cinnamon dolce sprinkles and earning those seltzers is frankly insulting.”
This city just went through something similarly and embarrassingly bad, when REAL promoted an “Experience Regina” tourism campaign that relied on sexist jokes about “the city that rhymes with fun.”
Didn't anyone learn anything from the REAL fiasco? The same questions need to be asked inside the community-owned Roughriders offices. Who allowed this? And why, why, why?