I heard a radio ad today for Fernwood. It depicted two English (yes, by that I mean pom) hunters commenting on a 'fox' they were eyeing off. Of course, the 'fox' was actually a woman ... with the ad suggesting that if women wanted to be 'like a fox' they should join Fernwood. Eeew!
Fernwood's target market are women who want to be healthy and lose a bit of weight. The notion of a women-only gym appeals to women who are self-conscious about their body and who DON'T want to be leered at by men thinking of them as animals to be hunted. Seriously, what are Fernwood thinking?
I asked my Twitter community what they thought -
Fernwood's new radio ad suggests women want to be hunted like foxes. Do you?
The resounding response was 'No!'
So it's not just me.
Then, on my drive home I saw the billboard component of the campaign ...
"Join for fox sake"
Seriously, has the campaign been designed by the same people who did that awful 'where the bloody hell are you' campaign for Tourism Australia? Why do they think women are going to engage with this kind of message? Why do they think pretending to swear, using a word that most women use, sure, but don't like to see in print, is going to get their desired result?
They are missing the point on the most basic of marketing principles - know WHO your target market is and WHAT will engage them. A campaign centred on a clever use of the word fox might appeal to our sense of humour ... but unfortunately, it's not that clever. In fact, as Valerie Khoo (owner of the Sydney Writer's Centre & blogger for SMH Enterprise) put it
"Fernwood. Such a dumb ad. When I saw it, I had to take a photo as evidence such dumbness could exist"
A glance over the Fernwood website sheds light on the issue - for some bizarre reason they have launched a campaign all around the 'fox' theme. But, and correct me if I'm wrong, referring to a woman as a fox is a male thing, not a woman thing. I can't imagine saying to myself "I want to be a fox, best get to the gym". (It's a bit like that horrible beaver ad for sanitary products).
Don't get me wrong - I like a clever ad, particularly a smart play on words any day. And while this campaign may 'get people talking' (like it is here), you have to ask yourself, is it going to have the target market take the desired action? My tip - don't 'be smart' in your marketing, 'get smart' - understand your target market, what makes them tick and then engage with them ... in a way that they want to engage.
So for me the whole campaign has completely missed its target ... and potentially done the brand some damage in the process. If Fernwood was all about understanding women then this campaign shows that now, they don't.
What do you think? Have they missed the mark, or have I?
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I've only seen the "Join for fox sake" billboard ad. It stuck in my mind as I drove past it so much so I had to discuss it with my passenger.
I was thinking:
Is that appropriate... hmm, I guess girls like to be foxy... But, for fox sake, it seems like they grabbed it because they thought it would be clever using a creative replacement of a 4 letter word.... I bet the person who wrote this was a bloke, probably fresh out of uni... It just seems a bit immature, and possibly off the mark
I think it got 2 minutes of time in my head as I passed the billboard (which I only pass once a month). Most billboards are lucky if they get 15 seconds after I've passed.
Now, I'm a bloke. I thought the ad was clever. However, coupled with a radio ad about fox hunters? The ad has obviously been written by blokes. The ones I avoid because *I* find their sexist jokes offensive.
Well that's my 2 cents.
Michael, thank you for your comments ... I particularly appreciate hearing a man's perspective.
I'm with you ... the ad is 'clever' in the play on words ... but not clever in inspiring the desired action. You're right, many of the women I know want to be 'foxy', but I don't think they want to be 'prey' to fox-hunting men :-)
Thanks again for your comments ....