Amazon Fire TV is a product that connects to your HDTV and streams content networks like Netflix, Hulu and (of course) Amazon Video. It’s a nifty little product that appeals to the growing market of TV viewers unsubscribing from cable and satellite.
But what Amazon Fire TV might have in product features, it lacks in marketing to women appeal. The product’s new #showhole campaign promotes:
“When the final credits roll and you fall into that void. What do you do? Don’t despair, Amazon Fire TV is here to pull you out of your #showhole.”
One marketing execution features a woman in loungewear, pale from lack of sunlight as she feeds her addiction to her favorite TV show. Then, horror of horrors, the last season is over, and she can only be comforted by… finding another show to watch.
Watch the Video: So Long, #Showhole
What’s Wrong with this Marketing to Women Campaign?
Besides being somewhat creepy (Knitting a full-body straight jacket? The vague ickiness of the word showhole?), here are three reasons why this marketing campaign won’t appeal to women:
- Women are Ensemble Players. A lone woman, eating Chinese take-out isn’t aspirational to women. Women want to hang out with friends and would be more motivated by ‘viewing party’ imagery.
- Women are Driven by Empathy. Watching this commercial is more likely to make a woman want to befriend the actress and take her out shopping than make her want to buy the product.
- Women Love to Talk. Sitting silently in front of the TV is not most women’s idea of fun. She’d much rather chat with her girlfriends about the plot than become a recluse.
Women would probably love this product. Its on-demand flexibility fits into her schedule, and browsing thousands of options will help her feel she’s arrived at the Perfect Answer for what to watch during Girls Night In. But if her only exposure to Amazon Fire TV is this ad, she’s likely to think, “How strange. That’s not for me,” and move on.