Maybe pram advertising has been horrendous for decades.
Maybe I only started noticing it because I recently became a father.
[As you can see here and here]
But whatever the reason … the way they market their products makes me ill.
I’m not saying it’s not effective because, let’s face it, lots and lots of people buy it … but what really fucks me off is that they never talk about the baby, just the contrived lifestyle and status cues it represents.
The latest example of their fucked-up thinking is this …
Yes, it’s supposedly a pram for parents who run.
Except it isn’t is it … because if it was, they’d do more than just create a tricycle, they’d fit it with things a parent who runs would value.
Like a tripometer.
Or a drinks holder.
Or an alliance with someone like NIKE.
Or technology that connects to your smartphone to give you valuable data.
Or something that keeps your kid amused – and safe – while you take them out on the busy streets and roads because life is all about you, isn’t it. You selfish dick.
But they don’t because this pram isn’t really for parents who run, it’s for people who want to convey a lifestyle image that doesn’t include being seen as a good, caring, parent.
I cannot tell you how much I utterly hate how this category conducts itself.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s others who are equally as bad, but there’s something about this industry than feels even dirtier than banks … and that is saying something.
But what gets me is how they seem to think people should have multiple prams to satisfy different needs in their day.
The pram you push when you want to exercise.
The pram you push when you need to ‘off-road’.
The pram you push when you need to attend that fashionable party.
WHO THE FUCK ARE THESE PEOPLE!???
Seriously, if I ever met someone who actually bought multiple prams for lifestyle requirements, I think I’d report them to the authorities … though to be fair, that’s much nicer than what I’d do if I ever met a marketing director at a pram company.