Tuesday
Jun262012
Only Moms Can Save on Diapers and Wipes at Amazon?
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
As I was looking through some of the options in my Amazon affiliate account, I noticed one of the banners I could add to my blog is for the Amazon Mom club. I'd never heard of it, but clicked to check it out and discovered that it provides "exclusive deals and discounts" for moms.
I looked around for the Amazon Dad club, but couldn't find it. Then I read the fine print and found out that:
No worries, dads. Just like with all the "mommy and me" playgroups out there, you're allowed to join, as long as you don't mind being called "Mr. Mom".
I looked around for the Amazon Dad club, but couldn't find it. Then I read the fine print and found out that:
Amazon Mom is a free membership program aimed at helping parents and caregivers, from the prenatal days through the toddler years, use Amazon to find all the products their family needs. To join, simply sign into your Amazon account and tell us whether you are a Mom, Dad, or other caregivers of a child.
No worries, dads. Just like with all the "mommy and me" playgroups out there, you're allowed to join, as long as you don't mind being called "Mr. Mom".
Reader Comments (15)
When they launched this I actually got an email that said something to the effect of, "Yeah we know it's outdated and weird, but Amazon Mom kinda rhymes." It seems like there is at least one feminist/inclusive family member in the marketing team but they got outvoted.
I guess "Amazon Family" was too...complicated? Sigh.
Amazon Mom doesn't rhyme. Amazon Dad-who-does-diapers-and-shops-on-line kinda hums to me!
Actually, there was a church "Mommy and Me" group that advertised at the preschool at my church (a different church). Some stay at home dads showed up at a "bring your own picnic" at the park and were asked to leave! I was shocked.
It's called marketing. It doesn't have to be progressive or politically correct. It has to appeal to a target audience.
The only time women are the default target market is for parenting and cleaning products. *sigh*
Olivia, and weightloss products. Don't forget we should all be losing weight, all the time.
Jolene, Olivia - and beauty products! Not only do we live in dirty houses with kids who obviously need attention, but we're overweight and don't take adequate care to cover our grey hairs or look good to impress our (insert suitable masculine role here: husband, boyfriend, guy at the bar/gym, male boss........)
Grrr ....
Of course, how could I forget!
Sadly I'm not surprised. A relative of mine started taking his daughter the Mommy & Me group his wife had been attending before she went back to work. He was asked not to attend anymore because his presence was making some of the moms "uncomfortable."
Whaaaat? How awful. I really feel bad for those dads - being a stay at home parent is hard enough without open discrimination.
I thought "amazon mom" was supposed to sound like "amazon.com"! But your point still stands!
I thought that too... Amazon Mom seems to be excluding people, don't you think??
Having been confronted with similar "Mum" not "Parent" marketing yesterday in the local shopping mall's write up of its features for parents and kids, it occurred to me that this marketing to mothers only is alienating for me as well as my husband. It's telling him he's not really welcome, and it's telling me that shopping with the kids and taking kids to the play area etc is exclusively my domain and I can't expect a partner in that.