That Popular Pill: DailyCandy and Bayer on Board

Dear DailyCandy and Bayer,

Thank you for your email today, alerting me to your campaign “50 Years of the Pill.”

Things you take for granted: morning coffee, the Internet, nonfat frozen yogurt. (How is it so delicious?)

And, of course, The Pill.

Well, here’s your chance to show some appreciation. Bayer^® is teaming up with DailyCandy to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the birth control pill by assembling a time line of choice milestones in women’s history over the past half century.

The series of personal profiles, trivia, and videos — which will roll out during the next few weeks — covers everything from the historically significant (way to go, Sally Ride) to the presently impressive (congrats, Kathryn Bigelow) and everything in between (thank you, Spanx).

I also looked at your time line, and all of it left me itchy.

1.) DailyCandy: I originally subscribed to your emails to find out about products that I would miss.  I have sometimes relied on your website to find good gift ideas…but am ALSO sometimes horrified by the breezy generalizations and errors in your daily copy.  I sometimes think they are written by 18-year-old interns who are looking to Sex in the City episodes that aired when they were 10 to find some kind of “voice.”

2.) But this is not about that.  Today I just want you to know that I don’t take the Pill for granted. And I never think about nonfat Frozen Yogurt.

3.) How does me going to Bayer’s website show my appreciation for the history of the Pill?  Are you trying to trick me into a faux commercial feminism?  Are you trying to tell me I am powerful shouting women are grrreat and then telling me to think about low calorie yogurt? Are you suggesting that Spanx (which I do appreciate, but do not honor as a great stride of bold empowerment) has anything to do with the history of contraception?

4.) The tagline for this promotion is “The Chance For You To Carry The Torch.” The torch of what? Empowerment? Great—but it’s not Bayer’s or DailyCandy’s to pass.  Of not having babies? Still not their torch.

5.) And, powerful women did amazing things before the Pill.  The timeline here suggests that the Pill was the genesis of all strides in equality and achievements of women.  This all smells of your marketing department catching on that women’s issues are trending right now, and that it’d be goodwill strategy to smack up a quick website.  The Bigelow deserves  kudos, absolutely, but please don’t try to take women’s greatest hits, dazzle them with pink graphics and cliche’ motivational phrases, and tell me that this is how I can show my appreciation to anything.

I know. You try to do something nice for a gal, and all she does is bitch.You started it, mixing up the intricacies of the Pill and empowerment with yogurt and underwear.

I will be a lady, and read lady blogs and buy lady things.  I especially like fringe and big sunglasses.  But none of this makes me an idiot.

CF