“Go Girl” : Marketing Girl Power

Samhita’s September 4th post on “Go Girl,” the product that allows female bodied folks to pee standing up, reminded me of another product called “Go Girl,” which I saw an advertisement for while on the road this summer. It was so bad that I had to take a picture. The bright pink poster advertised Go Girl Sugar Free Energy Drinks, tag line “Beautiful Energy.”
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The poster featured three young, thin, feminine, able-bodied, light skinned women-on-the-go and a pink ribbon-50 cents from every 46 dollar case of Go Girl is donated to breast cancer research. The ad also offered the following information: Go Girl contains less than 3 calories, less than one gram of carbs, and “Super Citrimax, a mild herbal appetite suppressant.”


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Really? Appetite suppressant? The hypocrisy of advertisements and products like Go Girl is glaring and obnoxious. To package an appetite suppressing diet soft drink in the garb of girl power is not necessarily shocking, after all, riot grrrl morphed into spice girl and self-confidence is used to sell soap (See lostinggenerica and electrictoasters telling comments on the “Go Girl: Pee Standing Up” article regarding marketing drenched in pink, and Dove’s body image ads). But something about this mission statement: “Go Girl Energy Drink’s Mission is to raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer and Ovarian Cancer research and prevention” and the fact that Go Girl donates less than 2% of its sales to cancer research and prevention, combined with its girl-power-equals-skinny-and-pink marketing really ups the annoying factor for me.

Check out the Go Girl website
, it’s kind of absurd. My favorite is that under “Top 5 Things Said About the Taste,” number five is “Tastes great with vodka!” Healthy. healthy.
<3 jenna b.
[sassyfrasscircus.com ]

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