The Popcorn Stand: Politically correct Doritos too politically correct

Say it ain’t so PepsiCo, say it ain’t so. There’s no joy in mighty PepsiCo. The mighty PepsiCo has struck out.

A perfectly fine idea has been shot down because of bad marketing and public relations. I still think the idea of a less messy, less crunchy Doritos is a pretty good one (as I’ve said before any Doritos are better than none and I’ll eat any kind of Doritos). But when this idea of a kinder, gentler Doritos was reportedly just going to be marketed to women, well the politically correct idea just became too politically correct or something or other, so PepsiCo won’t be offering so-called Doritos for women after all.

“We already have Doritos for women — they’re called Doritos,” the company said in a statement Tuesday.

I just wonder how these less messy, less crunchy Doritos would’ve have gone over if say they would’ve been marketed as a way for mothers and fathers to keep their children appeased while feeling a little less guilty about it. (The so-called Doritos for women were supposedly going to come in smaller packages that could be put in a woman’s — or more specifically — a mother’s purse).

A commercial showing a soccer mom pulling out a smaller package of less messy, less crunchy Doritos for her little angel I think would’ve been politically correct enough.

But then again when I was in college I took this advertising class and the professor told us trying to sell traditionally messy snacks as less messy never works. That’s why Pringles changed its marketing scheme from a chip that’s less messy to a chip that’s more fun.

I still think I would have had fun eating “Lady” Doritos.

— Charles Whisnand