Why Goldie Blox’s Super Bowl Ad Missed The Mark.

By Addisah Sherwood, Esq.

 

Goldie Blox, a toy company which aims to “disrupt the pink aisle” with engineering toys for girls won $4 million dollars worth of airtime during the Superbowl from Intuit.  I couldn’t wait to see the commercial. I’ll admit, it’s the only reason I watched (part of) the Superbowl and waited with baited breath. And then it finally arrived! Goldie Blox’s commercial showed dozens of little girls lugging their toy kitchens and dolls out the door and piling them onto a rocket which blasted off into space… and the song in the background sang:  “Let’s build like all the boys!”  Wait… what?

 

Let’s build like all the boys?  As a mom and STEM advocate, I felt … what was this feeling? I refrained from posting on social media for a few days, but the feeling didn’t go away.  It was ANGER.

 

Goldie Blox’s commercial insinuates – or rather proclaims-  that there is something wrong with the way girls play. And worse- that they should aspire to be “like boys!” No, Goldie Blox, no! That’s not the message we want to send our girls!

 

Let’s re-affirm and empower our girls! Lots of girls- and boys- love to play with toy kitchens and dolls and guess what Goldie Blox, that’s awesome! Mixing concoctions in toy kitchens is the perfect place to introduce units of measurement, basic fractions, and yummy kitchen chemistry! (Cookies anyone?)  And I venture to say there is not a girl -or child of any gender- on the planet who has not assumed the role of “doctor” to a doll or stuffed animal who wasn’t feeling well.  Let’s encourage this role playing to introduce new vocabulary, anatomy, basic first aid, and empathy. 

 

Don’t devalue those members of our society – be they male or female- who cook, do laundry, and care for our children (and elderly), or -gasp-study fashion, currents events and what-have-you to participate in the pageant circuit. (As I recall, there was some crown-tossing in that commercial.)

 

We get it Goldie Blox. You’re engineers. Good for you.

 

But your Superbowl commercial was insulting. You said “Shame on you” to every parent and grandparent that ever bought anything pink for their beloved child.  You said, “Not good enough” to every proud stay at home mom -or dad- whose children see them doing laundry, and ironing, and grocery shopping, and cooking. . . .

 

So I’ll say this to you, Goldie Blox: Stick with the “Princess plus” formula.  Your slogan “More than just a princess” is empowering. And it resonates with moms- and dads- because we’re a multi-faceted, multi-talented set!  (Heck- we balance child rearing with full time careers in and outside the home!)  But you made it obvious that you a re not a parent- and you’re certainly not a mom! I hope your “engineering” ways to make it up to us, GoldieBlox, because your Superbowl commercial missed the mark – by a long shot.

Read more of Addisah’s blog at http://stempowerkids.weebly.com/

What is STEMpowerkids? http://www.stempowerkids.com/

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