You Can Be Whoever You Are As Long As You Are A Man

Published Apr 26, 2012 00:00 AM
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You can be whoever you are ... as long as you are a man; So says security provider Monitronics in a recent industry wide marketing campaign that makes no pretense that women exist.

Here's the ad:

You might wonder, "Perhaps they just couldn't fit in the longer word 'person' in a short ad?" But when you click on the ad you are directed to Monitronic's promotional site showcasing the Men of Monitronics:

Mavericks, veterans, suits and balancers are all allowed, dressed up as real men. Interestingly, the suit is a 'no-nonsense businessman' and the balancer is a family man who blends in business. Not pictured is the 'skirt' who stays home and bakes brownies for the Men of Monitronics.

Persistent rumors that Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce [link no longer available] was the ad agency for this campaign cannot be confirmed.

Who is Montronics? Well, they are buyers winners of the most disrespected and bogus award in all of security, as they brag in the promotion below:

Barriers

Recently, we argued that the best way to break barriers and become successful in security is to do great things in sales and engineering, going against the Women's Security Council's advice of mentoring and networking.

Alas, when faced with a blatant sexist marketing campaign, one's best bet is to go to a different company. The last thing a woman should do is get mentored or network with such characters.

Taking a Stand

We hope the Women's Security Council (WSC) takes a stand against this but we fear conflict of interests will hold them back. Ironically, one founder of the WSC is an editor at the magazine who was paid to run this sexist marketing campaign and another founder depends on retainers from companies like Monitronics.

Rebuttals?

We see two most likely rebuttals:

  • Alarm installation and monitoring is essentially a male only industry anyway so it just reflects reality.
  • More powerfully, what woman even wants to be a Monitronics alarm dealer? It's just a small step up from making license plates.