Last month the C.E.O. of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi, announced that a new, discreet Doritos design was in the works. This new chip design won’t crunch as loudly, won’t leave flavor residue on your fingers, and comes in a smaller bag.
Who is the target audience for these new and improved Doritos? Women, of course.
In an interview with Freakonomics, Nooyi said, “as you watch a lot of the young guys eat the chips . . . they lick their fingers with great glee . . . Women would love to do the same, but they don’t.”
Tell that to any college-aged woman in the library during Finals Week. We are not going to let a single crumb go to waste.
According to Nooyi, women “don’t like to crunch too loudly in public. And they don’t lick their fingers generously and they don’t like to pour the little broken pieces and the flavor into their mouth.”
Doritos fans took to the internet to question the necessity of gender-specific chips – and point out the absurdity of Nooyi’s claims.
There is no reason for gender-specific chips, pens (looking at you, BiC), or even razors. This isn’t the first time PepsiCo has disappointed fans with its tone-deaf advertisements. Remember that infamous Kendall Jenner “Black Lives Matter” Pepsi commercial? Yikes.
Here are six things I’d rather put in my mouth than “lady-friendly” Doritos:
1. Cat Hair
I’m allergic to cats.
2. Soap
It’s more delicious than stereotyping women, every single time.
3. A cactus
Just to make my point.
4. Broccoli
Broccoli is my least favorite vegetable but I’d pick it over Doritos.
5. Boiling hot coffee
To permanently burn away any trace of that Cool Ranch flavor-dust.
6. Any other loud, flavorful chip
I’m not planning to boycott PepsiCo (who can say goodbye to Cheetos, Fritos, Lay’s and Tostitos?) but Doritos might leave a bad taste in my mouth now.
In response to the onslaught of criticism, Doritos tweeted: