Ford's new car for young women

Ford has a new car that they are marketing specifically to young women. Is this going on in the US, too? I don't remember which car it is, because although the ads are directed at "my demographic,"* the car itself is boring and in no way more appealing than any other car (but girls won't notice, cuz they don't even like cars to begin with!) But Ford really wants young woman in Australia to buy this car.

One ad features the type of girl who likes to shop and party and go out for drinks on the town. She describes an incident where she was headed to a party in her animal-print, platform heels, and her dad stopped her and told her she couldn't drive in heels. So she grabs her pink sneakers, puts the right one on, and keeps her animal-print, platform heel on her left foot. Problem solved! Except, oh no! Where on earth can she store the other sneaker and the other heel? She couldn't possibly toss them on the passenger seat, or on the floor, or in the backseat, or in the trunk. No no, women need a special drawer under the passenger seat to store their extra pairs of shoes. A dedicated shoe drawer. Don't you dare try to use it for anything other than shoes.

She then goes on to say, "I had to get petrol; I had to quickly swap over." Because God Forbid you get caught pumping gas in sneakers. Oh, the horror!

Another ad features The Girl Next Door, who is so glad that she has her new Ford Whatever because she just got engaged and now she and her fiance can drive to the place that they got engaged (the ad doesn't say why they need to return to that place, but it's the sentiment that counts, cuz you know, women are sentimental.) She then goes on to describe the benefits of the car, ending with, "And there's lots of space, for babies and that."

Thank you, Ford Australia, for considering the needs of young women: shoes and babies.

Now, don't get me wrong. I like shoes. I even like babies! I'd like to have lots of shoes and babies at some point in the future. But I don't see how this particular car is any different from any other car, save tiny sports cars, in the storage-of-shoes-and-babies arena. As a youngish woman, I am not convinced that this car offers anything that I want and can't get elsewhere. I'm also not convinced that my car needs differ greatly from those of a youngish man!

Hey Ford, you want me to buy a car from you? Make one that's exactly like a Honda Civic. Or a Prius. Ooh, or a Lexus IS 200! Love that car.


*Actually, I suspect that I may now be too old for the target demographic of these ads. After all, I am over thirty these days. Also, I don't have more money than sense, which is obviously the type of woman these ads are targeting.