marketing

Just like everything in Zombie Green, I think the whole “pink guns for girls” thing is getting a bit overdone. There is nothing wrong with a woman wanting a gun in pink…or emerald green or lavender or even in the Pantone color of the year, radiant orchid. But to automatically assume that a gun has to be in bubblegum pink to attract female buyers is just utter nonsense.

I realize that I’m not the only one who believes that. My views on pink guns was reinforced by a column in today’s Shooting Wire written by Laurel Yashimoto. Laurel is a law enforcement officer in Southern California and was a first time attendee at this year’s SHOT Show. Among her comments about being a first time SHOT Show visitor she said this:

The only thing that really gave me pause was constantly being handed something pink. My favorite color is green, but being female means that the one pink item in the booth will eventually end up in my hands. After a few of these surprising color-coded encounters, I concluded that if it goes, “bang!” fast and accurately, I don’t really care what color it is. It was sweet that men tried to include women by making something in a color they hoped the ladies would like. Kind of like when the birds on the NatGeo do the crazy mating dances. It may not be sexy, but it’s nice to know guys care. And no, much to my disappointment, I did not see a pink weapon mounted lighting system.

I love the comparison to bird’s mating dances from the NatGeo channel. Just like some of those mating dances that look rather ridiculous, I think assuming that using pink is the only way to attract a woman to a firearm is equally ridiculous. 

I think a better way might be to take the example of Taurus and build your marketing efforts around a strong, confident woman shooter like Jessie Duff. Not only does she have Hollywood starlet good looks but she is also a USPSA Grand Master shooter. It just seems to me that this would have a better chance of success while really being a lot more respectful of women.