A newly released application for the Apple iPhone which is intended to help guys “score” with women and encourages guys to boast about their sexual conquests has caused nothing but hassle for Pepsi.
Pepsi released the app “AMP Up before you Score” to promote their new AMP Energy drink and it gives quirky chat up lines for “getting lucky”.
Basically the app lists 24 different “types” of women which are depicted in a cartoon drawing, when you click on a type it gives you some chat up lines and tips on how to trick the woman into believing you’re into the same stuff as her.
The different “types” of women include the likes of Artist, Bookworm, Nerd, Goth Girl, Out of your league, Tree hugger, Trouble, and even Twins. No mention of “Geek” though!
Almost as soon as word was out, thousands of people protested on the micro-blogging site Twitter, claiming that that the app was sexist and that it denigrated the status of women.
What seems to be getting folks backs up the most is the fact that the app encourages users to share the names of their sexual partners with their mates online.
“Get lucky? Add her to your Brag List. You can include the name, date and whatever details you remember,” it states.
“Keep your buddies in the loop on email, Facebook or Twitter.”
Now if a guy is going to stoop to the level of broadcasting personal details of his conquests, he doesn’t need an app to do it, he’ll do it anyway.
Not surprisingly, the app went down like a ton of bricks on some blogs, particularly the US blog Jezebel, whose readership is primarily women.
Faced with the kind of outrage put out on Twitter, Pepsi obviously felt they had no option other than to apologise.
“Our app tried 2 show the humorous lengths guys go 2 pick up women. We apologize if it’s in bad taste & appreciate your feedback.” They wrote on Twitter.
That’s about it, the app is still available for anyone who wants to download it free from the App Store, provided you’re over 17 years of age.
Amp Energy is targeting males in the 18 to 24 age group and we all know what’s on most guys’ minds at that age.
Obviously Pepsi meant the app to be light hearted and a bit of fun so are folk taking all this way too seriously? I’d be interested in what others think.
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