The NFL goes after women…as women; what the toy industry can learn

The NFL is taking a different tack in going after female shoppers for its lines of football jerseys. According to the New York Times in a nice piece, "Suiting Up in Jerseys Suitable for Women," we learn that the league is launching the "N.F.L. Women's Apparel, Fit For You" campaign. The idea is to actually create jerseys for women that are fashionable. As the article puts it: "LADIES, if you have ever wanted to wear strappy stilettos with your favorite football jersey, you are in luck. This fall, the National Football League will begin an advertising campaign encouraging you to do just that. "

What caught my eye was this quote from the article: "The league has carried women's attire for the last 10 years, but followed the ‘shrink it and pink it' philosophy of taking a man's jersey and making it smaller and, well, pink." Wow, doesn't that remind you of toy industry attempts to go "Girl" by simply changing color. Lionel's pink train of the 1950's and Lego's pink Lego blocks come to mind.

The article says that "[t]he print ads feature headlines like, "Who Says Football Isn't Pretty?" and "Finally. Love Your Team Without Looking Like You're on It." The campaign will run in magazines like Shape, In Style and People. 

Wouldn't it be interesting to see a toy company take this approach with a boys line that they know girls like? Who among our companies is "man enough" to try it? H-m-m-m-m-m.