Babbs in the Woods: The PANK™ thang

We seem to suffer angst here in the women’s outdoor market over the use of pink. Is the industry coddling us, pandering to us, making fun of us when it creates a pink AK-47 or other type gun? During the past three years, I’ve seen articles, Op-Ed pieces and insults hurled at the subject of pink in the women’s outdoor marketplace. 

Here’s a new twist on pink. Presented in a recent blogpost at She-conomy.com by Stephanie Holland, Executive Creative Director at Holland+Holland Advertising, she asserts this fact: Pink done right equals PANK™ and male marketers should pay attention.

Since, according to Stephanie at her fine website, only three percent of advertising agency creative directors are women, maybe this whole PANK™ thang needs to be addressed.

PANK™ was trademarked and coined by Melanie Notkin, CEO of Savvyauntie.com. It means Professional Aunts No Kids.  Melanie contributes a guest post to She-conomy, giving insight on this segment of the market. You’ll probably find it very interesting, regardless of how you  feel about the color pink.

Babbs with FN FAL and Paige Eissinger with Lil Pinkey, from I.O. Inc. Photo by Jason Baird.

For the record: Pank thangs don’t bother me at all. I own a pink AK-47 that I named Lil Pinkey. I would not use pink for hunting purposes though, and I’m not a princess, diva nor claim to be one.

That’s just not me. I like pink. I like blue.

How about you?

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  • About Barbara Baird

    Publisher/Editor Barbara Baird is a freelance writer in hunting, shooting and outdoor markets. Her bylines are found at several top hunting and shooting publications. She also is a travel writer, and you can follow her at https://www.ozarkian.com.

     

The Conversation

4 Comments
  • Women's Outdoor News says: May 2, 2011 at 7:08 am

    Hey Traci, I agree with you to embrace the gender thang!

  • Kathy says: May 1, 2011 at 8:44 pm

    Personally, I like pink. When I was a girl, growing up with two brothers and three neighbor boys, anything girlie was the kiss of death. It meant you were a sissy and couldn’t keep up.

    Nowadays, I’m embracing my inner pink. It’s like the color has come to be more of a statement like, “Yeah, I’m a girl – whaddya gonna do about it?”

    I have pink shooting muffs now, and a pink tackle box that I carry ammo in. Haven’t gone so far as to add pink accents to my guns yet, but I’m leaning there.

    • Women's Outdoor News says: May 2, 2011 at 7:07 am

      Kathy, Good to hear that you’re “embracing” that inner pink! Like your attitude. One way of looking at the topic: at least most guys don’t want to mess with your tackle box or shoot your gun if it’s pink, right?

  • traci says: May 1, 2011 at 7:41 pm

    when turkeys don’t see pink….

    nah, seriously, it’s true that women are drawn to color more thsn men. Don’t fight the gender thang, embrace it!