“Is it always illegal to kill a woman?” – Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes, the craftsmen of commerce, came up with the easy-to-use postage meters to help reduce complexities in shipping, but this ad with its lengthy text shows a woman’s inability and reluctance to use a simple machine.
The admen could’ve easily just listed down the advantages of using a postage meter. Instead, they needed to create redheaded Ms. Morrisey who resists a modern and efficient machine with all sorts of excuses such as, “I have no mechanical aptitude. Machines mix me up.” This representation of a dumb and stubborn redhead was unnecessary and sexist.
Then it ends the ad with Ms. Morrissey admitting that the postage meter was indeed a very efficient machine, and with tasks done early, she can go to the girls’ room in time to hear all the dirt—again painting a poor picture that women only gossiped in the workplace.