Lady Doritos Unlikely To Be A Real Product?
The end truly seemed nigh upon the spread of a rumor Doritos was about to launch "Lady Doritos," a female-friendly product. It's since proved false.
Acting Ladylike In Public
The idea for the new product, which was aimed at ladies who don't like to crunch too loudly or lick their fingers in public, floated after PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi made reference to differently-designed and packaged new snacks aimed specifically at women.
"Women ... don't like to crunch too loudly in public. And they don't lick their fingers generously and they don't like to pour the little broken pieces and the flavor into their mouth," Nooyi said in a recent interview on the Freakonomics podcast.
"Women love to carry a snack in their purse," Nooyi continued.
PepsiCo has since claimed her comments were taken out of context, stating plainly on Twitter that regular Doritos are just fine for women.
We already have Doritos for women — they’re called Doritos, and they’re loved by millions.
— Doritos (@Doritos) February 6, 2018
Women Eat Chips Too
Widespread speculation about the product also led to the phrase "Lady Doritos" trending on Twitter, where many users called out PepsiCo for being sexist.
Thank god because my fragile, feminine, woman jaw just about breaks every time I have a normal dorito. By the time I finish a bag, I’ve already been to the hospital 17 times for a shattered lady mandible! It hurts my girlish dainty hands to type this out, but thank you Doritos! https://t.co/sJJ2HsCWYJ — em (@uhhmmily) February 5, 2018
im SOOOOO glad there is lady Doritos now. I couldn't figure out how to eat the man kind. — Miranda Sings (@MirandaSings) February 6, 2018
Online commentators were also, naturally, unimpressed with the suggestion that Nooyi herself perpetuated the idea of "Lady Doritos."
Nooyi has run the soda and snack company for over 10 years. She's one of only 32 female CEOs of a Fortune 500 company, not to mention, one of just two women on the entire list.
Although her wording was arguably problematic, online commentators pointed out that Nooyi shouldn't be blamed for perpetuating the idea of "Lady Doritos" as a whole. The Internet, as usual, did that.
This is the second massive public scandal the company has had in many months following the now-infamous Kendall Jenner racially insensitive Pepsi commercial debacle.
In that case, of course, the commercial ran after being approved by who knows how many people. Thankfully, "Lady Doritos" is not, and hopefully, will not be a real product.
