Razer is a gaming company that advertises itself as the best of its kind, but even after bringing attention to issues like climate change, the corporation still manages to fall flat when it comes to sexism in its new advertisement.
In an advertisement for a noise-canceling headset, Razer decided it would be okay to reinforce sexist stereotypes and imply that women talk too much, thus bringing the appeal of noise-cancelling headphones. In the ad, a man and woman are sitting on the couch together. The man is wearing a headset that is not yet turned on, and is playing a game while his assumed girlfriend rants to him. He quickly decides he has heard enough and turns on his headset, which blocks her ranting. The ad continues, showing the man wearing the headset as he goes about his day. During the advertisement, we see wording that states, “Active Noise Cancellation: On. Drama: Off.” While this representation may not seem harmful on the surface, the stereotype is ancient, and can be used to help control and silence women.
Razer knows they have a female audience, and should have been more aware of the kind of implications the ad was making. Backlash is reasonable, and this seems like an easily avoidable slip-up. However, I honestly believe the misogyny in the advertisement was actually not a mistake, but intentional. It seems Razer was trying to reach a specific portion of their audience with this ad, and that’s men who have sexist views of women. Many women who participate in online gaming face sexism while playing. They are subjected to petulant, sexist name-calling and told to “get back in the kitchen,” among other derogatory comments. It’s not unreasonable to suggest Razer is aware that some male gamers can be misogynistic toward female players, and could be trying to capitalize on that.
While people may stop buying from Razer because of this advertisement, the ad did generate significant attention, especially from people who have never heard of the company before. In fact, it prompted me to research Razer, despite not being a gamer or particularly knowledgeable about companies associated with the gaming. Razer essentially tricked me into researching their company and products due to this controversy. Similar to this year’s American Eagle advertisement, both clips attract negative attention while reaching a large, online audience. Razer may have seen other companies utilizing this marketing strategy, and was willing to take the risk of losing buyers to gain attention, thus building a new audience in the process.
This advertisement not only shows Razer doesn’t value its female consumers, but that the company may have purposely riled up viewers to advertise a product, despite the risk. I think it’s important for everyone to know a company’s main priority is always to make money and nothing else. With this example in mind, I’d urge you to be careful when choosing the companies you support.
