Last Thursday PepsiCo pulled a controversial iPhone application that was criticized for being sexist. The application “Amp up before you score” provided users with pick-up lines for 24 different stereotypes of women including “married,” “treehugger,” and “sorority girl.” A description also accompanied each type of woman including “This shouldn’t be a problem” for the sorority girl reported.
The application, released two weeks ago, was a marketing tool to promote PepsiCos’ energy drink AMP. The application was also criticized for its “Brag” feature that allows users to add the name of a woman, date of conquest and comments to a list that can be displayed on online sites including Facebook and Twitter, according to the Associated Press. “Our app tried 2 show the humorous lengths guys go to pick up women. We apologize if it’s in bad taste & appreciate your feedback” read Pepsi’s Amp Twitter feed. According to the Associated Press, the company’s official statement explained, “We’ve listened to a variety of audiences and determined this was the most appropriate course of action.”
Corporate Watch noted that the app had been downloaded from Apple’s iTunes store more than 150,000 times making it one of the more popular free applications.
