Be a woman, take it like a man.

[venta]

A while back I noticed posters advertising a "protein shake" called, I think, Upbeat and made a note to try it. I figured it was a potentially interesting snack-concept for days when I want to go straight from work to, say, a yoga class without keeling over. (Lots of other interesting snack-concepts are also available but hey, I quite like milkshake).

This morning, outside Ealing Broadway station, there were gentlemen in leather jackets handing out free samples of a chocolate "40% higher protein" milkshake called Wing-Co. Obviously protein shakes are the new Thing. Wing-Co has a blocky cartoon of a WWII-era pilot (his moustache dripping chocolate milk) on the bottle, and small planes whizzing past the nutritional information.

It's pretty nice, actually. Chocolate milkshake is very variable and often has a nasty, grainy texture but I enjoyed this one. Whether it can actually make good on its promise to "shoot down hunger, fast" remains to be seen. But I could imagine buying it again.

Except...

As the free-samplers were dishing out the bottles this morning, they said "Man up with Wing-Co!" to everyone they handed one to. According to the info box on the label, "WING-CO IS PROPER MAN FUEL". "DON'T BE A GIRL," it further elaborates, "SHAKE IT UP AND DRINK IT NOW!"

Oh. Good.

The info box is, of course, designed to look like a plate which has been screwed onto the bottle. Because, y'know, screws are very manly (they look like slotted-head countersunk woodscrews to me).

Think I'll try out Upbeat after all. In fact, Wing-Co has inspired me to compare the two, and Upbeat has real fruit in it, and more protein, and is made entirely from British milk.

Comments

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

"WING-CO IS PROPER MAN FUEL"

Presumably an attempt to counter the notion that diets are somehow girly?

[strange-complex.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I really hate companies who do this. Yorkie and some brand of beer whose name I can't remember (and which is irrelevant to me since I don't drink beer anyway) are similar offenders. The beer brand might be John Smith's, actually.

An affronted letter explaining exactly why you won't be buying their product in future, in spite of actually liking the taste, might add at least one small drop to the ocean that will eventually (I dearly hope) sweep this bullshit away. I'd certainly be interested to see their reply.

Actually, a quick look on Twitter for references to 'Wing-Co' shows that quite a few people are vocally complaining about their sexism there already. The manufacturers, Arla Foods, have an account there, so should see any tweets which mention it. Is it OK with you if I link to this post on Twitter and copy them in?

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

I saw a roadside advert for that yesterday as I was driving along and it said "THIS IS PROPER MAN-MILK". Since I drove past it at 30mph in moving traffic I didn't see the rest of the advert so I spent the next mile going "what the fucking fuck? Did I just see an advert for semen? Is that even allowed?"

[(Anonymous)]

Think about Arla's record vis a vis its dairy farmer suppliers.

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

I AM SO CONFLICTED RIGHT NOW.

[motodraconis.livejournal.com]

I picked up a Wing-co being given away free at Old Street station this morning, but I didn't read further than "milk drink" and thus gave it away to a co-worker. I didn't even know it was a protein drink! Mind you, my co-worker is pretty skinny so giving him a protein shake was probably no bad thing!

aiming at a moutached audience

[cleanskies.livejournal.com]

winko man-milk

...really?

[nisaba.livejournal.com]

Late to the party, but I'm hopeful that social media will bring power to small voices in situations like this. http://www.missrepresentation.org/not-buying-it/ for example is a great campaign, highlighting the worst offenders and raising awareness all round.