The December 2017 issue of Smithsonian contained an article called “The Strange Beauty of the Epic Fail” by Franz Lidz. The part that was most interesting to me was that one of the “epic failures” is a product that I own and use nearly ever day: the Bic for Her pen.
Here are two of my “lady pens” on the magazine page that mentions them.
These pens really are comfortable to write with. But, to be honest, the thing I like most about them is the colors and embossed designs. Everyone in my house can instantly recognize to whom the pens belong, because I’m the one who likes those kinds of designs. They don’t appeal to my husband. Not that he won’t use the pens, but he’s not inclined to keep them. In short, the pens don’t tend to “walk away,” so I can usually find one when I need one.
I liked the pens enough to keep buying them in spite of the name. When Target stopped carrying them, I was able to find them at Amazon. That’s when I discovered the reviews. Wow. Some of them were hysterical! I was also annoyed, though, because reactions like that are what killed the product.
But the blame must ultimately fall on Bic. They should have known better. I cannot begin to fathom why they would go with a gender-specific name like “For Her” when there were words like “floral,” “embossed,” and “pearlescent” to draw on. Not that women shouldn’t like pinks and purples and embossed floral designs, but the idea that they must (or that men cannot) just isn’t right. The pen is great. The name is the epic fail.