'Amp Up Before You Score' iPhone App

I can't believe there's an app for that!

From the Wall Street Journal:

Energy drinks are meant to be edgy and cool, and drunk by young men. So PepsiCo Inc. decided to release an Apple iPhone application for its Amp Energy drink to appeal to guys out on the prowl.

Now the snack and beverage giant is facing a storm of criticism for "Amp Up Before You Score."

The app, released last Friday, purports to help men pick up any one of 24 types of women, such as the "sorority girl," "cougar," "rebound girl" or "punk rock girl." Users can choose the type of woman they have their eye on, then get coached on facts that might be useful, such as computing a carbon footprint to impress "the treehugger."

Suggested pick-up lines can be risqué. To pick up "the artist," the app recommends the following line: "You know the Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. I wonder what else she shaves."

The app then takes the coaching a step further, encouraging users who "score" to post details such as name, date and comments, for their pals via Facebook and Twitter.

...PepsiCo apologized in a Twitter feed, saying, "Our app tried 2 show the humorous lengths guys go 2 pick up women. We apologize if it's in bad taste & appreciate your feedback."

When asked if PepsiCo might pull the app, a spokesman said the company is looking at the situation and evaluating its options.

...PepsiCo, based in Purchase, N.Y., like other consumer products companies, has invested heavily in social media and may relish the ruckus.

The app "is pretty edgy, but I guess its value is proven by the fact that we're talking about it," said John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, a trade publication.

Exactly.

The Amp Energy drink app is meant to appeal to its targeted demographic, and it does.

Are young males offended? I doubt that they will stop buying Amp because of the controversy.

...Not everyone dislikes the Amp iPhone app. Boston dating coach Thomas Edwards, at theprofessionalwingman.com, gave the app his stamp of approval.

"This actually could be useful for someone you went on multiple dates with," he said, in a video message posted on his blog. A guy could pull up links to local vegan restaurants if he were dating a "treehugger" type, he noted.

Mr. Edwards said PepsiCo jumped the gun by apologizing so quickly.

"Stop being negative," he said, addressing people who are quick to pass judgment. "There's no harm done here."

This dating coach is a real piece of work.

No harm done?

"[E]ncouraging users who 'score' to post details such as name, date and comments, for their pals via Facebook and Twitter" is demeaning to women.

Whatever happened to an appeal to our better selves?

Both PepsiCo Inc. and iPhone have reason to do some self-reflection.

Objectifying women may not be a bad move in terms of publicity for the products, but that shouldn't be the only consideration.

Whatever happened to doing the right thing?

Edgy and crass sells. That's a sad commentary on our culture.