Incite Kitchen

Jewelry, Lingerie and Dog Biscuits?

In a recent Reuters poll of 1000 Americans, it was discovered that while men prefer to buy their sweethearts lingerie for Valentine's Day, their girlfriends and wives are only happy to receive the gifts 2% of the time.  Women much prefer to receive jewelry, a gift that ranked fifth on the men's list. 

The other interesting finding of the study was that eight million Americans actually admit to buying themselves a little something on V-day.  While I guess those people at least like what they are receiving, this finding makes me question to what extent the holiday has lost its meaning.  If the study is to serve as any sort of indicator, men apparently no longer know how to give gifts and women no longer know how to graciously receive them.  I'm unfortunately not surprised.

Then my partner sent me a story about Valentine's Day pet spending, which is supposed to top $367 million this year, according to the National Retail Federation.  In essence, almost one-fifth of consumers plan on buying something for their pets on February 14th.  Then again, that's the great thing about pets.  No matter what you buy them, they're destined to be happy with it.  In the case of my dog's most recent bone, perhaps a little too happy.  I probably should have just given her a $20 bill to chew on.  Are pets beginning to replace people as the ones who we buy things for purely for selfish reasons?  Probably not if Victoria's Secret has anything to do with it.  Nonetheless, I plan on tracking this trend for some time.

Wasssup with Dude?

Budweiser has done it again with its one word campaign for Bud Light simply entitled, "Dude." Or has it? Is it just me, or does "dude" seem past its prime? Or, could it be that "dudettes" like me just don't get the brilliance of the word that has been in use since the 1800s?

Perhaps my lack of enthusiasm is because there is no equivalent word in the female language. Think about it. Women can't reduce all that they are thinking and wishing to communicate to just one word. It's impossible. Men, on the other hand are content with one word sentiments. ( I can think of plenty that I won't repeat here.) Does that make them overly simplistic? Or, does it make women overly complex? The answer lies somewhere in the middle, I'm sure.

In the meantime, I applaud the folks at Budweiser for knowing their audience and talking to them in a language they completely understand.

Man Colds Uncovered

A few minutes ago I Googled "Man Cold." After receiving a copy of this now famous skit by the BBC's "Man Stroke Woman" I couldn't help but wonder... are men really that pathetic? A few blog posts read and discussions with colleagues and my wife later and I have come to this conclusion... yes we are... but for a very good reason. You see, to men the world over, the cold has come to represent the single occasion with which he can expect to pitty his wife into giving him exactly what he wants.  Sure there are shared occasions; Christmas, birthdays, Mother's Day and Father's Day.  But the cold is special.  It is how the man captures the apparently fundamentally human need of feeling showered upon.  Something women mastered a long time ago.   Think about it.  Wedding showers, baby showers, Valentine's Day, engagements, weddings, anniversaries, etc.  They're really all about the woman. Disagree?  Please watch the below clip from the same "Man Stroke Woman" crew.  I think I may be onto something big.