Who Has Better Taste? Men and Women Agree to Disagree
(PRWEB) March 20, 2003
Fort Washington, Pa., March 20, 2003—Who has better taste when it comes to choosing cars and restaurants or clothes and movies – men or women? According to a recent survey* sponsored by Splenda no-calorie sweetener, the answers just may…or may not surprise you.
“Men and women have debated the ‘good taste question’ for years,” says Martha Barletta, president and CEO of the TrendSight Group and author of Marketing to Women: How to Understand, Reach and Increase Your Share of the World’s Untapped Market. “This survey clearly illustrates how, even in today’s society, most men and women fall back into traditional roles when deciding who has better taste.”
Surprisingly, most of the survey respondents seemed to equate good taste with the level of perceived knowledge and experience they had on a certain subject or item.
For example, according to the Splenda survey, a whopping 88 percent of females felt they had better taste in clothing styles, selecting gifts and home decorations. Contrarily, only 25 percent of the men interviewed thought they were equally competent when it came to making those same aesthetic decisions.
On the other hand, an overwhelming 80 percent of the men respondents believed they had better taste when it came to choosing cars. And their girlfriends and spouses were inclined to agree. A bit more shocking was the fact that almost 60 percent of those women also looked to their significant others to make the “tasteful” choice in music and restaurants. That’s not to say that women weren’t offering their opinions, but when decision time rolls around, they’re happy to let their ‘men-about-town’ have the final say.
“There are just some areas where men and women feel out of their league when it comes to making tasteful decisions,” adds Barletta. “For example, most men will gladly defer to their spouses or girlfriends when it comes to deciding on what wall a certain painting should go or what gift to bring to their friends’ 40th surprise party.”
“It’s not so surprising that women and men differ about who has better taste, says Splenda Franchise Director Anne Rewey. “What is surprising is how often each sex clearly delineates where those “taste” lines are drawn. Either way, I’m sure these results will stimulate a lot of fun conversation around the water cooler”
Agree to Disagree
The Splenda Survey also shed light on areas where both genders were split down the middle on who had the best taste. These included picking movies and preparing meals. In fact, when asked who had better taste in food, half of the respondents picked themselves and half picked their counterparts to select and prepare nutritious or healthful meals.
Both genders were equally divided, as well, when it came to making the tasteful movie choice. However, unlike many of the other survey categories, neither guy nor gal was opposed to having their significant other make that cinematic decision on their collective behalves.
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The Splenda Good Taste survey consisted of 300 national telephone interviews to men and women, ages 25 – 49 years old. Thirty-two percent of the respondents were 25-34; and 68 percent of the respondents were 35 – 49. Seventy percent of the respondents had children in their households; 30 percent did not.
McNeil Nutritionals is a Johnson & Johnson company that markets innovative nutritional products and dietary alternatives, including cholesterol-lowering foods and supplements, products for lactose intolerance, Splenda® no calorie sweetener and Viactiv, a calcium supplement.
*Survey conducted by Treiber Research Resources on behalf of Splenda, November 2002. The nationwide telephone survey sampled 300 men and women aged 25-45; the margin of error was +/- 4.9 percent at the 95% level of confidence.
