TAMPA — The marketing department of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers learned a powerful lesson over the summer: It’s all in the details.
In August, the Bucs announced a new initiative termed “RED,” designed to appeal to the club’s female fan base. Within hours, the Bucs faced a backlash from some notable media outlets, criticizing the organization for pandering to women with references to fashion and cooking.
A story in USA Today termed the club’s new marketing effort “embarrassingly sexist,” and The New York Times weighed in with a negative column. But the Bucs took the blows and declined to comment.