Ladies, be warned. Marketers have cracked the Girl Code. Millions of dollars have been spent to discover the secret of reaching women. You ready? Here it is: Color it pink and play on your insecurities.

We’ll let that sink in for a moment, like a moisturizing cream that erases fine lines and age spots.

One of the big-name ink pen companies has a For Her line. If you’re an Ellen fan, you know how that went over.

Said one reviewer: “For once, I don’t have to grip a giant, man-sized pen just to sign receipts at Saks. And the ink just hits the paper so smoothly, not at all like the rough, gritty man ink in normal pens.”

Meanwhile, Honda has a version of the Fit subcompact called “She’s.” Its lady-centric approach? It’s pink, its AC won’t dry your skin and its anti-UV glass will help prevent wrinkles.

The review is in: “Stupid name, awful color, everyone needs protection from the sun’s rays, and if they want to market to women, they need to think leg to pedal ratio, especially clutch, so you don’t have to scoot the seat all the way up to the steering wheel.”

I guess the point is that pink is nice, but that can’t be the only selling point.

Final example: I used to do marketing for a handgun company.

They had a line of handguns For Her, in pink and lavender. But they weren’t JUST cute; they were smaller, lighter and with slightly less firepower so that – get this – women could actually USE them. We didn’t ignore Pink, we just turned it around: “Why is it pink? So your husband won’t want to borrow it!” Now THAT’S marketing to women!

Here are a couple of articles on the topic, from Today Show online: Here and Here. Check ’em out, have a great weekend and always remember to ask if it comes in pink!

(photos: news.yahoo.com and charterfirearms.com)