Correct or not, some men have the impression that transporting the baby is the woman's domain. Equipment designed for baby transportation is by extension "women's gear." One European automaker decided to flip this perception on its head by creating an uprated stroller specifically for men. Now there's no excuse for a father not to take the baby for a walk.
Men love their gear and technology, even when it comes to something as simple as a baby stroller. Czech automaker Škoda surveyed 1,000 British dads and found that more than three-quarters would spend more time pushing their babies around if they had a higher spec baby stroller. About a third say they were embarrassed pushing regular strollers around. So, the company went about building something more their speed, including popularly cited "wish list" features.
Designed to be "fit for a king," the VRS Mega Man-Pram is an imposing four-wheeled baby cart that doesn't look like anything you've seen around the city park. It rides on 20-inch wheels surrounded by all-terrain rubber and packs plenty of car-like tech for dad to geek out on, including hydraulic suspension, wing mirrors, oversized brake calipers, brake lights and a headlamp for night walks. A set of anti-stress grips provides a cushy grab, with or without leather strollering gloves.
As for baby, he won't build up any tech envy of daddy thanks to a crib decked out with sports style upholstery and lumbar support.
As unique as the VRS Mega Man-Pram is, we don't imagine that many dads, moms or otherwise would be interested in a massive stroller likely to cost more than a used car. Škoda doesn't mention any plans to sell it.
"We used it in the new Octavia VRS TV ad because we wanted to bring to life the idea of enhancing the performance of everyday objects," says Heidi Cartledge, head of marketing at Škoda UK. "The high tech-buggy gives a tongue in cheek sense of what you could experience if you VRS’d your life."
You can watch that advertisement below, which includes a few other pieces of "upgraded" man, woman and child gear.
Source: Škoda UK