George Carlin, in our opinion, his era’s most socially on-point comedian, recorded a ten minute monologue about how tough it is to be a woman. He lauds them, clearly stunned by their ability to maneuver the pressures, seemingly unsurmountable pain, obstacles and expectation endured over a lifetime. It’s humor. He spanks. It’s light and heavy. It’s a stunning display of his rapid fire, content-stuffed delivery that leaves both sexes nodding. I so wish he were alive today to comment on the shift of many of his pointed remarks – now apropos to men.
Marketing lingo has changed with lightning speed. Marketing images have changed to include combinations of people baby boomers did not grow up seeing on the screen or in print. We now cross ALL lines. It reflects whom we’ve become. Some of you may remember the eye-rolling and gossip when Rosey Greer publicly took up needlepointing. He was hardly the first man to weave, following centuries of skilled artisans. But, he was our first football player to show his needle skills. He showed a guy could be macho and have a soft side, too.
Men now have so many contemporary choices in Life. There are now Man Candles. Turns out men like candles too and can now light up wax that smells like pizza or “that new car smell”. Men have splashed on after shave for centuries, but there are now entire skin care regimens for men. L’Oreal recently launched a men’s line with soccer star David Beckham as “the face” of the grooming brand. Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Karlos Dansby has co-founded a company offering scrubs and lotions. Turns out men like to moisturize, too. There is “manscara”, “guyliner” and concealer in British stores and online today. Ryan Seacrest has a product line that’s sold at Sephora.
It continues to be a mystery, however, why, after all these centuries, a company and shirt needed to be developed to give guys permission to wear their shirts untucked.
Is your target market men? What do they want? What’s next?
