100 Years of Male Grooming & Advertisements

By MaleStandard.com on February 26, 2013

While male grooming has always been a necessary task, meeting the demands of men who want to look and feel good hasn’t always been a massive priority for advertisers. The big bucks were thought to be the woman’s shopping hand (their views not ours), but recently we’ve seen a huge trend of new adverts that are promoting quality, male oriented products. With a great boom in supply and demand, it’s awesome to finally get some recognition from the providers of our favorite products!

So with that said, are advertiser’s really just fickle creatures or do they have our best interests at heart? Let’s rewind and take a look back over the years.

Old Spice Reinvents an Old Brand Imagine into a Viral Marketing Success (1937-Present)

The formula remains the same, but product sales are through the roof. What happened? An ingenious advertising campaign sparked viral interest and showed the world that male grooming is here to stay. It also sparked some other commentary: Do you really want to smell like Old Spice aka your dad, or was this a clever ploy to bring back a loved line that men should be aware of? While we love the new ad (who doesn’t) we can’t say that everyone will still love the same old product.

Advertisers 1, Consumer 0

Photo credit: Mashable

OK, so “Smellf” really wasn’t the greatest choice of wording but look where they are now:

Photo Credit: LA Times

Who’d have thought a semi-naked man on a horse would become one of the most popular and best loved adverts of all time? Not us, that’s for sure!

Calvin Klein and Their Underwear “Obsession” (1968)

We could spend hours deliberating the ins and outs of the mind manipulation that is rife in these photos; are these men we want to look like, aspire to, or become? No, we’ve come to the conclusion Mr. Klein has in fact been marketing underwear to our female counterparts who are far more likely to pick up some new briefs in the store than we ever will be. Still, it’s iconic and underwear is necessary to own so kudos to us for that!

Advertisers 1 Consumer 1

Photo credit: FanPop

Gillette – “The Best a Man Can Get” (1908)

Gillette has stuck by their proud expression of providing “the best a man can get,” for more than 100 years, but we say if a razor is the most important and best thing that you are “getting” then you probably need a new hobby or girlfriend. That said they do make awesome razors so let’s all rejoice for quality and traditional products that still have value in our modern world (we also love the adverts have never really changed).

Advertisers 2 Consumers 2

Photo credit: Blogspot

The Long Lived Brylcreem Bromance (1928-1998)

Brylcreem was a staple grooming product every school age boy in Britain relied on to create sleek styles reminiscent of 1950’s Americana, but it was also the only grooming product on the market for decades. Back when marketers weren’t aware of what teenage boys wanted and needed, Brylcreem produced and promoted a product few dared to try; a male grooming product that actually worked. Sadly, many people forgot this with the introduction of newer and shinier products and so Brylcreem slowly went out of fashion but they still remain a well-loved hair gel that will always be remembered for its unique and frequent seasonal adverts.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Advertisers 1 Consumers 1 (Deducting 1 point because they let this bad boy go out of style!)

Lynx: Advertising That Ladies Love to Love (1997 – 2002)

While it’s typical that many advertisers use sex appeal to market male grooming products, few went to the great (if not completely unbelievable) lengths that Lynx did when re-launching a classic men’s antiperspirant. These adverts went viral, taking on an international (and even female) fan base in its wake. They never claim that results are guaranteed, but we appreciate their balls to the wall technique and desire to make men smell fresher. Each advert in the series focuses on overtly sexual results driven marketing, but we appreciate that they take the time to address the fact that man sweat happens – and provide a cure!

Step 1: Apply Lynx Body Spray

Step 2: Wait For Women to Pick Up the Scent

Step 3: Figure Out How to Deal with the Demand

Photo credit: The Inspiration Room

Wanna just call it a tie with the advertisers?

The Male Standard Seal of Approval

The truth is, when it comes to male grooming and adverts, a great gimmick is going to get our attention (if only for a few minutes) but that doesn’t mean we don’t want or need the products on offer. Advertising is only as strong as consumer demand, taking the time to acknowledge which items you truly need is what’s going to save you time and money in the end. Enjoy the ads but now that not everything on the shelves is right for you. We put this report together with the facts you need to know; check it out!

If there’s an awesome advert you love that puts the spotlight on men’s grooming in a good or weird way (or that we missed), we want to see links in the comment section; we have lunch breaks to kill over here!