Ho hum. A slow afternoon in Ad-land reduced me to reading this weeks issue of Campaign. I am glad I did. 'The Gender Divide'. A cursory glance across the cover revealed this, a three page missive on advertising and gender politics that neatly ricochets us back to an interesting subject. On June the 30th, I responded to the cries of some of my virginal male correspondents. The general gripe was summed up by the following paragraph:
'This is the hard, indecipherable bit that even we women don't understand. Women can have sex upside down, standing on their heads whilst road-testing a rabbit and plotting their next career move...but we still want a man to be a man. How much of a man remains a mystery. Should you be macho, strong, confident and assured? Or a great cook, a good listener, a shoulder to cry on? Swing too far in one direction and we don't like you. Too full of yourself, so arrogant, get with the twenty first century Warren Beatty! Stray too close to the shores of metrosexuality and we'll have you down as 'the little brother I never had. AKA, the men we love to talk to but wouldn't deem worthy of a shag in a month of Sundays'.
That seemed to touch a nerve, alongside the realisation that this gender related dilemma is a universal theme. It ain't just the virgins that are confused. Perplexity blows through the corridors of politics; it is dissected by media think tanks. It is chewed up and spat out on in the form of advertising, and its coming to a television, radio or computer screen near you! Gender is a nebulous issue. Don't expect it to solidify anytime soon.
My regular religious correspondent drove the point home. "This paragraph applies to husbands, as well as young men trying to find a woman. As a real time computing software engineer with an MBA, I'm not being arrogant when I say I ought to be able to work things out, but I'm almost as confused as ever about the role of men. In some respects I'm more female than the four females in my family, less aggressive, more intuitive, more of a peace maker, lover of cooking good healthy food etc. Should I conform to male stereotypes, (probably not), or keep on discovering my female side?"
Politics provides the perfect mirror. Wending my way through Salon.com produced this little gem. Check out Barak Obama and Hilary Clinton, America's two leading choices for democratic presidency. Salon.com picks up the story as they go on the trail for votes.
'Obama warms up his audience with The Indigo Girls. They play "Hammer and a Nail," a 1990 declaration of female empowerment and emancipation. "You've got to tend the earth," the Girls sing, "if you want a rose." Then Obama comes out, looking lithe and dashing, with his 6-year-old daughter, Sasha, in his arms. The soundtrack starts to make sense. "I'm a sucker for girls," says the man who wants to be president. "There is nothing more difficult than me being on the phone hearing about their soccer game, hearing about what happened to them in school and knowing that I am not there in the evenings to share a lot of their life." He turns to his wife, Michelle, who is sitting nearby on a stool. "She is smarter," he says. "She is tougher."
In contrast, Hillary Clinton has run her campaign with all the muscular vision and authority of the macho candidates of yesteryear. On the stump, Clinton repeatedly tells people that they should let her take control of the country, eschewing Obama's more abstract calls for national soul-searching. "If you are ready for change, I am ready to lead," she says. "I want to be the president who sets goals again."
Obama is, 'the warm candidate, self-deprecating, soft, tender, sad eyes, great smile. Clinton is the 'male candidate - in your face, authoritative, know-it-all.'
Ironically, herein lays the rub for female voters.
"I am really impressed with his ability to articulate issues and just his sheer graciousness," says Julie Hansen, a local librarian who was waiting to meet the candidate. "He'll try to put people at ease. He has a grace. He has a warmth."
Nonetheless, she remains on the fence, torn between the two front-runners. She says she liked the mastery of issues and authority that Hillary Clinton has demonstrated in the debates. Plus there is the history-making potential. "She is a woman," Hansen adds. "And I want to support that."
In a few words, this Iowa voter had epitomized the struggle now playing out between the top two Democrats nationally. They are fighting for undecided female voters who are attracted by Obama's feminine appeal, but still drawn to the macho performance of the only woman to ever have a real shot at the Oval Office.'
Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
Where to from here?
In my case, back to the latest issue of Campaign. Or Cam-PAIN, as we liked to call it at my last job. Times have changed and advertising has played a game of catch up. According to journalist Pippa Considine, 'the battle of the sexes is over. Men and women are more relaxed than ever about their gender identities and marketers aren't afraid to treat men like men and women like women'. Interesting. I'm not sure I agree with that, but one thing is clear. As men and women stake their claim over great swathes of new territory, the world of advertising is puffing hard to keep up.
Considine points out Lynx, who have 'reinvented the star of its ads to make him more of an accidental hero, chiming with the mood of indecision prevalent among men in the 21st century'. Roll over macho, welcome metrosexual. Nike grabs the baton with it's 'man boobs' ad, where a cynical male jogger is running to get rid of his flab. 'Its Dove for men, says Guy Murphy, JWT global planning director and a man who argues that men and women are increasingly interested in the characteristics of independence and integrity, which some advertisers are brave enough to reflect'. Again, with the Dove.
Considine shores up the economic incentive for advertisers to get with the programme. A report from The Economist earlier this year suggested that women in the west are responsible for almost 80 per cent of purchasing decisions. We're not just talking about washing machines and powder here. We are talking family cars. What was that crashing sound? Ah yes, the last bastion of male dominated decision making has just crashed and burned. Alongside, it would seem, its advertising.
Skoda are right on the money with a Fabia, and a fabulous, car/cake combination advertisement. You know the one. The nice men in white coats construct a life size motor out of icing, cake, Smarties and Golden syrup. Beautiful. I like cars and I like cake. So does my mum and my step dad. This truly is gender busting advertising for the twenty-first century. I've enjoyed my little afternoon rant, now, pass me a piece of sodding cake.
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