I'm almost beginning to feel like people so quick to jump on the "fragile and toxic masculinity" at stuff like this is its own brand of the same.
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Apparently men need their own car air freshener now?
- Thread starter Detective Loki
- Start date
No different than say gendered freshening products like deodorant and lthe like marketed as just for women. Would you say those are marketed to emotionally stunted women?
OP
OP
I've had the displeasure of being borderline poisoned by a marketed-for-men air freshener which smelled so strongly of mahogany and leather that if I closed my eyes I pictured myself in a gay conversion therapy session headed by middle-aged cowboys.
Anyway, if mass-marketed products aren't going to coddle men, who will? They can't sustain their egos entirely off of acting tough on internet message boards.
Anyway, if mass-marketed products aren't going to coddle men, who will? They can't sustain their egos entirely off of acting tough on internet message boards.
They could go full satirical like that other one, the "look at my hand, look again, it's a horse" or something direction.
https://i./i/pix/2016/05/24/10/348E80DD00000578-3606217-image-a-28_1464080453345.jpg
I love how they have to put the "man" symbol on it next to a fruit to balance out the appearance of "femininity"
🍑 🥒
I think there would be a market for a better looking air freshener. I have three pieces of scented wood hanging in my closest to ward off moths (woolen coat), and I bought them specifically because they didn't look like the fluffy dangly moth ball things you see often.
So drop the gendered stuff and lean into how much nicer it looks as a product.
Next you're going to tell me they market yogurt at children, or to old ladies to make them poop.
Those are ph balanced For Her. Totally different situation.
Why are there so many super smart and savvy business people in this thread conflating people not liking a type of marketing and people who don't know what marketing is?
We get it, you love the free market and cash rules everything around you. Can we have a discussion about gendered stereotypes and their place in our culture?
We get it, you love the free market and cash rules everything around you. Can we have a discussion about gendered stereotypes and their place in our culture?
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Also, this is a good product just so you don't get hit with an obstruction of view charge by the pigs
Lmao get high, guy!My air fresher looks like this
Sleek and makes the truck smell amazing
Also, this is a good product just so you don't get hit with an obstruction of view charge by the pigs
I saw this at Target and found it amusing but can also see it as something kinda soothing if you know someone who wears it regularly.
hooray cultivated identity in capitalism!
don't forget: these are the same companies that have men in their commercials shown being complete imbeciles and the woman has to come in and do things right because he's apparently useless.
don't forget: these are the same companies that have men in their commercials shown being complete imbeciles and the woman has to come in and do things right because he's apparently useless.
https://i./i/pix/2016/05/24/10/348E80DD00000578-3606217-image-a-28_1464080453345.jpg
Man yoghurt is extra funny to me because it sounds so much like a euphemism for sperm. Something I guess the kind of guy insecure enough to have to buy fucking yoghurt in a jet black container with the word "MAN" on it would get really annoyed about someone pointing out.
Where are all the men conspiracy theorists these days? Surely this marketing ploy is an attempt to specifically target and weaken all ordinary plebs to "clear the playing field." Buy women's products instead!
Gendered marketing is dumb and reinforces gender stereotypes. It contributes to insecurity among men and women on what it means to be a man/woman. This insecurity in turn contributes to mental health problems and toxic masculinity. One could argue that gendered marketing contributes to the rise of the alt right and to getting Trump elected. So I'd argue that it's not really a small problem.
The product itself seems fine, I can see a market for a discreet, reasonably stylish air freshener. The marketing is dumb though.
I didn't want to believe that was actual ad copy, so I googled it, and holy shit
I didn't want to believe that was actual ad copy, so I googled it, and holy shit
The car air freshener in the OP really isn't as silly or bad as some of the other examples in this thread. Its design and marketing are perfect for the young, white, male upper middle class professional who probably drives a new used Lexus or BMW.
This is like putting "gluten free" on a carton of salt.Don't forget your special toothpaste and manly tissues
This yoghurt (well, whole line because you can buy shakes and bars) is advertised as high protein product.
It's pointless division, and there are countless comparisons where "for women" marketed items like deodorant and razors are shown to cost more for the same or less amount than a unisex or male-targeted product of the same type. That said I'd say if someone buys or avoids a product specifically because it has "for women" (or "for men") and pink/purple (black/dark blue) on it rather than because it smells a certain way or it's formulated to some specific need they have (like ph balanced washes, perhaps), then they're being pretty insecure. "Bic pens for Her" (a real thing) is peak dumb. And when it came out everyone did make fun of it and the type of person who the marketing department thought might exist.
Unfortunately if you want to smell a certain way you probably have to buy something with a for men/women label stamped on it. That said something like a car freshener, pens, or bread doesn't need to be separated out by gender, so in those cases it's probably targeting insecurities and "emotionally stunted" people.
Most of this stuff is dumb and/or sad, but that baby carrier is adorable. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I came here to ask if anyone had tried to market baby powder to men, but I guess this is close enough.
I came here to ask if anyone had tried to market baby powder to men, but I guess this is close enough.
OP
OP
Yes!
And it's not just about fragile masculinity, this (bad) Old Spice case from W+K makes it clear that men didn't care that much, they were just using whatever body wash their wives/gfs bought, so Old Spice started telling women their husbands/boyfriends needed a "men" body wash. And it saved Old Spice.
I hated it.
Thread is trying to make fun of something, and most folks who know jack shit about marketing (and want to sound woke) are making a fool of themselves in the process... lol
Why are scented products being mentioned? Should all labels be neutral and just have everyone open and smell shit... just to end up buying what marketing data already gathered to be gender specific favoutites?
Why are scented products being mentioned? Should all labels be neutral and just have everyone open and smell shit... just to end up buying what marketing data already gathered to be gender specific favoutites?
I think the point is there are products that should be targeted to groups of people, and those that should not. This is one that should not. What makes it a "Man" air freshener? Why can't a woman use it?
Shit, look at the toothpaste posted. What even is that?
I have no doubt it works, it's just sad and cynical because when we talk about issues like toxic masculinity in culture, this is what contributes to the problem.
OP
OP
The marketing implies it's only for men as if men need separate air fresheners than women
Do these dumb motherfuckers already know Febreeze has air fresheners that aren't trees hanging? And they're fucking great?
And they smell like the beach and shit, which is something I would rather have my car smell like instead of an air freshener that I assume smells like Axe.
And they smell like the beach and shit, which is something I would rather have my car smell like instead of an air freshener that I assume smells like Axe.
Air freshner is a scented product and these have to compete in store shelves with dozens of others. If data shows that 5 out of lets say 20 scents you as a company produce is mostly favoured by men, marketing it as a such is an attempt to direct that potential market towards those products as quickly and effectively as possible.
Men specific toothpaste is stupid but so is the argument that its packaged as such because dudebros are insecure about brushing their teeth.
Aftershave, for the most part, isn't specifically tailored to appeal to insecure men who don't want to use a generic or "female" orientated alternative.
Look at any of the other unnecessarily gendered products in this thread. There's a clear trend towards taking stuff stereotypically associated with women or even children and babies like wet wipes, and making it aggressively manly or masculine.
Aftershave doesn't tend to do that unless it's tongue in cheek, like with the recent Old Price ads. Just compare any aftershave ad to one for Axe body spray. The target market is very different.
Oh I fully get the business end of it, I have a marketing degree after all, I just think it's ridiculous.
Toxic is shaming a dude for liking a female branded product. No one should care.
Using sales data to be more specific in your labeling so a larger percentage of specific people find what they are looking for as quickly as possible, is good marketing.
Most of these examples are products no one wants to spend more than 2 minutes searching for. Making neutral packages for lets say body wash, is just gonna make life miserable for the majority that already naturally gravitated towards certain variants.
It creates the social expectations that as a man you should buy man things. There's feedback here, yes, marketing draws from purchasing habits but purchasing habits are also driven by marketing.
No one would care if all products were gender neutral, you see? Now you get dirty looks if you buy feminine toothpaste instead of masculine toothpaste or whatever the fuck. The exploitation of gender insecurity further reinforces gender insecurity.