MY VISION VISUALISED
/this idea has been brewing for days, maybe weeks, and I finally found my words. Yay!/
In an alternate universe (or maybe just a couple of months down the road) where Calvin Klein actually paid attention to their body care collection and have me running point, these are what will appear on big posters and giant screens.
Calvin Klein: Body Care
(image orientation changed because I don't want it to take up too much vertical space)
.avif)
Marketing body care products to women are unlikely to be challenging, especially if they are launched by already well-established brands, like Calvin Klein. The brand awareness is already there, and all that is left is to create a cohesive visual story about the goodness of body care.
Expanding on Calvin Klein's vision of embodying modern minimalism and self-expression, marketing body care to women should focus on how body care makes one feel. Gentle. Intimate. Maybe sensual.
The visual story should be reminiscent of a spa. A sense of relaxation, comfort, calmness. A lot of focus on the products being on skin. Slightly provocative imagery, in line with Calvin Klein's brand identity.
As women already make up a majority of consumer base for skin/body care, all that is left is to make the products visible in their radar. Male consumers, however, are a new(ish) market with plenty of untapped potential, and are the focus for the body care line.
Psychology of Men
To first know how to sell an item to a group of people, it's important to turn their brains upside down.
So, what do men want? (the following technically isn't from academic research, but spend enough time online and you'll see)
Introducing, male fictional characters (primarily) idolised by men:
- Harvey Specter [Suits]
- Jordan Belfort [The Wolf of Wall Street]
- Barney Stinson [HIMYM]
- Patrick Bateman (??!!?/?) [American Psycho]
There are many more characters idolised by men, but I want to focus on these 4, because
a) I've watched the shows
b) They all share striking similarities.
They are all in suits. They all work big jobs. They all have big cash.
Despite three out of four characters being a satirical depiction of masculinity, and the other being shown learning about how power and ego can only fulfil so much, plenty of men still adore and look up to these characters. Why?
Because they are all in suits. They all have big jobs. They all have big cash.
There was a guy in New York who was like ‘I adore you, you’re my everything. And I was like, ‘Really? You adore the totally insecure guy who’s got to put people in place in a really aggressive, angry way?
I am not in any way, shape or form supportive of the male toxicity that Harvey just exudes. I’m definitely not honoring his narcissistic need [to be told] how great he is. I think he is full of insecurities, full of vulnerabilities, full of abandonment issues, full of this patriarchal selfish greed that he needs to stay on top and control as much as he can before it’s taken away. I think all of that is — what’s it called? — misogynistic crap.
Scorsese admitted to being fascinated by this very real world of capitalist gluttony and amoralism he’d depicted, explaining that The Wolf of Wall Street is a satirical comedy. Lead actor DiCaprio agreed, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “We don’t like these people, you know what I mean?”
Scorsese aimed to critique the excess, abhorrent behaviour and crimes committed by Belfort and his pals, reflecting a society obsessed with overindulgence and money.
Every so often, somebody writes a think piece about how Barney from #HIMYM is problematic. This confuses me, because Barney was always written as a parody of toxic masculinity, not an endorsement of it. I feel sad for all the time the think piece writer wasted not thinking that.
‘American Psycho’ Director Baffled by ‘Wall Street Bros’ Still Idolizing Patrick Bateman: They Don’t Realize the Movie Is a ‘Gay Man’s Satire on Masculinity’
“I’m always so mystified by it,” Harron said. “I don’t think that [co-writer Guinevere Turner] and I ever expected it to be embraced by Wall Street bros, at all. That was not our intention. So, did we fail? I’m not sure why [it happened], because Christian’s very clearly making fun of them"
Bale called his Wall Street visit worrying, explaining: “I went and visited [the Wall Street trading floors], you know, all different levels of people at Wall Street, but the guys on the trading floor, when I arrived there before making the film, I got there and a bunch of 'em, they were going ‘oh yeah, we love Patrick Bateman’.”The actor went on: “And I was like, ‘yeah, ironically, right?’, and they were like, ‘what do you mean?’ So it was always worrying even back then.”
Coupled with patriarchal expectations on men, I think it's fair to assume that what speaks to men are having power and control. Or at least the idea of being the boss. The top dog. The man on the 51st floor.
So, to get men to consider using body care products, tie it together with power.