by Tom Ellis-Jones, @tomej1 Client Director at ZAK
It’s a pretty shit time to be a man, right now.
Donald Trump has reached some real lows with his outdated, old-fashioned and unrepresentative views but plunged new misogynistic depths over the weekend with the groping tape scandal.
We have a duty to do and say more.
In a report published earlier this year, Mintel highlighted that over the last few years the representation of men in marketing campaigns has become out of step with reality, and that as a result, “Half of all men admit that they are largely apathetic towards advertising … unable to identify with the men they see in ad campaigns.”
Surely there are brands out there with an appetite to change the status quo, do something different and take the opportunity to properly connect with powerful storytelling that engages men in a new and relevant way.
Our Client Director @tomej1 laments men’s equity being at all time low in #advertising via @TheDrum https://t.co/Lv0WDnXFqK #ads #creative pic.twitter.com/4Qzs2jgUl2
— ZAK (@ZAK_agency) October 14, 2016
Regrettably, as a man, it’s another nail in the coffin; another event in our day-by-day diminishing.
In entertainment, we’ve been sickened by Saville, Rolf Harris, Max Clifford and Bill Cosby.
In sport, we’ve been cheated by Lance Armstrong and corrupted by Sepp Blatter, FIFA and the IOC.
While in politics, where do I start… deceived by Tony Blair, abandoned by David Cameron. The list goes on and on.
All in all, our equity as men is at an all-time low.
Imagine my disappointment then at another X-Factor premiere this weekend which saw Fallon and Cadbury’s – such a formidable and culture-defining force back in 2007 with ‘Gorilla’ – re-launching the Milk Tray man.
Predictably the film shows the new Milk Tray Man descend at speed over the Mongolian Steppes in a wing suit, parachute into a camp and mount a white stallion before breaking-and-entering to leave behind his familiar calling-card of a box of chocs and a selfie (I mean, who on earth prints their photos any more…?).
The film, while cinematic in production values, is utterly archaic in every other value going, a throwback to the 1970s that offers nothing new or relevant to the narrative of what a modern man is and should be.
How did they miss such a big opportunity?
How did they land on such tired storytelling?
How did they end up in such a cultural cul-de-sac?
by Tom Ellis-Jones, @tomej1 Client Director at ZAK