Why Women Love to Hate Skinny Models
A Dummy's Puppet's Ramblings - from Chip Martin, Puppet
Mannequin American views and guidelines on marketing/PR trends plus bits of humor and interesting but useless information. For information on Chip's background, go to http://www.dale-brown.com/.
I'm Not Here
I'm on vacation. Actually, I'm home. Dale and Leslie are on vacation. I'm house sitting. So if you want a beer, come on over. I'm taking time out of my vacation to write blogs to make sure that you continue to be informed and amused. I hope you do the same for me someday.
First to Leslie and Dale. After Dale retired from racing he searched for a new hobby. His choice ... sailing ... more specifically, sailing a 48 foot yacht. Unfortunately, he has never been on a sailboat in his life. So he and Leslie are at a three day introductory sailing boot camp this week. Then they will board a 48 foot boat like the one pictured above, and will live aboard that boat for 8 days while learning how to sail. Assuming that they don't kill each other fighting over who will hoist the mainsail, they should come back tanned and seaworthy. At least that's the plan. (I neglected to point out to them that they will be sailing in the Gulf of Mexico during peak Hurricane season. Oh, well, I'm sure they'll figure it out.)
No Wonder Women are so Difficult to Understand
Ladies, have a look at this ad featuring skinny supermodel Kate Moss. How does it make you feel? Let me tell you how it makes you feel: It makes you hate your own body, but really want to purchase that handbag Kate Moss is advertising! What am I, psychic? No, I'm just a Mannequin American telling you what the advertising industry discovered in a breakthrough study about skinny models. Women love to hate themselves and keep coming back for more. Hey, don't kill the messenger ... I'm as surprised as anyone.
The new study found that "ads featuring thin models made women feel worse about themselves but better about the brands featured." They make you despise your own "normal" body, and "subconsciously" try to correct the situation by buying the brand that's advertised.
The Villanova professor who ran the study ferreted out just what advertisers bank on: masochism. "The really interesting result we're seeing across multiple studies is that these thin models make women feel bad, but they like it," he said. "I'd be cautious about using models in advertising that wouldn't maximize the attitudes and evaluations of the advertising and the brands," he added.
No telling what this means for Spanx.
PSA's Can Be Done Well
Campbell-Ewald has done some pro bono campaign work for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The commercials define parental responsibility down to the simple act of spending time with the kids. The 30-second PSA is sure to put a smile on your face. Even these wooden lips cracked a smile. Now I have to go get some touch-up paint. Check the PSA out here.
In the Opposite Direction
I'm not the type to get outraged by "sin." I figure we all do it to differing degrees and with differing amounts of humiliation and repentance. But I must admit that even I was surprised to learn that a rather effective ad for an over-the-line service had appeared on ESPN. It was for the Web site AshleyMadison.com, which is a sort of a Match.com for extramarital trysts. Are you kidding me? The tagline: "Life is short. Have an Affair," is repulsive even to me ... and I'm hard to repulse. ESPN needs to get some class. Oh that's right, it's saturated with overpaid athletes who think they're important. That's about as "un-classy" and repulsive as it gets.
Egotistical Marketing Doesn't Work
One thing I've learned working in marketing for over 25 years ... you "people-types" love to talk about yourselves. In brochures you tell other people-types how wonderful you are and blather on about your innovative products and excellent services. It's all about you.
Want a tip? Your prospects don't care about you. They care about themselves.
For content to be effective, it has to be about your targeted audience, not about your company or your services. Don't talk at prospects; talk about prospects. People love to discuss themselves. They love hearing about themselves even more. They want to feel as if someone cares... as if someone is listening to and acknowledging them.
People want to hear you hearing them.
