Advertising can be very segmented. Commercials for vacuums and chocolate target womemn, commercials for tools and sports cars target men. It used to be that ads for food and drink were aimed at women -- more specifically, mothers -- since they were the ones responsible for shopping for their families. Men, it seemed, would survive on power bars and Gatorade. Now, however, with the rise of the stay-at-home dad, companies are recognizing that there's a larger, male-r, market to appeal to.
The trend has made its way into popular culture, with male caretakers having prominent rolls in television shows like Up All Night and Modern Family. As society sees these examples and becomes accepting, companies see a potential new market and become creative at trying to turn the sector into a profitable one.
The commercials can be humourus to the point of boardering on farcical, but perhaps they're effective. Dr. Pepper has a new product called Dr. Pepper 10. In the commercials, a ruggedly handsome man explains -- to a background of machine-gun fire and explosions -- that the name comes from the "10 , manly calories" in the can. Then he rushes off on a high speed chase in an SUV, yelling the tagline: "It's not for women." The softdrink containers advertise the calories as "bold-tasting." The Wall Street Journal reports that the company spent approximately $10 million on the campaign. "In tests, Dr Pepper Ten made up 6% of total sales of Dr Pepper products, while also increasing sales of regular and diet Dr Pepper," the article said.
Ruffles brand of potato chips is jumping on the bro-centric bandwagon as well. A new line of chips, named Ultimate, pump up the macho vibe as they deepen the ridges in Original, Sweet & Smokin’ BBQ, and Kickin’ Jalapeno Ranch flavors. It's the perfect snack for while he's playing poker and watching sports (or porn) in his man cave. He'll probably wash down his manly munchies with some Miller 64 beer. Those commercials are unabashedly masculine.
We're anxiously awaiting the day there's a advertising campaign for video gaming system aimed at women.
