Shame on you, grooming industry
By now you have seen the Brett Favre grooming commercial. Brett transforms from a poor man’s Kenny Rogers to a clean cut stud with a few easy strokes of his grooming tool.
This is the latest of what I consider to be misleading ads that I’ve seen on TV recently. I don’t have inside knowledge, but I do have an opinion informed by conversations with a friend who comes from this industry.
Before-and-after grooming sequence utilization goes back decades. In the 50s and 60s there were few controls and the talent would actually fake shave for the cameras. To our more skeptical eye, these sequences are cringe worthy.
Techniques became more sophisticated in the late 1970s as a clean cut appearance came back into style. A number of interesting techniques emerged:
Gleening. This is the process of adding grime to the mane and nose hair of the talent. Common materials: cinnamon, corn starch dye, pencil sharpener clippings (called “sackers” — don’t know why).
Shining Out. Grooming models would consume a half gallon of cream or buttermilk two hours before the shoot. This is supposed to add luster to the hair. Sounds like an old wives tale to me.
Angry Head. The actor SUBTLY displays sad, angry, or ugly body language in the Before photo. Overkill suggests deception, so the goal is to transmit an ugly appearance just shy of obnoxious or gruesome. Pay attention to the next ad you see and you will know what I’m talking about.
These tactics are still widely used today. Modern grooming industry strategy has moved away from visuals to playing up particularly fearful grooming scenarios. Rather than dive into each of these, I will focus on the 800 pound gorilla: rapid growth nose hair.
Playing up the fear of nose hair has added anxiety to the modern man’s plate at the exact time he is under pressure from all directions. In reality, nose hair is like any other affliction. It is not something most men need to worry about. It strikes a small minority who often report a wake up call of some sort, followed by careful, chronic maintenance.
The ads, unfortunately, play up the fears of nose hair and the implications for personal brand, professional development and family relations.
I’d like to request that the grooming industry take a step back and ask if a more mature marketing approach is in order. Their current tactics lead to direct short-term profits at the expense of their industry’s long-term reputation.
