Campaign Spot

Men Centric Campaigns that show a man as a Human and not a Heman

Paawan Sunam

19 Nov 2019 00:00 IST

Updated On 19 Nov 2019 02:46 IST

New Update

Men Centric Campaigns have long been 'manly'; over the years, however, there are brands that show them more 'humanly', renovating masculinity.

Men Centric Campaigns have transformed the image of man. We are all aware of the role Advertising & Media play in the portrayal of a character or more specifically to this context - a gender.

Advertisements had long been catalyzing the traditional image of men. The traditional image that shows them as macho, the tough aggressive guy who prefers black (not pink) and 'has to' be muscular and shows his power and dominance.

Although the changing times have also changed the portrayal of men in advertisements. We did observe a phase where men were objectified and sexualized too but that phase has (almost) passed.

Few advertisements have show men as who they are and not what they are supposed to be. The men who can wear pink, the men who are not suppressed by the burden of growing up, the men who need a paternal leave when they have a child, the men who choose dance class over a gym and the men who need a shoulder to cry on.

The social construction of gender difference was built on the foundation of the stereotypical image of men (and women). The ad world had long praised this construction too. The image that emerged from the concept fed us historically and culturally is slowly starting to wash off and is starting to lose its colors and existence, in the real and the ad world.

Tracing the reasons for this change in advertising and media may be similar to tracing the origin of the water flowing in a river - Did it fall from a cloud, melted from a hailstone, or shifted from a tributary? We may never know.

Tracing the origin of this change is the same. The blurring lines between the 'breadwinner' and the 'homemaker', work culture shifts, economic alterations, growing depression and mental stress, any of these (maybe all) or the unmentioned may have fueled this change.

Although one of the concrete reasons seems to be both genders playing the roles that they want to.

While as a brand, you have the liberty to mold a (male) character, that best suits your communication but it's important to remember that 'the spirit of a real man' is 'the spirit of a human'.

Let's take a look at the Men Centric Campaigns that show the spirit of a real man, rather a human, and aim to inspire the coming generations.