Have you seen the images of Cristiano Ronaldo is the new Armani Underwear ads? He has replaced David Beckham as the face (you know what you mean) of Armani.
In case not, here are 2 of the images from the series:
They did get me wondering. Just who is the target? I am assuming you recruit a world class footballer to promote a product that you are hoping to then sell and appeal to the legions of male footballer lovers. Big, butch and musculine men who love swirling beer, cheering at the game and appreciating the "ladies". So why then do Armani get him to pose and look quite so much in what feels to me a more male sex object that ladies and gay men may appreciate more. I wondered if I am missing something?
We all know that despite all the PR and the miles of coverage it got, that Dove (for all the worthiness of celebrating women of all shapes and sizes) eventually had to ditch the women of all shapes and sizes and ages as women did not want to look at reality. They did not want to look "at themselves" - but how they projected or aspired to.
I guess it is clear that you would never sell much perfume or underwear using a more likely image of the average man: fat, bulging stomach and hairy like in the spoof below:
We often debate the role of the physical target and the target in communication, and maybe it is easier in aspirational brands and categories as you always go younger, prettier and fitter...
I guess the learning is understanding who your real target is, and what they will find relevant and appealing t them.... so does that mean football fans like looking at muscley men in erotic poses in their underwear? Or that the real target is women who buy their partners the underwear and just hope so of the muscle tone will rub off on them in the end?
