So I posted my old tirade "Not Everyone Is An Upscale Urban 30something White Male Hipster" over at Beyond Madison Avenue and it's generating a whole lot of buzz, mostly from the hipsters in question, who seemed to regard it as either a personal affront or a call to give One Show pencils to ads for DTC bladder control pills.
Either way, they all seemed to miss the point, which is that having just one prevailing aesthetic in advertising means we tend to judge every piece of advertising according to that aesthetic in determining what we consider "good" or "breakthrough."
Getting the point, however, was our new friend Agency Spy, who gave the post a favorable call-out. (And found a much better picture of a hipster than I did.)
What as most interesting to me, is that this is the second time that post has run-- I've also put it up on MP Daily Fix. The comments at Daily Fix were a world away from the ones at BMA and AgencySpy. Completely different takes, completely different upshot.
Which perhaps just shows the importance of media placement.
Here is something to think about. Today guys hang out with friends cause many don't have brothers. I mean lots of boomers had the one girl/one guy family and quit.
ReplyDeleteI never understand the guy demographics cause I have three sons all over 20 who are all very different demographics. Each accuses the other of being some geekster, or hipster or junkster , stir, stir, stir.... They can still hang at home like brothers do and use some of the same products. (All three have used MY mac at home with different reactions, but still they will use it.) So I always miss the boat when people separate guys into category.
I'll admit that I think this changes as they all find totally different gals and we have to all be together.
I remember the superbowl that they showed that home footage of the three Manning brothers when they were kids. (not as a commercial but as the human side of the story) As a mom my heart melted when I saw Mom Manning. Mine just play in the mathematic bowls, and I remember the buzzer team competitions and just kinda welled up with good tears.
thinking of doing a Carol Burnett type tug on the ear type thing to them now even if they aren't reading, but calling penalties on the buzzer team, laughing and jiggling feet instead.
The comment from the guy at Barbarian Group sounds like it was written by someone at the Onion. Central Casting, get us a pissed-off hipster.
ReplyDeletei always thought it was absurd trying to create advertising for America from Manhattan. it's like hong kong vs. rural mainland china.
ReplyDeleteadvertising is naturally populated with young pompous asses anyway. i used to be one of them.
but this is a superficial industry. what we do is fluff. so it's not surprising.
don't think the BK example is relevant though because they are exclusively targeting teen boys. i think.
as for the award shows, they are decided by juries. just like OJ's case was!
Hey, if you'd patterned your adult life thusfar exclusively around working at only the hottest hot shops, putting that before love, family and financial stability, you'd be grumpy, too. When you live for the fight, fighting's all you got, to paraphrase a fittingly bad Bon Jovi lyric. The hipsters will always be touchy about being hipsters because many of them have sacrificed much to do so and don't like being reminded of this. As for me, I've cracked the books enough without having to go that route and am very happy to define myself in broader terms than the last campaign I worked on. (An act that is definitely against the law in Hipster Land. And yet another reason I choose not to live there.)
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