Vanity is Thy Name, Dude

Brandweek, Oct 9, 2000 by Becky Ebenkamp

The "Mimbo" had his shining moment last week luring Fox's Sexiest Bachelor in America contest, an unintentional comedy that proved men could be just as cheesy as female beauty queens. With vase-line-aided smiles, contestants charmed their way through swimsuit and eveningwear rounds, and just in case their glistening waxed chests belied a lack of brains, the budding Mr. Congenialities were lobbed questions to prove they were pretty on the inside, too.

While this may be the ultimate display of peacockness, it's only the tip of the tiara for a burgeoning male grooming trend that goes far beyond the beefed-up bodybuilder or the androgenous club kid. Increasingly, "regular" guys are becoming more interested in their appearances, a trend that has seen the males of the species investing time, effort and big bucks in vanity items.

"It's the adonis factor," said Anne Marshall, founder of Woman Trend. "Men are taking care of themselves in ways we'd never see with our fathers or grandfathers."

Result? A mess of product launches and "maleovers" for existing brands that skew female. Information Resources Inc. says men's bath and body products have grown 9% for the year ending June 2000, and fragrance is up 7% for the period. In a GQ survey, readers said they spent $399 million on fragrance over the year, a 32% increase over 1999 numbers. Health and beauty aids sales ($461 million) increased 9%. Tom Florio, vp/publisher, sums up this shift. "20 years ago, if you were streaking your hair in high school, you were homosexual," he said. "Now, football players are doing it."

Which makes a survey of British boys seem less shocking: more than half opted for looks over ability to play football (soccer) better, 25% chose looks over riches.

All this narcissism is grand news for HBA marketers, naturally. A recent Clairol promotional hair-coloring event attracted so many guys that the company ran out of water, says Young & Rubicam's Intelligent Factory, New York, and strong sales of L'Oreal's bold, trendy Feria for men hair dyes have inspired the company to spin off male-targeted facial cleansers and moisturizers. At cosmetics site www.malespecies.com, men can dabble in pancake foundation and liquid eyeliner.

Marketers are modifying strategies that have succeeded with females. P&G packaged its Zest body washes with a mesh washcloth rather than the usual frilly "pouf' and used such adrenaline-fueled names as Energy Rush and Rainforest Adventure for the scents.

For boomers, the trend is an attempt to stave off old age. This is about looking young--men are thinking about beauty preservation as part of their fitness routine," said Wendy Liebmann, president of WSL Strategic Retail, New York. "People have money to spend and this me-me-me generation is spending it on themselves."

Coty's research reveals that males 18-34 are driving the trend, but what's driving them? IF speculates that style-conscious boy bands and the proliferation of unisex fragrances may have helped ease young males into increased use of personal-care products.

And children of the '70s and '80s were empowered with more choice. "As women have evolved, they've encouraged their kids to be self-sufficient," said The NPD Groups Veronica Lawrence. "Their sons are much more capable than their fathers were." They can shop for themselves, buy and even coordinate clothes.

"There's a new male sensibility today, and I think it's a result of the women's movement," GQ's Florio said. "Most likely, someone 40 grew up in a house where the male provided; dad worked and couldn't come to your ball game. For the last 30 years, that hasn't been the case. You can be what you want because your partner isn't your dependent. There's less interest in impressing the world and more in being comfortable with yourself.

"It's good for men," he said. "It feels like we're going through our own women's movement right now."