Return to innocence in marketing

Marketing in the new age assumed that everyone wanted to look a million bucks, have a great figure that would put the hourglass to shame, prefer six pack abdomens over a pack of cigarrettes, practise scuba diving instead of channel surfing, wear the latesht fashion and be cool and be in.

After sinking millions of dollars, marketers are realizing that people just want to be themselves rather than just doing it. Yeah they will crib about their expanding paunch, but they might not punch it back in with a strenous workout. Also the huge comfort factor of seeing very ordinary men getting cute chicks in public places and in real life without any Axe Effect is practical evidence that either wannabe advertising doesnt work or girls are just unpredictably dumb at times. In the interest of women's liberation I believe its the former. Talking about women, the anorexic alacrity amongst women to get into shape to wear tight jeans is not happening . Adjectives like pleasantly plump , lovably loaded have given well endowed women greater appeal after Kate Winslet showed with aplomb in Titanic. Companies founded on a diet revolution like Atkins have now filed for bankruptcy. Health consciousness is definitely there but a six pack ab or 36-24-36 is not the only sign of good health.

Welcome to reality advertising.Nike has launched a "'Big Butts, Thunder Thighs and Tomboy Knees" campaign aimed at 'everyday women' (would that be an antonym of babe in times to come?). An excerpt from the print ad "“My Butt is big and round like the letter C, and 10,000 lunges have made it rounder but not smaller. And that’s just fine. It’s a space heater for my side of the bed. It’s my ambassador. To those who walk behind me, it’s a border collie that herds skinny women away from the best deals at clothing sales. My butt is big and that’s just fine. And those who might scorn it are invited to kiss it. Just do it.” The precursor to this trend was Dove's Real Women, Real Curves' campaign which showed plump women using a cellulite-firming lotion.

Although these campaigns use the extreme to appeal to the average, it seems finally presentably pretty is better than prententiously pouty atleast for women. For further discussions one can visit women's sites like http://michelemiller.blogs.com/marketing_to_women/2005/08/nikes_new_ad_ca.html

http://www.resonancepartnership.com/resonance_partnership/2005/08/and_what_is_the.html

As for men , I guess we still have to slog to be metrosexuals before someone thinks of a "Smelly Armpits, Paapi paunch and Lazy legs " campaign.