Marketing Strikes Again

What is it about people in marketing? Why is it I look at many of them and think: "The wheel’s spinning, but the hamster’s dead"? And then combine the world of Fashion with Marketing, and you’ve got a foolproof case of why they should be first up against the wall, come the revolution. Here’s a case in point: a news story on the birth of Hybrid Man.

All the usual suspects are there:

• A study carried out by French marketing and style consultants (always a bad sign).
• The study was "unveiled" to Fashion Group International (the fashion industry – usually barking mad)
• The occasion was during a seminar to find "the future strategy for Fashion in Europe" (er, shouldn’t the strategy be to sell more frocks to people who know no better? What else is there to your strategy? No need for a seminar, then).

The managing director, Pierre Francois Le Louet, said: "We are watching the birth of a hybrid man. … Why not put on a pink-flowered shirt and try out a partner-swapping club?".  

Beg pardon? What was that you said?

"He is looking for a more radical affirmation of who he is, and wants to test out all the barbarity of modern life" including in the sexual domain, said Le Louet, adding that Reebok with its "I am what I am" campaign had perfectly tapped into this current trend.

How times change; in my day, "I am what I am" was a torch song belted out by a drag queen – now it’s a slogan for overpriced footwear. Sorry, Monsieur Le Louet, I think I’ll pass on your invitation to become a hybrid man – I don’t think my comfy slippers quite fit the image your campaign is pushing.