Friday, 2 June 2006
Buzz cuts, or how to market gin
Picture the following billboard:
Four blue tinted silhouettes of three men and a woman in a nondescript room. The three men are sitting; the woman stands, giving a haircut to one of the men.
The tag line: snip. snip. sip. sip.
Not one known to be politically correct, let me further expand and note the silouettes are clearly black (“african-american.” ).
Now I need to ask, how does this scene sell gin to the targeted market? What is the scene’s message—is it simply “When getting a haircut, drink gin?” How are the colors, the setting, and the scene action selling gin? Is there some aspect of getting a haircut that makes you want to drink…gin?
These are important cultural questions that need answers. I’m a just a white guy trying to understand, because I’m usually not drinking gin during my haircut, and wondering if I should start looking for a place that sells gin and gives haircuts.
To be fair, and having just went to the gin producer's site, it is clear that this product is marketed directly, and heavily, to the hip-hop/rap population.
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