Infolab archive _ From Informer by Graham Hall

Informer.Com _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Date: January 2002 Client: The Client Project: The Project

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InfoLab Articles “Informer opinion, cultural analysis and marketing information provided by our consultants”

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Vision Archive

For Those About To Rock August 2001 Look out of your office window. Keep looking. Wait. Wait….here they come: identifiable by their sullen gait, wildly spiked hair and oversized black T-shirts proclaiming ‘People=Shit’, these are the ‘Teenage Dirtbags’ – and yer’ Mother wouldn’t like ‘em. Teens strive to rebel, that is what they do; their uphill struggle to ascribe a sense of identity is played out in an elaborate and convoluted dialogue of clothes, peers, music and self doubt. The subtext of this ‘cipher’ is an uncompromising disdain for authority, whether parental, scholastic or societal, this motif has defined the teen experience since time immemorial. The state of ‘harder, faster, louder’ Cat and Mouse between mainstream appropriation and the next, more extreme point of reference can be traced back to Elvis Presley through the Sex Pistols right up to Slipknot today. As young people are so culturally sophisticated as to be able to identify and deconstruct marketing/ communication strategies as they happen, why do they keep playing into the hands of such a predictable historical model? So, rebellion is simply a symptom of the teenage state? As much of a platitude as this sounds (as far back as the "Whaddya got" line from Rebel Without a Cause) the need to define oneself in opposition to received modes of authority is at the crux of the formative teen experience. Only by establishing an ‘otherness’ amongst an infrastructure of peers can you be differentiated; and only once in this position can a teenager work out where they fit in. Loud music and confrontational dress are a facile, but effective anathema to societal expectations of self-image and acceptability – piss your parents/ teachers/ community off and you are, by proxy, an ‘individual’. This understanding has always played neatly into the hands of Rock/ Heavy Metal/ Grunge/ **insert appropriate pseudonym here**. But a recent shift towards a new categorisation has upped the stakes, both in terms of teen self image, cultural connotations and the possibility of mainstream appropriation – has Harder Faster Louder reached its apotheosis? www.informer.com

Nu-metal as a bastardised hybrid of Rock/ Rap and Thrash has accorded with states of teen disenfranchisement more than its predecessors were ever capable. Not only is superficially more extreme in it’s proposition and presentation; bands like Tool and Slipknot sound like an aural apocalypse and are lauded for such activities as vomiting on each other during performances. Nu-metal is also more pan-cultural in it’s references; elements of Hip-Hop are assimilated into the more prescriptively Anglo-Saxon sound of extreme Metal – giving the medium more generic youth-cultural synergy. As the youth consumer reaches a nadir of sophistication, it recognises bands like Slipknot as a counter-cultural ‘brand’ that can not, and will not, be sanitised and sold back to them; More, and younger, kids are taking refuge in the contrived alienation of the Nu-metal movement. The paradox is that in recent months as the popularity of such nihilistic bands as Slipknot et al hits an all time high, the charts are crammed with a slew of accessible ‘Nu-metal Lite’ bands. This shift in the pejorative pop-parade mindset is indicative of another of the cues for Nu-metal’s success. Young people have been characterised in recent years as apathetic and vacuous; in terms of the mechanisms of politics and beliefs they may appear disengaged, but there is an undercurrent of cynicism that is galvanizing young people around new agendas. Nu-metal is the perfect conduit. With programs like Popstars revealing the machinations that we all suspected lay beneath the gloss of teen oriented pop music; the veil of mystique that surrounded saccharine pop fodder has been well and truly ripped down. As young people are no longer prepared to passively buy into ‘youth’ brands and product; derivative, sanitised pop music is first to be rejected. However, it is not only ‘bubblegum’ pop that is polarising the allegiances of the young music consumer. As dance music transcends it’s nefarious origins and has become one of our countries significant cultural exports, it to is circumscribed by branding and the corporate imperative. What was at the vanguard of rebellion for elder brothers and sisters can no longer purport to have ‘extreme’ credentials. Those bland, identi-kit vessels for manipulative pop svengalis and endless derivative dance compilations do not represent the value systems of teens who pride themselves on credibility, sophistication and individuality – bands that have a counterculture manifesto are better placed to ‘respect’ these needs.

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Nu-metal is perceived by its protagonists to reflect the value systems of its young audience; and thereby the context in which they live. To an extent this is probably true. Whilst dance music spoke of the projected optimism of a generation, Nu-metal espouses a more dystopian vision – one that is conditioned by, and responds to, the implicit angst of the teenage state. Of course this idea of ‘bands beyond brands’ is nothing new; groups such as The Beastie Boys and Nirvana have played the trump card of parental approbation and mainstream rejection in recent years, only to become iconic. What is new, however, is the sophistication of young consumers in identifying and rejecting marketer’s motives; more and more of them are opting out of the perceived ‘system’. With individuals like Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durnst sitting on the board at Warner’s - Nu-metal is well placed to capitalise on this heightened disenfranchisement. It can’t get any Harder, Faster or Louder, but it can get bigger.

Sam Buckley For more info on Nu-Metalers contact Informer and ask about The Monitor report on 'Youth Tribes'

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Lovin' On The Down Lo September 2001 In a hyper-masculine and often-homophobic world like hip-hop, it’s hard to find an identity, which isn’t seeped, in traditionally masculine overtones. Manhood is a serious affair, and it doesn’t often get diluted. Which is why this newly recognised sexual identity is such a groundbreaking revelation. ‘Thug Love’, they are calling it, as it predominates among the hip-hop community at its toughest edge. It came to light in a major study carried out by the Centre for Disease Control in 6 different cities across America. Surveys came back and revealed an extraordinary finding - over 30% of black, and by their own admission, ‘heterosexual’ men claimed to have slept with other men. Many have long term female partners and children, and consequently keep their activities on the ‘down lo’’. No one talks about it, no one but their male sexual partners know about it, and even the men themselves, work hard to deny it. This is an identity that exists on a diet of secrecy and denial. While these men sleep with other men, they refuse the label ‘gay’. In fact, they resist categorisation at all, claiming they are not gay, not bisexual, not heterosexual, nor are they homosexual – just sexual. This word play carries serious implications. These men reject all ‘homosexual’ associations, including, in many cases, condoms. The argument being, ‘If I’m not gay, I don’t need them’. Accordingly, HIV is spreading through this black community like wildfire - 30% of gay or bisexual African Americans are purported to be HIV positive, 15% higher than Hispanics, and a massive 22% higher than whites. I first heard about this new ‘identity’ from a friend of mine who found herself in a ‘different’ kind of club one night in New York. She was confused by it, because as she explained, she had no reference for it. This club was full of men, but unlike most gay clubs, there was no sign of twirling queens, vogueing furiously on the top of club podiums. This club was home to a collection of young, well built, black men slow dancing with each other whilst doing their best to look menacing. She couldn’t understand it, because what she was seeing was so knotted up in its own contradictions. Homosexuality has traditionally been soft and feminised. Even the harder, construction worker version comes with a comedic disclaimer. This new identity is the antithesis of all of that. It is not feathery, and it not funny. It is about as hard as it gets. A reaction, as this man explains, to the ambiguity inherent in homosexuality: "If you’re a dude you should act like a dude, look like a dude and talk like a dude. If you’re a chick, you should act like a chick. . When you start mixing them up, that makes me nervous" (Village Voice, June 6-12) These prescriptions come from a down lo' dude who is, to all intents and purposes, gay – a sexual orientation which has generally sat outside of such rigid dude/chick boundaries. The ‘homo thug’ identity squeezes it back in, leaving it very little room for manoeuvre. Strutting masculinity is the order of the day here, enabling these men to indulge their homosexual leanings without forfeiting the machismo www.informer.com

that is so treasured within young black male culture. The worst is to be perceived, or to acknowledge oneself as ‘gay’, because as Vibe Magazine explains, for these men ‘gay’ conjures up detested images of "Sissies" and "Faggots"’ The real issue here, then, is not so much the part time closet these men have chosen to live in, but rather the straightjacket they wear while they live in it. Far from breaking free of the gender restrictions imposed upon them, they reinforce them, subjecting themselves to the most difficult of tasks – display of hyper-masculinity whilst indulging in behaviour that has always screamed the opposite. While some of these men live out this identity in a perpetual state of secrecy, denial and numbing self-hatred, others celebrate it. Ironically, it appears, for the strength it awards them. Being open about one’s homosexual leanings shows not only strength of mind and character, but also the ‘realness’ so prized within ‘hip hop’ circles. ‘Being real and keeping it real’ is about being true to ones desires and orientations and, as Caushun, self-proclaimed gay rapper proclaims, ‘real ain’t straight if you’re gay’ (Vibe Magazine, 21). You could take this line of reasoning even further and look at this identity as the ultimate male challenge – proclaiming, to quote a favourite American band of mine; ‘You ain’t a man till you’ve had a man’. It’s proving yourself to be ‘manly’ by wrapping yourself in all the associations that contest it. Can you handle it? Can you carry it off? After all, if you can ‘do’ gay, and still be imposingly masculine with it, then you must be a ‘man’. It reminds me of that trend years back, when rappers took to adorning their hair with baby doll hair toggles. It was almost a challenge, first to others; ‘I dare you to laugh at me’. But also perhaps to themselves – ‘Am I man enough to carry this off?’ There is an inherent danger, because without the machismo to support it, you run the risk of being seen as ‘gay’. A similar trend hit the streets of NY recently. I saw two boys in the space of a week, out and about on the streets of Manhattan sporting ‘dressing gowns’. One had on a brown towelling robe over the top of his everyday hiphop attire. Odd yes, but nothing near as astounding as the other fellow I saw in a deli one morning. He strode in with all the hip hop accoutrements – Fubu jeans, Timberlands, Phat Farm tee shirt, but his outfit was topped off with a bright red fleece dressing gown emblazoned with Santa Claus and sleigh motifs. What I noticed, apart from his really quite unusual attire, was his manner. He was young, cocky and rude, snapping at the man behind the counter. He looked like any other teen boy, unsure of his manhood and giving it extra throttle to compensate. Except this one seemed to be using his Santa Claus gown as ‘fuel injection’. He was aware other people were staring and whispering and I guess this made him feel like a bit of a big man. The connotations get clearer if you look at their semiotic meanings. Like baby doll hair toggles, Santa Claus fleece robes sit firmly rooted in the domain of childhood – they signify care, nurture, and they go hand in hand with funny face, gravy boat slippers and books about cats in hats. They belong to a time when you really were at your weakest, a child without stamina, strength or power. So what better way, then, to prove yourself to be the opposite of all these things, than by showing you are not afraid of their potentially damning connotations. Indeed, by openly embracing and parading them. www.informer.com

The terrain for masculine construction seems to have become a great deal more complex of late. While young men have traditionally used very concrete and unambiguous tools like graffiti, posturing, body building and fighting to construct this identity, they are now utilising their very own definitions of what it means to be a man. They play with our well-worn stereotypes, at the same time as using them to prove themselves. Obviously ‘thug love’ is a great deal more complicated than this, because it deals with (homo) sexuality as opposed to just gender, and for doing so, it has to grapple with some fairly knotty personal identity issues. However, it does contain traces of the same rationale – namely, the challenge to be ‘masculine’, whilst engaging in an activity that traditionally connotes the opposite. What is interesting is that none of these expressions have taken the seemingly easy route and broken free from traditional and, in this context, ill-fitting, notions of masculinity. How much simpler would it be to just re-work a new masculine narrative, rather than try to force the old one to speak a totally different language? I guess this says something more interesting about how fixed and abiding our notions of gender actually are. If a gay hard man can’t change them, or indeed doesn’t want to, then those feminists still cheering on the ‘new man’, have got their work cut out for them. Phew, and we thought new lads and lasses were confusing!

Nancy Macdonald

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Design Archive Go Forth And Prosper September 2001 In Victorian England the ‘Great Exhibitions’ showcased design that sought to exalt the grandeur of the industrialised empire. With a lack of humility typical of the era, grand venues were constructed in which a cornucopia of innovative, and often arcane objet d’art were displayed (Elephant leg umbrella stand anyone?) The intervening century or so saw the gradual dissolution of Britain's industrial role, as well as the colonialism that predicated it. As factories closed, redundancies mounted and fervent nationalism began to abate – the emphasis placed on Britain's manufacturing base shifted. One hundred years on, a new exhibition has been mounted. The venue this time is no less grandiose, the intent no less ambitious – it is the very aesthetic of the product that differs. Under the auspices of the Design Council, ‘UkinNY’ showcases the contemporised equivalent of the Great Exhibition, and it is a pointed reminder of Britain's new role as an exporter of cultural rather than material currency. Cited as an interactive exhibition of "British modernity", the crux of UkinNY’s activities is a platform for British architecture, media, art, fashion and design. Such luminaries as Stella McCartney, Norman Foster and Jonathan Glazer will be represented in their respective media. As Figureheads for this burgeoning dynamic of cultural capital, these three alone have significant creative gravitas – but they represent a fraction of the global influence that UK culture is beginning to exert. From Super clubs, to reconstructed bastions of Britishness, fashion auteurs to children’s books – our island race seems to be asserting a role within the global context. For recent examples we need look no further than the meteoric rise of the Mc’s! The nomination of Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney to oversee the fortunes of Europe’s most established and otherwise outmoded fashion houses is a prescient signifier of their contemporary agenda – a gesture towards urban credibility via British creativity. Dance music too, is a notable arena of British cultural export. Above and beyond the ex-pat excesses of the Balearics, UK Dj’s and producers are taking the proverbial coal to Newcastle – reintroducing and revitalising dance music in the jaded, over sanitised charts of America. The Harry Potter series demonstrates the possibilities of transposing our twee, ‘cottage’ sensibilities to the context of the global market. www.informer.com

The seeming threshold of interest in all things ‘Limey’ piques an interesting question: why is it necessary for our young design talent to build their kudos outside Blighty? Why are we not prepared to invest in homegrown talent when we fawn at, and defer to European and American references? As a race, the British are preoccupied with inferiority. As we emerged from the industrial age and the tatters of empire we were no longer a relevant or competitive global force. We have become accustomed to trading in lazy precepts of caricatured under achievement, from Rigsby to Basil Fawlty, John Major to Eddie the Eagle. Our cultural references are replete with this selfreferential derision. By this token, it seems as though we need the validation of our sophisticated cultural betters on the continent or the bombastic approval of American capitalism: we derive certainty from the approbation of others. In turn, this forces us to confront how other people feel about us and what they think British culture stands for? A recent (1998) survey commissioned by UK retailers showing that elderly Americans’ perceptions of our brands and products is positive – identifying them as ‘classic’, ‘refined’ and ‘high quality’ – is hardly surprising. However, it is this old fashioned, formal notion of ‘Britishness’ that young consumers, brands and proponents are redressing to make the UK a contemporary and relevant cultural export. It would be nice to think that eventually these conquering heroes will return to Britain as believable and credible forces. However, there is a subtext of resentment that we are not prepared to invest in the very forces that are coming to inform our international reputation. Stella McCartney for example has said that she will never show in London. The creativity of this new industrial movement is needed to invest our diminishing nation with a sense of optimism, but can we blame them for spurning our latter-day adulation when we do not make the effort to support or secure their efforts in the first place?

Sam Buckley

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Joining Forces October 2001 Are brands becoming more accountable to their consumers? It seems that it is no longer satisfactory for a brand to exist in just product terms, unless there is a convoluted and extended rationale. Has a combination of exacting purchasing behaviour and a burgeoning culture of media savvy consumers upped the stakes in terms of brand expectations? The days of the ‘we perform 26% better than brand X’ approach are consigned to those nostalgic, twee and somewhat unsophisticated brands. In our hyper competitive, consumption led culture we have come to expect that certain brands will offer us a conduit to lifestyle, aspiration and to some exalted territory that is somehow implicit in their offering. Those brands that have a single aspirational dynamic – the Gucci’s, Ferrari’s, Möets etc. are almost exempt from the mores of the fickle consumer. They occupy an ether of grandeur and inaccessibility that has come to define their very product. However, more prosaic, workaday brands have to work to seduce the consumer and as a result, their resources are becoming more insidious and wilier. This climate of heightened accountability has not been led by pro-active brands, rather a shift in the mindset of the consumer. There is a burgeoning theme of consumer empowerment that underpins the exacerbated competitiveness of these ‘brand wars’. The dual motifs of customisation and personalisation have prompted consumers to buy into brands on their terms (see the forthcoming Design Monitor report) and as such, brands have had to react in order to survive. In reacting, usually bombastic or uncompromising brands have taken to courting their fickle consumers. From sponsoring events (Sprite, PlayStation) to engendering communities (Coke), to allowing consumer control (Nokia, Nike), the dialogue between brand and consumer is leveling the playing field. One recourse in this canon of techniques is to challenge the traditional immutability of brands. Brands have long collaborated with influential personalities in order to make inroads within given sub-cultural communities. From the less than discreet placement of products within Hollywood films (we’ve all seen the lingering shots of James Bond’s Omega watch!), to the gratuitous use of celebrities in advertising (particularly prevalent outside the UK). However, the use of celebrity proponents in this sense has something of a token value: it is clear to the least marketing savvy of us that the brand retains full control of these relationships. We can pull back the curtain to see the marketers’ agenda in its entire opportunist glory: ‘get people to buy into the person and brand choice will follow?’ The newly empowered youth consumer is not prepared to be condescended by brands, however, there is still a marked role www.informer.com

for celebrity endorsement – such exercises tend now to be judged in executional terms and as such the collaborative emphasis has shifted. As consumers, we have come to expect that brands will be partisan and isolationist, pitting themselves in opposition to others in order to force the consumer’s hand in differentiating or choosing between them. Pepsi or Coke, Nintendo or Sega, Daddy or Chips! The ‘otherness’ of competitor brands is what has traditionally defined the market place. But this is changing with collaboration, and these changes are aligned to two significant themes – credibility and localisation. Localising the relevance of a brand’s offering can drive its appeal with the target consumer. In this sense localisation is not bound into geographical location so much as the mind-set of a consumer. By attaching itself to a salient and influential personality at product level, brands can make significant inroads into the values of a given zeitgeist. Avoiding the pitfalls of incredulous celebrity driven communications, (does Iggy Pop really wear Reebok, Juliette Lewis shop at Gap or Anthony Hopkins visit his high street branch of Barclays?) brands that are at the vanguard of this collaborative agenda now utilise personality driven activity in more democratic and informed terms. A good example of this is Adidas; a brand with substantial and enduring appeal. It recruited Yohji Yamamoto to design a limited range of trainers, thus capitalising on the flush of appeal that elements of its existing range were generating in fashion circles. The resultant designs also epitomise a concurrent trend for differentiating a brand's mainstream and niche offerings: seeding exclusive products that demonstrate understanding of their cultural context and a progressive commitment to their offering. Credibility can alternatively be derived by an astute choice of brand partner. This similarly speaks of a brand that understands its consumers and the context in which they are buying into brands. The benefit of brand partnership lies in subverting the ‘host’ brand; overlaying elements of the partner brand in a symbiosis that suggests irreverence and confidence. The idea of an ‘irreverent’ approach acts to recontextualise the brand, placing it in the consumer’s world. In turn, brand confidence is played out through the level of insight (partner brand chosen) and shows that a given brand is not immutable; it can be ‘all things to all men’. For example Pepsi undertook an incredible well-informed collaboration just this month. Pepsi made inroads into Japanese youth culture by inviting impossibly obscure, cult, fashion label ‘A Bathing Ape’ to overhaul its can with their patented camouflage design (www.bapepsi.com). BAPE has built its equity around values of total exclusivity; there is only one store www.informer.com

in the UK stocks their product. They are also famous for collaborating with notable pop-cultural icons in music and art (Futura 2000, MoWax recordings). This latest venture with BAPE has, in the space of one month, seen every magazine containing the promotion sell out of shops. For Pepsi, relinquishing control of their brand has given them a cachet amongst young Japanese style leaders, that otherwise would have taken years to attain. With minimal effort comes an unprecedented yield. Collaboration is an interesting theme in current brand behavior. However, choice of partner must be subtle and controlled; the effect relies on the consumer being allowed to retain their sense of defining the terms on which they choose a brand. Too ham-fisted an approach or excessive publicity will undermine the intent. But with the right choice of partner, the consumer will do the work for you. A recent quote from a documentary on shopping habits pointed out that, "Humans like ‘things’", and boy, we really do. The lengths that young consumers will go to in acquiring the right trappings is attested to by such vehicles as e-bay; set up the right partnership and the holy grail of credibility is one step closer. There is a subtext of inevitability to this dynamic of brand behavior. Historically speaking, youth sub cultures have long re-appropriated and re-contextualised brands. In the late 1980’s, at the height of their fame, a spate of vandalism, prompted by the Beastie Boys, saw the VW logo become part of the iconography of Hip-Hop and street culture. VW astutely gained capital from this by offering free badges as part an unexpected promotion. Brands are, to an extent, a blank canvas over which sub-cultures can superimpose their own interpretation – a sort of consumerist hijacking. The very brands that are subject to this have no choice in the action or its consequent impact on their values. It is inevitable then, that marketers should turn the tables by pre-empting sub-cultural adoption of brands – thus driving consumer behavior as opposed to reacting to it.

Sam Buckley

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Social Context Archive A Very British Disease October 2001 Once again, some of our country’s most talented young footballers have become the focus of the nations’ media for reasons other than their on-field prowess. The recent revelations, which appeared in the News of the World (23/09/01), concerning the drunken and outrageous behaviour of some members of the current Chelsea squad, whilst depressing, were hardly a surprise. Although, the paper in question had felt it necessary to demonstrate all the traditional tabloid traits when covering the ‘story’ (sensationalism, over-dramatisation and, dare I say it, exaggeration), the event undoubtedly took place and represents the latest in a long line of misdemeanours involving British footballers and the demon drink. The often-problematic relationship between footballers and alcohol is discussed by Paul Hayward in an article for The Daily Telegraph (26/09/01). In his brief, yet informative feature, ‘Society raises glass to floored genius’, Hayward focuses on the much documented problems of George Best and Paul Gascoigne; both geniuses of their time, and both attracted by the lure of the glass. Hayward offers some interesting insights into why many top players surrender to what he calls the ‘self-destructive urge’ but as the remainder of this article will explain, professional footballers represent only the tip of a much bigger societal iceberg. It is hard to condone the behaviour of disgraced footballers (after all, they are very well paid, attract celebrity status and act as role models for aspiring youngsters), however, they are still only human beings and are as fallible as the next man. Our top players are high profile individuals, their every move is tracked by an obsessive tabloid press, and their actions placed under the fiercest public scrutiny. Slip-ups are bound to occur, now and again. Even though professional footballers almost certainly drink less than they used to, the sport remains immersed in a culture of drinking. When players do get the opportunity to unwind, a few cheeky pints will invariably be involved. When fans watch a game in the pub or at home, alcohol will be used to accentuate the euphoria. However, an element of perspective must be applied to these facts; football culture simply reflects the wider society in which it operates. British culture is, in essence, a drinking culture. Drinking is what we do best, ask any European! Germany may give us a good game, but Britain is the undisputed champion of the European drinking league. As Hayward explains in his article, ‘alcohol is our society’s fuel of choice’, and it is estimated that Britain guzzles its way through 29 million pints daily! www.informer.com

Anecdotal evidence abounds. One only has to observe city centre nightlife, immerse oneself in student culture or buy a Spanish package holiday to assess the scale of the situation. Whilst the World Health Organisation believes that ‘binge drinking is Britain’s new alcoholic curse’, I am of the opinion that this culture has been around for years. Watching people drink themselves into oblivion has been a feature of my life for as long as I can remember: it is by no means a recent trend. Of course, alcohol represents an intimate feature of European culture and cuisine and plays a pivotal role in social activities. Yet, the way in which British people consume alcohol tends to differ dramatically. Whilst a French person can easily talk for three hours over a Kronenbourg 1664 in their local pub, British people can often appear uncomfortable without a drink in hand. Hence our obsession with ‘rounds’, an unfamiliar and bizarre concept for many on the continent. For many Europeans, the thought of drinking six or seven pints of beer in a three-hour period would not be attractive. In reality, our love of the ‘sauce’ helps to maintain a thriving and vibrant pub and bar culture, maintains the prosperity of traditional alcohol brands and embraces any new comers with open arms. We will, naturally, try anything once, and as drink type and brand range continues to proliferate it helps to alleviate consumer boredom, increases temptation and weakens the concept of brand loyalty. The British drinker is, in essence, a most desirable consumer. But this begs the question, why do British youth, more than others, feel the need to get drunk all the time? Whilst hectic and hedonistic lifestyles, the increased affluence of youth and the simple fact that old traditions die hard provides some conventional and feasible explanations, these are obvious and well worn justifications. For me, at a deeper level, our infatuation with drunkenness can just as easily be attributed to a lack of self-confidence. The young British psyche suffers from a lack of assurance in itself, from a need to put up barriers and build walls of secrecy. We Brits are in fact, very reclusive creatures, often emotionally inept and insular by nature. In other Western European countries, young people are perhaps more at peace with themselves, and consequently don’t need to get pissed to have a good time. Drinking alcohol reduces inhibitions and lowers defences; it increases confidence and releases the old ‘Dutch courage’. It enables us to open up, to do and say things we otherwise wouldn’t, it takes us over and unleashes the ‘true’ character repressed in normal mundane life. Perhaps, drinking is popular in Britain because it (temporarily) allows us to liberate this fundamental human characteristic, more naturally expressed in other European cultures, yet seriously lacking from our own. I am not suggesting that British culture simply acts to produce a nation of alcoholics, but it is undeniable that we have a far more intense relationship with alcohol than many of our close European neighbours. Perhaps a fundamental defect in the psychology of British youth must be held partly responsible for this phenomenon.

Matthew Arnold www.informer.com

New York State of Mind November 2001 Don’t tell me that God is dead Don’t tell me that Marx is dead It’s times like this I think I don’t feel too well myself -Mission of Burma When I hear talk of culture, I reach for my revolver Herman Goering, adapted from a 20th-century play I was going to try to write about something else. Honest, I was. But I’m sitting in a high-rise in Brooklyn Heights overlooking the southern tip of Manhattan and it’s hard to think of anything else. In addition to the immediate topics of politics, terrorism, religion, public safety, the economy, travel, I, along with many others am wrestling also with the implications recent events will have upon culture and the culture "industries." The following paragraphs exhibit some of my thoughts on the issues and gather the views of some of those in the media who have been covering these implications as well [note: as a result, this article relies heavily upon published reports by other authors]. The interstice Welcome to the interstice. The in-between. The arrhythmia between our lives before Sept. 11 and our lives as they will be. -Hayley Kaufman, Boston Globe It’s because of this interstitial period that I don’t feel confident making brash, definitive predictions about the future. Many others are as uneasy as I am about doing so: … Edward T. Linenthal, whose ''The Unfinished Bombing: Oklahoma City in American Memory'' will be published next month by Oxford University Press [says] ''We're not even close to the point where [post-Sept. 11] culture can take shape.'' But speculation can. It's irresistible. - Mark Feeney, Boston Globe www.informer.com

Many short-term reactions fall into the "like, duh?" category (the postponement of ''Collateral Damage,'' the new Schwarzenegger movie, fashion week cancellations in NY and abroad, the removal of war/military analogies from coverage of American football, etc.). Kaufman reports that a movie theatre in Boston replaced "Apocalypse Now Redux" with "Breakfast at Tiffany’s," "The Graduate," and "Shampoo." A NY Post critic noted that with all of their patriotic garb, New Yorkers were beginning to resemble the tourists from other parts of the country that New Yorkers usually make fun of (not that there isn’t plenty of haute-couture flagwear rolling out, too). However, as Mark Feeney of the Boston Globe states so well: Yet those are real-time responses. Culture doesn't work that way. It's about the long haul: taste rather than appetite, reflection not reflex, ''before'' and ''later'' as well as ''now.'' Even popular culture - that buzzing, blooming confusion that so beguilingly piles ephemera atop ephemera – has an inevitably cumulative existence. - Mark Feeney, Boston Globe Is culture a luxury good that is only enjoyed by a leisure society? Or is it an essence of being, an expression of the times that can’t always be expressed in words? [According to] Larry Gelbart, one of the executive producers of ''M*A*S*H,'…: ''The role of art is to communicate to people in a way that goes beyond reportage, to express unexpressed feelings that only the most gifted artists are able to tune into. Whether it can change anything is highly doubtful.'' - Ed Siegel, Boston Globe New York/Celebrity Culture The paradox of New York is that it’s unlike most other cities, while, because of the role of the media and of the city itself, it represents the popular view of the US here and abroad. (A favorite book title of mine is L.A. is the Capital of Kansas, a book critic/novelist Richard Meltzer wrote in response to moving from NY to LA some years ago). For example, does anyone West of the Mississippi (exclusive of LA) care who Lizzie Grubman is? Hell, does anyone West of the Hudson? New Yorkers were obsessed with the celebrity publicist (bonus points given for being the daughter of a NY power-brokering lawyer) who is accused of injuring 16 people with her dad’s Mercedes SUV at a nightclub. She allegedly yelled "fuck you, white trash" before getting into the SUV) I haven’t seen her name in the past few weeks, except for people talking about how no one’s talking about her. www.informer.com

In addition to New Yorkers becoming more like the rest of the country (see above), reports have said that the tragedy had brought the rest of the country closer to NY. Los Angeles has a unique relationship with New York, one that has been covered ad nauseum because the two cities are media/entertainment centers. This is for a number of reasons - the hijacked flights that were scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles, the follow-up threat to the entertainment industry. The New York Times ("Angelenos’ Divide With New York Vanishes’) reports that both entertainment insiders and the rest of LA, once uneasy with a feigned indifference covering for a case of "culture envy", are connecting with NY in a way that they haven’t before, along with exhibiting a rare sense of unity who one another. Of course, there is still a gap between the two cities, with the Times noting that Angelenos were envious of "the kind of civic backbone New York has demonstrated:" "We’ve always been centerless," said Linda Griego, a former deputy mayor and onetime head of Rebuild L.A., which helped in post-riot recovery. "People need to work a lot more to come together here, so it doesn’t happen very often. You don’t have that in New York. There’s a spirit that seems deeper, especially now." The culture of celebrity so pervasive in NY and LA was an immediate casualty of the events. The New York Times covered the issue in an article "Gossip Holds Its Tongue." New Yorkers, jaded by celebrity, seem thoroughly tired of it for now. They are also shrugging off the industry that both sustains celebrity and feeds off it: gossip, as natural a part of New York as designer martinis and trophy wives…. The New York Post’s most popular column, Page Six, by Richard Johnson, failed to appear for the first time in 25 years…. the eminent Liz Smith… complained to readers of the trivial nature of her work at such a time. "I want to go somewhere and volunteer," she wrote. "To hell with gossip and entertainment." Mass Media I believe that it was David Denby of the New Yorker who pleaded for the abandonment of irony in film a few years ago. He may get his wish yet, and not just in film. The widely-cited statement by Graydon Carter (co-founder of Spy and current editor of Vanity Fair) referenced below, has been widely-debated, as well. [Thomas Doherty, chairman of the Film Studies Program at Brandeis University] suggests there'll be an impact on the small screen, too. Last week, Graydon Carter, the editor of Vanity Fair, told Inside.com that ''it's the end of the age of irony.'' Doherty agrees. ''That stance whereby everything is viewed with an attitude that's ironic, cynical, sophisticated - all those ways of distancing ourselves from experience I think we're obviously not going to see that for a few years.'' If Carter and Doherty are right, the role of hip television - the array of talk www.informer.com

shows, sitcoms, and self-referential dramas designed to appeal to an audience presumed to be younger and more sophisticated than the mean - will be strikingly different. The irony debate has been heated. Humor adds levity to situations, but there may be less room for self-referential, self-important irony. In addition to the possibility of earnestness (once the domain of the American Midwest) spreading to those coasts, I see irony remaining as a shield for those who wish to be guarded; it just won’t be acceptable when mixed with arrogance. Movies/TV The fact that there was a threat to the Hollywood studios is a symbol of a culture conflict in addition to a rejection of the US’s clout in the military/foreign policy/economic realms. Reality TV is being called a goner. However, in addition to the melodramatic nature of reality TV, shows like Survivor showed the empowerment of individuals. ''I'm sure there are people around even now who are trying to get the rights to some 'survivors' stories, says Peter Bart, editor in chief of Variety, the entertainment trade publication. Yet Bart also notes a higher impulse at work among filmmakers. ''If you talk to the creative people in the movie community, they want to back away from the more violent movies. They would like to use this as a signal to try to make more pictures that are about the real world, about life, and back away a little from the sequels and the popcorn movies.'' A New York Times article asked "Will Real Life Supplant The Desire for Reality TV?" While the "extreme" nature reality shows (i.e., "Survivor") may seem silly in the wake of the extreme nature of what we’ve seen in recent weeks, I would think that as we return to normal in "real life," there might be some comfort in the voyeurism of everyday-life in "reality tv." Since the enormity of the horror that we witnessed makes it so hard to fathom, I would think that an interest in the mundane is a way of breaking down life into manageable chunks. Advertising, closely associated with television programming, also feels the pinch to respond "appropriately." The New York Times’ Stuart Elliott reported that "Consumers indicate they want companies to respond to attacks in an optimistic manner," but reported conflicting views of what was deemed "appropriate." For instance, over 60% of respondents in one survey said that "they agreed that it was appropriate for marketers to take and communicate a position on the attacks." However, over 60% of respondents in the same survey also www.informer.com

said that "they agreed that markets should focus on talking about their products and services." This indicates a willingness to move forward but an unwillingness for advertisers to move forward in a way that ignores the changes that have occurred. Music George Smith of the Village Voice was more than willing to make some predictions of the type I’m unwilling to make: I’m willing to bet, perhaps crassly, that a lot of current careers and genres were shredded as a result of last Tuesday…. [the majors] will have their noses rubbed in the reality that music is still not quite like a pizza franchise. I’d predict that large chunks of nu-metal’s audience are going to suddenly disappear. Slipknot are finished. It might take a year for the trunk to rot and blow away, but it’s been spiked. No one will have the belly to root for a band who wear fright masks, no matter how successful they’ve previously been with their anonymous let’s-all-growl-at-the-mall thing. Also, according to Smith: Knocked down/in trouble- Fred Durst ("unless he can tap a Sammy Hagar/Ted Nugent faculty"), Rage Against the Machine, BritneyChristina (unless the wardrobes are redone in red-white-and-blue bunting), Rolling Stone, major labels Still here/ready to rise- Metallica, Axl Rose, Tool, Madonna, Destiny’s Child, independent and underground bands, porn ("Porn, like Pizza, is recession-proof". Fashion I wear black on the outside Because black is how I feel on the inside -The Smiths A bit maudlin, that quote, but will "black be the new black?" Or will thrift-store chic (a revival of grunge?) be an expression of the new new economy and/or an intentional reflection of an unwillingness to be gaudy or flashy in a somber time? Patriotic "flagwear" is mentioned above. In addition, the Washington Post covered "Patriotism with a flair: Teens Wear Their Feelings in Red, White and Blue:" www.informer.com

Just [before 9/11], teenagers say, it would be "straight-up corny" to wear the flag. But since the attacks, putting together a good flag outfit has become as important as having the right sneakers. It’s now like most things teenagers wear: a powerful symbol of who they are and what they believe. Beyond the short-term flagwear, how will what people wear reflect the times? A magazine I was flipping through recently detailed a new trend of "terrorism chic." Talk about a trend that’s over before it started. Now anti-terrorism chic- that’s an idea already taken by the abundance of army-navy and surplus stores blanketing the papers with ads. Marylou Luthor, editor of the International Fashion Syndicate, to the Associated Press . "If I were a designer, I would be working with NASA and perfecting clothes to [protect against] anthrax. I’d try to design clothes to solve the problems of our troubled world. New York Times Postscript We are in the early stages. The mainstream entertainment industry, always cautious and often accused of letting research suck the creativity out of projects in order to produce uncontroversial material, will proceed even more cautiously. The general public will let the entertainment industry know what they’re comfortable with, and the industry will respond in kind. Outside the mainstream, it is harder to know whether artists will be more extreme or will temper their expressions in order to cater to a new sensitivity. Culture is about the long-haul…. Post-postscript "In Little Time, Pop Culture Is Almost Back to Normal" New York Times, Page 1, October 4, 2001

Chris Albee

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Technology Archive The New Digital Domain September 2001 If you thought the recent American Supreme Court ruling against Napster (the MP3 music download site found guilty of copyright violations) spelt the end of digital music downloads from the net, then think again. When the American Supreme Court ruled against Napster for allowing the transfer of copyrighted music through their site, many music industry insiders and online music entrepreneurs predicted that it wouldn’t be long before the major record companies launched their own versions of Napster. And that’s exactly what’s happened within the new digital frontier. In the last few months this process has intensified as alliances between software firms and major record companies have been formulated. What we are now witnessing is the race to monopolise music download services on the Internet. And it’s not surprising when you see how successful Napster was. Shawn Fanning, a 19-year-old programmer created software that, virtually overnight, shook the foundations of the music industry to its very roots; the consequences of which are still being felt as record companies clamour to reposition themselves in the new digital frontier and create legal song swapping services. Before the legal ruling, Napster claimed its user base was growing between 5% and 25% daily; at the height of its popularity, it was estimated that up to 1,400 songs were being downloaded a minute via Napster’s file-sharing software; 70 million people were expected to be using Napster by the end of 2000; Last February students leaving Napster on all the time took up 60% of the available bandwidth at the University of Indiana. As a result, many American universities have now blocked the service. (Guardian Unlimited) The music industry has claimed that Napster’s file-sharing service has cost them more than $300m (£200m) in lost revenue. High profile musicians like Metallica sued the company, claiming that 300,000 Napster users had swapped their songs online. However, many felt that the legal action was detrimental to the bands image and the relationship with their fans. For groups like Radiohead, who put tracks onto Napster, file sharing was another tool for getting music out to the fans. Radiohead proved that posting downloadable tracks doesn’t necessarily take anything way from conventional CD album sales: it’s merely another marketing tool and a new way of accessing music. www.informer.com

Subsequently, ‘Kid A’ went straight to number one in the album charts in both Britain and America, despite the fact that free downloadable songs had been posted onto the Napster site. However, major record companies like Sony and Universal are about to unleash a joint music download site called Duet, while Napster 2 is a joint venture between the original Napster service and BMG who have put up millions to develop the site. This will be a legal service where labels will make music available to members who pay a subscription fee. www.music.net is another horizontally integrated site formed by EMI, Warners and BMG, with AOL and Real Networks signed up as distributors. These are subscription-based sites where music buyers download copyrighted tracks from the labels’ new releases and back catalogues. A monthly subscription fee allows you to legally download music, without the tracking system programme, which has enabled major labels to see where their copyrighted tracks are being swapped. But these are early days and no one is quite sure how these services will truly work. Despite the fact that technology has proved unable to produce pirate proof downloads, the record industry and its lawyers have moved swiftly to counter the transfer of copyrighted music files. But despite their legal victory over Napster, other file-sharing sites like www.gnutella.net, www.napigator.com, www.aimster.com and www.freenet.com are flouncing all the established copyright laws, and at the same time illustrating how difficult it is to stop people downloading music for free. Most recently the film and music industries have launched legal action against www.scour.com - a service that helps users search the net and exchange MP3 files, copyrighted films and images. (It is about to re-launch as a legal site). Yet the irony is that as one site becomes targeted by lawsuits another takes its place. Meanwhile, established online download sites like MP3.Com this month reported its first quarter losses of $46.1 million, which was regarded as a significant increase on its loss of $18 million in the same quarter last year. Its revenues are up, but MP3.Com had $41.4 million in lawsuit settlements. Nevertheless, these figures are quite staggering and indicate why the majors have decided to take the digital music file sharing seriously. The only dilemma facing the industry is how to implement a legal infrastructure that allows music file sharing from user to user? In 2001 the new digital frontier is split between corporate sites like Sony and Universal’s Duet and renegade sites like Gnutella. There are also independent sites like www.vitaminic.co.uk - an online subscription service that distributes music for over 300 independent labels worlwide. But the Internet’s success lies in the fact that musicians have embraced it all over the world. Many see the net as an empowering tool that enables them to bypass established distribution networks, which are generally owned and controlled by major record companies. Chuck D, (from the rap group Public Enemy) runs and owns www.rapstation.com and www.bringthenoise.com. These hugely popular sites provide online radio shows, news, reviews as well as showcasing music and MP3 files from unsigned artists. www.informer.com

As more and more affordable MP3 players come onto the market and record companies continue to invest in online download services, the Internet is proving to the majors that the digitalisation of music on the Internet has the potential to be immensely profitable. Instead of seeing the net as a threat to established mediums, record companies are now starting to view the World Wide Web and online music sites as enormous potential profit centres. No to mention the potential for cross promoting new and established artists. This is largely down to Napster and others who created online models that the majors were able to duplicate. There’s even research that suggests that sites like Napster actually promoted an interest in buying music. A study of 2,200 music fans conducted by Jupiter Communications found that users of music-sharing programs were 45% more likely to buy more music than other fans. So what does the future hold for music in the digital domain? What is the wider significance of online music piracy and what are the consequences of file sharing and peer-to-peer networks? Well, we can safely say that the downloading of copyrighted music is not going to stop. However much record companies try to curb the spread of file sharing on the net, the more technology creates new and smarter software to outwit their efforts. The Recording Industry Association of America (who sued Napster) have said that the swapping of MP3’s will destroy established distribution networks that have existed for over half a century. But this is the same rhetoric that existed in the early eighties with ‘Home taping is killing Music’ stickers plastered on every record and cassette. It didn’t kill music, if anything it encouraged people to seek out new music and to share it in a cheap and affordable way; MP3 is merely a twenty-first century extension of this idea and it’s not likely to ‘kill music’, despite the majors pronouncements. It will marginally affect the major record companies’ profits and dividends for their shareholders and these are the real underlying issues. It’s for precisely these reasons that The Recording Industry Association of America sued Napster. Yet, a lot of the majors who have developed their own Napster style sites have missed the point of being online. They’ve ruled out any of the sharing and exchanging elements that characterise most people’s online experiences. By blocking file sharing they’ve prevented a future growth in online music sales. They seem to have been scared by the loss of sales when actually sales are there to be gained if they allow a relatively unfettered interaction amongst net users. Labels should not be afraid of giving away free product. The advent of CD burners, and tape recorders before then, did not erase the sale of CD’s or records respectively. The Napster case pointed towards the precedent set in the Sony Betamax case. The US film industry tried to block the sale or production of video recorders, claiming that they’d be used to make pirated copies of copyrighted films. And to certain extent they were probably right, but this did not stop the film industry making millions from the sale of legal versions of their cinema releases, which came to dominate the entertainment industry throughout the eighties. Twenty years later and everyone has VCR’s and www.informer.com

doesn’t think twice about taping favourite movies off the television, but at the same time we all buy copyrighted video titles from time to time and rent even more. Music fans will always want to buy the original version of a CD, despite the fact they may have been able to download tracks months before the official release. The mythology and idea surrounding a product is key to this fact, which is why Radiohead works in both the virtual and offline markets. B(r)ands who operate like this always have the love and respect of consumers (or should that be fans?). It’s for this reason that Radiohead went to number one in both US and UK charts and it’s why Metallica lost respect when they decided to sue Napster. If you get a few tracks on-line we would argue that you’re more likely to buy the album because of the packaging, text, imagery and support you’re providing the band. The big music companies can’t forget how important the other elements of a product are to its success. True music fans may burn their own albums and surf for illegal MP3 files, but most will always be happy and willing to pay for the original. The World Wide Web wasn’t started to make money. You can’t own the web, but if you are willing to create an environment or virtual world that’s about giving something back to the consumer and not a cynical ploy to get their e-mail addresses for viral marketing exercises, then the net can be an invaluable tool for your brand. The major corporations, marketers and brands wanting to exist in a virtual world need to encompass the fundamental online philosophy, otherwise they will be on the other side of online communities: an uncool relic of a bygone era. Finally, it’s a good idea to remember that today’s 13-year-old illegal downloader is tomorrow’s highly paid consumer with a disposable income to spend on your brand(s). Just bear that in mind.

Terna Heuston-Jibo

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Digital Nostalgia November 2001 Youth culture has always borrowed influences from the past to reinterpret them. A few issues back we conducted some vox pops to see whether nostalgia was a good thing or not. Interestingly, most of our sample thought that rehashing the past did not signal the death of contemporary imagination, rather it signified today’s young people reworking the past by putting a contemporary spin on it. Although this nostalgic revisiting centres on fashion, music and aesthetics, it has spread to other cultural phenomena. Video Game culture has its own nostalgic sub-section within its following. Gamers – people who play video games – have been around since home video game consoles reached the living room. Early consoles, such as Grandstand, spawned a movement of kids captivated by digital games. Even though the early consoles lacked power (they could only project in monochrome and their graphic capabilities were restricted to pixelated blocks) they still managed to educate a new generation of young people about the delights of digital gaming. Subsequent machines, such as Atari, Mattel’s Aquarius and computers BBC, ZX Spectrum, ZX81 (sic) and Commodore plus 4 and 64, intensified the gamers' experience. These consoles provided richer graphics full of colour and serviced a rapidly expanding games industry. It would be wrong to think that this home video game industry grew in a vacuum. Precipitating the home console market, arcade machines provided the template for the games played on home consoles. Asteroids, Defender, Space Invaders, Pacman, Frogger, Centipede and many others were popular in arcades throughout the UK. Their transference through to the home console market sealed their popularity. In fact this dispersal ensured that these games were immortalised within the video pantheon. Although this history sounds staid, there is a parallel that leaves young video game initiates misty-eyed. This converse history features dinner money being spent in arcades. It’s a history of high scoring video game competitions, it’s of "clocking" the machine (when you reach such a high score the Arcade machine can no longer record it). It’s also about swapping games – before floppy disks games on computers such as ZX Spectrum and the Commodore models were sold on audio tapes, and these tapes had enormous cachet amongst aficionados. That dedicated part of the gaming network would trade titles, swapping them in the playground. The surrounding media context at the time gave myriad icons for this trend. Noel Edmonds' Swap Shop on BBC 1 successfully articulated playground trade culture, turning it into iconic TV programming. This happy history is today’s equivalent of the "Hovis" ads of yesteryear. This is the childhood comfort zone today’s mid to late 20’s go to when they want to feel secure. So bearing this nostalgic trend in mind, it's no surprise that retro inclined young people are adopting the video games of the past.

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Puma, the sports company whose best moments once seemed to be locked in its past, has gone through a heady revitalisation. At first sight Puma’s re-emergence can be attributed to its use of heritage. Much of its new trainer range use the thick rubber soles of classics such as the Puma G Vilas shoe. It has managed to capture the essence of this classic shoe, whilst modernising it for a new audience. Puma’s Clyde shoe, fired interest in the early eighties generation by playing on its hip-hop connections. This shoe was a stalwart amongst b-boys of a certain age, its status as a signifier for hip-hop’s golden years increased on its re-release. So with Puma mining this territory, it is logical that they would venture to other terrain to draw synergies. On Puma’s website, video games that were prevalent during their popularity are a prominent part of the site's structure. On this site you can load Frogger, Asteroid, Pacman and a plethora of games from the early eighties era. These games have a cultural fit with Puma’s re-issued product, but they are also part of a contemporary mindset that adopts past ideas and fits them into a modern schematic. Arguably, Puma’s strategy apes Adidas (who recognised the status of their back catalogue first) however Puma have taken retro further. They have designed new products based on the products of the past. These products have encapsulated today’s retro-minded young, who have a rich history within popular culture, and are eager to visit this history again and to reinterpret it.

Remi Abbas

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Communications Archive The Final Marketing Frontier July 2001 In her best selling book ‘No Logo’, Naomi Klein talks about how our public environments and outdoor spaces are being bombarded with advertisements from mega corporations set on world domination. At the same time global brands seem intent on turning our every waking day into one immense advertising blitzkrieg. From New York skyscrapers draped in Nike adverts to ambient messages on London’s pavements, it’s impossible not to feel like our public surroundings are being torpedoed with a never-ending stream of marketing messages. And this bombardment is likely to continue as advertisers and brands think up even more inventive ways to invade us with their slick thirtysecond communications. This year saw the launch of what is perhaps the most notable advertising medium to arrive from Captive View – a ‘specialist washroom media company’ who have created the ‘Viewrinal’ and ‘Viewloos’. It seems technology has finally permitted advertisers to tap into the truly last frontier of marketing: i.e. pub, bar and club toilets / cubicles. The Viewrianal is a joint venture between Captive View and Digital View - a leading LCD monitor manufacturer and media company together with EMJ Plastics Ltd. The viewrinal is video screen that has been specially incorporated into urinals with screens being positioned in the wall above standard fittings or onto the doors of toilet cubicles. The screens can play music videos and moving picture advertisements with high resolution TV quality. Each unit contains a sensor to record the number of times an advertisement is viewed, providing advertisers with precise quantitative results. Viewloos are currently being installed in a number of high profile locations across the UK including the Po Na Na, (formerly Hammersmith Palais), Yo Sushi restaurants, and London night-clubs like The Aquarium and Hanover Grand. Advertising gurus M&C Saatchi have also installed them in their staff toilets. Richard Cobbold, Managing Director of Digital View UK comments: "In today’s fast moving world the need for companies to maintain and increase their share of voice is becoming increasingly important. We believe this technology provides an innovative opportunity for marketeers and advertisers to combine targeted information with a captive audience. The medium is proving especially useful for Internet companies and has generated a great deal of interest amongst dot coms." www.informer.com

The estimated market value of washroom advertising is £13m, up from around £5m in 1998. There are currently 30,000 posters across 5,000 washroom locations and this makes it an untapped market for brands and advertisers. According to Captive View’s research there are around 125,000 publicly accessible washrooms in the UK, all of which provide new advertising opportunities that are only really starting to be exploited. The company believes they will be able to dramatically boost audience figures from 200,000 to over 1.6 million captive views per month on 400 screens. Christian Arden, Chief Executive of Po Na Na, says: "Customer feedback about the Viewrinals and Viewloos was so positive that we have decided to roll out the screens into the rest of our venues. We think Captive View’s screens provide an innovative way for advertisers, and Po Na Na ourselves, to promote major brands and events through an entertaining and interactive medium. The screens, which are high tech and stylish, have created a fun and exciting ambience in our washrooms and will add value to the overall Po Na Na experience." Ronnie Rees, Managing Director of Captive View, says "We keep having to upgrade our targets! The success of the Viewloos at other high-profile venues such as Aquarium and the Hanover Grand has shown that our products offer the ideal method of reaching the notoriously difficult 18-30 year old market. Our screens capture people’s attention in a trendy, urban environment, which adds to the validity of the advertising experience." Viewrinals and Viewloos have already created a tidal wave of interest, he explains. "We are taking washroom advertising to a new dimension with a concept that uses the latest in technology, looks fantastic and will increase revenue for both the venue and the advertiser. With flat video screens and a quality audio stream, the audience is not only captive, but captivated! However it would be inappropriate to look at the Viewrinal as a totally new concept. Washrooms have always been targeted as an ideal place to advertise and it is customary to find posters and flyers on the walls, normally in a torn and dirty state. With the Viewrinal, advertisers can be sure that their material will remain untarnished and vandal proof. We are providing an updated marketing solution, helping the industry move into the 21st Century." Companies currently advertising through Viewrinal include Fox (Ally McBeal), (Men of Honour), UIP (Billy Elliot), (Nutty Professor) Sony (Cybershot), AmmoCity, Hong Kong Legends, COI (Donor Card Awareness). Previous advertisers include Virgin Interactive (Dino Crisis 2) THQ Int. (WWF Smackdown 2), Bigsave and Breathe.com. It’s quite likely that we will witness a continuation of the viewrinal communications revolution in pub and club toilets across the country. How people react to being marketed to while going to the carzy is still open to debate. But the opportunity to literally piss all over advertisers might be quite an attractive prospect for many young consumers. Nevertheless, this medium does raise serious questions www.informer.com

about how far advertisers think they can go with their messages. How young people feel about being marketed to in what still is perhaps the truly last bastion of private space is yet to be discovered?

Terna Heuston-Jibo For Further info check www.captiveview.com & www.digitalview.com

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The 'Fugees September 2001 Anyone familiar with the arguments and theories predominate in the fields of cultural studies and sociology will be aware of the term ‘Moral Panic’; a phrase associated with Stan Cohen’s seminal ‘70’s text, ‘Moral Panics & Folk Devils’. According to Cohen, society is often subjected to instances where events and issues are ‘stylised and stereotyped’ by the mass media and politicians, think punks, new age travelers or pedophiles. Their behavior is deemed ‘threatening’ to the majority, ensuring ‘those in power’ (government, editors) man the ‘moral barricades’ and pronounce their judgements. There is the fear that the ‘non-conforming’ minority could destroy the safety of the current status quo. Although this Marxist viewpoint is somewhat simplistic in it’s reading of such events, I’m sure we can all agree that the way society views these ‘incidences’ is often shaped and manipulated (intentionally or not) by the ‘instruments of power’. In the current climate, I would argue that we are beginning to witness the birth of a fully-fledged moral panic and with it the creation of the latest ‘folk devil’. Anyone who has shown a passing interest in the news over the last week will have surely noticed with horror/astonishment/worry (pick whichever suitably ominous noun best describes your feelings) the attempts of thousands of asylum seekers to enter this country illegally. From the camp at Sangatte we have witnessed tales of the increasingly desperate attempts of refugees to cross in to the UK via the Channel Tunnel. We have heard news bulletins and read articles speculating on how we can stop this ever increasing tide; ‘more barbed wire’, ‘increased security’, ‘recriminations against the irresponsible French’ are just some of the suggestions being aired. Now, I’m not suggesting that asylum is a problem invented by the media and politicians, in fact as the latest figures show the UK receives the largest number of asylum applications of any EU country. I also do not wish to argue that it is a problem we don’t need to deal with, what I’m trying to say is that we should look at the issue in a balanced fashion with one eye on formulating a long-term strategy. This would be in sharp contrast to the current reactionary discourse and would, I believe, be a more sensible way to approach what is certainly a huge issue. At present media coverage and political opinion is focussing on ‘prevention’ rather than ‘cure’. The images we are bombarded with on a daily basis verge on the extreme. We see ‘SAS’ style asylum seekers climbing 10-foot high razor wire in their frenzied attempt to reach these shores. We hear politicians from all sides of the political divide claiming we are the number one destination for refugees because of our lax immigration laws and the general perception that we are a ‘soft touch’. Now, some of this is undoubtedly true, but at the same time it is unbalanced and serves the purpose of illustrating how our society in danger of becoming out of control. The language used, the images selected, are more often than not ‘emotive’ and in some cases ‘sensational’ and this serves to amplify the negatives turning the subject into a matter of up most urgency. I’m not suggesting that this representation is ‘wrong’, to do so would be to say that my beliefs are www.informer.com

unarguably ‘right’. In our postmodern world we should be able to view all ‘representations’ simply as that – representations, none more right or wrong than any other. But what I am saying is that we should approach the subject in a more rational manner, which would allow us to make informed, strategic judgements. I know that as a nation we are able to examine the respective ‘view points’ and make considered decisions. Our treatment of the Australian asylum issue shows we are capable of seeing refugees not only as a threat to stability. Admittedly, it is always easier to be more rational when the problem is not your own, but the way this situation is viewed by the media, politicians and society as a whole demonstrates more of the objectivity required when focussing on this difficult subject. It is essential we expand the discourse surrounding asylum seekers to encompass alternative viewpoints. Just because the problem is on our own door step doesn’t mean we should abandon the proactive stance we adopted over the Australian refugee situation; otherwise the stone throwing should be left to those not currently living in glass houses! After all, as the UN reiterated recently, we (rich western countries) cannot complain about the huge numbers of people moving around the world if we are not prepared to give the money that is needed for solutions in the regions where the refugees come from. Perhaps if we’re not prepared to give that support then maybe we should see if William Hague still wants to run the country; after all did he and the Conservatives not want to ‘get tough’ on asylum seekers? Don't forget to check out our Vox Pops section where we ask young people what they think about the refugee issue.

Ben Scales

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The Monitor Sample Reports “Informer’s ongoing study of youth culture, charting the changing trends, lifestyles and mindsets of young people in the UK”

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Vision: Building Community around Brands Introduction The Informer Monitor provides an on-going brand management program designed to create strong, cohesive brands. This process begins by examining a brand’s ‘vision’ or purpose. Brands can’t operate unless they have a function or value that addresses a real need. It may be ideological i.e. The Body Shop or convenient i.e. Pot Noodle. Whatever it is, successful brands capture the spirit of a time and embody some aspect of the consumers’ hopes and aspirations. The purpose of this report is to get you thinking about how well your brand reflects the needs and attitudes of young people in society today. Do We Still Need Community? Informer believes community is one of the most important qualities sought by young people today. Acutely aware of the rapid decline of traditional expressions of community (see Robert D. Putnam - Bowling Alone & Naomi Klein - No Logo for examples on the collapse of community), there is an increasing urge amongst young people to find ways to connect and form their own communities. The May 16th Edition of Time Out (London’s listings magazine) ran a cover story celebrating the glories of the Local Pub. As they put it: "The blight of the stripped pine makeover (that) seems to have left so many West End boozers with all the personality of a snooker player." "Why not make this month a no-go-Soho and get out and support a bit of our thriving social heritage?" As with Starbucks and their provision of the 3rd Space – a place to think and meet – local pubs give young people a sense of community and belonging in an increasingly faceless and superficial world. www.informer.com

Furthermore, the current government’s social policy is shaped by the desire to create strong local communities. Tony Blair recently stated that to ease urban decline local residents should be encouraged to take a more active role in the local community. As Colin Montgomery in the Guardian (June 20th 2001) reiterates: "By taking an honest look at failures of the past, we can now see that simply imposing solutions on residents will not work. Better results come when communities are able to play an active role in shaping their own destiny." Community Initiatives The chance to provide a little piece (and peace) of community to our consumer is all around us. We shouldn’t waste the opportunity - This research reveals that brands play an important role in developing communities: - Opportunities exist for your brands to make lasting connections with modern consumers. - Your brands can help them form the communities they seek - They can become an integral part of their life, transcending the cynical world of marketing. For example, Nike are organising and sponsoring races in major cities (Run London – July 2001). The activities are more classically athletic in nature and this is helping to align Nike with sport rather than fashion. But by tapping in to a collective desire for community Nike has created a new urban community with many aspirational qualities. Whilst Coca-Cola is spending £30m on ads made locally, shifting marketing efforts away from a global/American standpoint to one, which reflects local issues and sensibilities. Why? Because, according to Charlotte Oades, Marketing Director UK they feel ‘local agencies reflect local consumers’. In other words, Coke wants to get into the local communities. Additionally, there is almost an ‘official invitation’ for brands to get involved. The Queen’s Speech of the 20th June highlighted that the government are looking for private partnerships to help with the development of schools. Estelle Morris, the Secretary of State for Education said: "This Bill will help free up the school system, remove barriers to change and introduce new ways for private, voluntary and faith organisations to become involved in the supporting schools." www.informer.com

A route that has been pursued with gusto in the USA – but with mixed results. Seeking Community This report explores the importance of community in the lives of young people, looks for ways in which brands can capture their imagination and helps them take advantage of the new communities, which are springing up. From this report we want you to ask - what opportunities can my brand carve out and take advantage of in the area of community? We want to illustrate that, through our research and through ‘reading the signs’ (on the street, in clothes design, marketing and the media) there is now a will amongst young people to seek out and commune with like-minded individuals: - A function of a fragmented society with a greater freedom of knowledge: - Representing an opportunity for brands to serve a deeper purpose. At the end of this report we hope you will be more sensitive to the way your brand is functioning, particularly in relation to the context it is operating in. In this case, Community defines that context. Key Point Summary 1.Young consumers are seeking to create new forms of community and brands could help to facilitate the process. However, care needs to be taken to prevent a backlash as overt brand activity in this arena can be seen as obtrusive. 2.It’s a post-modern world in which the old edifices of the establishment no longer reflect the values or attract the respect of the society that once adhered to them. As a result the world young consumers live in now is vastly different place to the one their parents grew up in. 3.Contemporary society is far removed from the ‘Hovis’ model of community referred to by many of our sample. Young people are looking elsewhere to form their communities – as the power of the neighbourhood dwindles, so friends/close family become more important. 4.When examining consumer attitude to brand ‘community building', initiatives that ‘fit’ and ‘feel right’ are the most successful. The ones where the presence and function of the brand does not feel forced or unnatural. Those that don’t work are the ones that feel conspicuous, unnatural and worst of all, pointless.

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5.It’s an interesting phenomenon, but in this research we see how consumers take advantage of good sponsorship schemes and give their highly critical marketing opinions a day off. Good initiatives are granted a cloak of invisibility. Good initiatives don’t feel like marketing. 6.Friends are the new family, but family will always be family. Traditional family structures are becoming less common but young consumers believe the 'family' unit provides unconditional support. The old idea that parents are something to be rebelled against now seems almost quaint. Parents and children are in this together. More commonly, teamwork exists between the two generations to make the best of things and to help each other out. 7.The old image of the lentil eating, Doc Martin wearing, Greenpeace loving scruffy student is a thing of the past as is the traditional notion of the politically militant student community.What we found in the nation’s universities is a group of pragmatic, proto-business executives, working through their courses, as though it were a programme from which a proper career may ensue. 8.In the Twenty-first century even young men are sharing their hopes, fears, dreams and aspirations. And as the trend for mixed gender friendship groups take hold at ever-earlier ages, there is always a girl on hand to talk to about those intimate issues.It’s no longer cool to hang around in same sex packs, but when it inevitably does happen, it is often couched as a slightly ironic "girls/boys" night out. 9.The lasting effect of technology is the way it is transforming social relationships. It acts as an enhancing tool that develops real world communities keeping people together. Our sample talks of the importance of e-mail, as a means of keeping in touch, especially for busy, working types. Conversely, it is easy for people to slip out of contact if they aren’t ‘wired’. 10.Mindspace is the new canvass upon which communities are defined. Mindspace is present when ‘communities’ hold similar attitudes towards the larger things in life. We’ve see this in schools, which are divided between those who wanted to study and those who didn’t. We also se it operating in relation to other subjects, notably politics or attitudes towards drugs.

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Design: Consumers are the New Creatives Introduction You don’t have to be a trends analyst to see that design is taking up more and more of our thinking time. Turn on the telly and you can’t move for shows about turning your attic into a home gym – or what to do with the cloth left over after shortening your curtains. Design of some sort or another has always been important – from the optimism of 50’s modernism to the MFI home experience of the 80’s. But it seems that, these days, design is having more influence on our choices and the way we want to approach our lives. In this new Millennium, we rush to Bilbao to see the Frank Gehry museum, or to the South Bank to take in the new Tate Modern exhibition. Perhaps we buy our furniture from IKEA and mix paints to our own specifications at the local Homebase. It also seems that brands are working harder to offer a more inclusive approach. You can design your own Adidas and Nikes over the Internet. Sprite and Pepsi are inviting their consumers to re-design their hitherto untouchable logos. Brands seem to be coming down off their pedestals and actually conversing with, rather than dictating to, their consumer. What’s behind all this? What are the social conditions driving this new design imperative? Informer went to find out. Sample Our report is based on the opinions of a diverse selection of young people. The fieldwork took place in a range of different environments in order to understand motivations behind design choice. Bournemouth 22-25 year-old couple 21-year-old female -

home and shop audit home and bar audit

Manchester 14-16 year-old male 25 year-old loft living male www.informer.com

bedroom audit home and shop audit 38

Edinburgh 20-23 year-old house-sharers 22-25 year-old couple -

home and bar audit home and shop audit

We also conducted comprehensive Vox Pops on the streets of London and Birmingham. Asking the experts Saatchi & Saatchi (Board Planner)

Alessandro Androlina

Purves & Purves Furniture Store (CEO)

Andrew Purves

Unorthodox Styles Design Agency (Planner)

Chris Heathcote

Key Point Summary 1. High Design appreciation has become a mass-popular phenomenon 2. Design is inextricably linked with popular culture 3. Youth are adopting a more ‘feminine’ attitude to design 4. The consumer has become the new creative, and creativity has become the new currency 5. Interactivity and customisation are the new imperatives 6. Form is as important as function in a world where function is a given www.informer.com

7. Visionary brands are tapping into consumer desires and providing permission to join the design revolution 8. Young consumers are always looking for the next fix. As they become more aware, so the desire to have the latest designs is more pressing 9. Consumers want a two-way relationship with brands. They are no longer willing to subscribe to a homogenous ideal, rather they want to modify and customise brands and products 10. This relationship will continue. Brands will have to facilitate consumer interaction or risk losing them.

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InfoWells Sample Articles “We scour the media bringing you all the latest news on trends, culture and marketing”

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Shaping The Contours September 2001 It’s a man’s world, but it’s become a great deal womanly of late. The feminisation of culture has been subtle, slow and steady, but its imprint on the latter half of the 90’s and new millennium is now patently evident. It manifests in a diversity of different contexts and multitude of different ways. This article will journey through these to illustrate exactly what feminisation means, and how it has impacted on our lives, loves, beliefs and values. Perhaps the greatest sign of our turn to the feminine lies in our relationship to ‘science’. Rationality, objectivity and progress lie at the heart of scientific reasoning and this has always been deemed a male domain. While men are seen to be ‘rational’, women are positioned in the ‘emotional’ realm. A multitude of cultures and religions organise themselves around this belief – women occupy the emotional domain of the home, in some cultures they are even forbidden from setting foot into those hallowed halls of ‘truth’, the law courts, the logic being that their emotions will contaminate their ability to see ‘truth’, or reason with their heads as opposed to their hearts. Well, the tables are turning it seems, and we now appear to be moving away from these ‘masculine’ forms of thought. Science, once upheld as the pillar of modernism, suffers a state of crisis, crumbling as we question its once unquestioned ‘authority’, power and potential. The technology we initially welcomed into our lives with wide-eyed optimism is now being treated with reserved caution. Dot bombs scatter the landscape as hopes and dreams come crashing to the ground. The liberation that technology once promised us in the form of saved time has actually shackled us to even more demanding cycles of activity. And how many people, having lost all their ‘data’ in an unexpected and unexplained crash, are throwing away their Psion organisers and returning to the more dependable paper and pencil? Science can empower us, but we now recognise that it can also fail us. Disillusioned, we look to take comfort under the wing of its more solid and dependable predecessor – Mother Nature. Look at the massive swing to alternative or complementary medicine – the fastest growing area of the medical industry (The Observer 22/7/01). Those who might have formerly looked to conventional medicine for their answers are seeking more inner focussed solutions in the form of acupuncture, Reiki, herbal remedies and homeopathic cures. A shift is made from science to nature and from the empirical cause-effect absolutes of orthodox medicine to the more abstract realm of the ‘unexplained’. Patients are putting their faith in the hands of treatments, which don’t always have explanations, reasons or answers – the very antithesis of science. Indeed, ‘alternative therapies’ are becoming so popular we are now witnessing the involvement of large corporate brands in this hitherto niche category; a sure sign of its increasing mainstream allure. As reported in the Times , Boots is currently testing a new health package, www.informer.com

which offers services including ‘homeopathy, herbalism, physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropody, reflexology and aromatherapy’. Trained practitioners are on hand with the specific goal of helping customers to ‘soothe away’ their stress and worries. (The Times January 2001) For me, the most interesting thing about these alternative therapies is the shift in focus they represent. Unlike conventional medicine, which isolates particular and ‘observable’ problems for treatment, alternative therapies offer solutions for the entire trinity of heart, body and mind. Rationality is replaced; emotion, feeling and understanding override ‘treatment’ and the external gives way to the internal. All these therapies are inner focussed. They look ‘within’ for their answers. The spiritual turn that we saw transforming the hard nosed, material 80’s into the softer, sensitive 90’s revealed similar ‘inner focussed’ tendencies. Whilst the 80’s saw us piling into aerobic classes and fat burner step sessions to shed weight and tone up our flabby bits, the latter half of the 90’s found us crawling towards more integrative options like shiatsu massage, yoga and tai chi. All of these bypass the obvious aesthetics of the body to look ‘inside’ at the abstracts of the spiritual and the soul. This move can be seen reflected in the decline which affected industries catering to the external surfaces of the body – clothing, fashion and make-up suffered a downturn, whilst organic foods, that bastion of ‘inner health’, enjoyed an unprecedented boom. Film, design and art revealing similar ‘internal’ themes. The most revered and iconic design of the 90’s has to be the iMac. Yes, this was a completely original reinterpretation of a very functional and previously bland object. It beautified the computer, softening out its hard edges, and setting in motion a new standard of functional design. But it is no coincidence that this design was transparent. The computer became see through, we could peer inside and look at its inner workings. Same thing with the Dyson vacuum cleaner – another example of respected 90’s design. It opened up the inner workings of the ‘machine’. Damien Hirst brought this ‘internal’ theme to the foreground in perhaps the most iconic artwork of the 1990’s. Cows, sheep and sharks sit sliced open in cases of formaldehyde. In effect, Hirst opens up the body so that the previously private and hidden now lays bare for our inspection. Artists such as Mona Hatoum take it one step further and place tiny fibre optic cables inside human bodies so we can see their internal organs working (The Observer 24/6/01). Similarly, the Farrelly Brothers latest Hollywood film ‘Osmosis Jones’, soon to hit UK screens, sets its action inside a man’s body (The Observer review 24/6/01). Recreating a city, the various internal organs are given functions – the stomach becomes the airport with regular arrivals and departures, the arteries the highways, and his love handles, the city’s fastest growing community. Again, the ‘private’ has always represented female territory – for both historical and anatomical reasons. In history, women have been associated with the private confines of the home, and in some cultures, she is prohibited from stepping from here into the public places occupied by men. In Islamic cultures, she may do so, but only beneath the veil. She still remains hidden and private. While men represent the ‘public’- that is terrain beyond the home, women have occupied more internal, secluded and concealed places. Our current preoccupation with images of the ‘inside’, the private, and the hidden clearly plays to these symbolic feminine structures. Indeed, our mass www.informer.com

interest in design and (in this context), the way things look reveal yet another expression of this feminisation. The ‘aesthetic’ has always been seen as a feminine area, yet as (Overground Magazine) states, it is becoming more widely adopted: ‘The increased importance placed on interior design could be a symptom of the feminisation of society. DIY--the ultimate man's pursuit-being superceded by homemaking, and not only superceded, but reinvented as no longer feminine but universally fashionable.’ (Overground June 2001) In fact, many now see the process of ‘feminisation’ as being integral to modern society. Increasingly, in fields such as architecture, a feminine perspective is essential in order to design and create structures that chime with the psyche of the modern consumer. Angela Brady, the Chairwoman of Women in Architecture states: ‘Women and men think about design from different perspectives. Women think more logically about using everyday spaces. They design from the inside out. They think laterally and create flexible designs where a room will be used for several things at the same time’. (The Times July 2001) And, as Informer’s recent report on contemporary design explores, this has had a spin off effect on our interactions in general: "Feminisation has shaped the way we interact with each other and more importantly it has bolstered young people’s confidence giving them the chutzpah to verbalise and interrogate their feelings; the spin off from this has been the way young people, male and female, are more critically skilled in their analysis of contemporary design" (Monitor Design Report, October 2001) So what has prompted this feminised swing? Well, technology certainly has a large part to play. Perhaps our obsession with our bodies, their fleshy, organic, pumping inner workings are a reaction to the disembodiment we experience through technology. Email; chat rooms and websites position us as virtual beings – written voices, voices without bodies. Our intrigue with our internal workings, our seeking of spirituality, our gravitation to mind, body and soul therapies see us trying to re-discover and re-connect ourselves as physical, real and organic beings. But then as far as technology has pushed us away from the ‘feminine’, so too does it embody it in its most coherent form. Technology is about connection – a preserve that has traditionally belonged to women. In a mammoth shift in the western mindset, technology moves us www.informer.com

from the separateness of objects and people – a male orientation – to interconnectedness – a female orientation (The Guardian 13/11/01). Mobile phones put us in ‘touch’ with others 24 hours a day. Chat rooms and websites provide us with community, belonging and exchange. Look at the current success of the website Friends Reunited (www.friendsreunited.co.uk). The power behind this drive to connect, re-connect and bond cannot be underestimated. Technology also opens up the private and places it in a public realm. How many times have you sat on a bus and learnt intimate details about a person you have never exchanged two words with, solely through their phone conversation. As Madeline Bunting (The Guardian 13/11/01) sees it, technology: ‘brings back to the city something of the intimacy of the village, where nearest and dearest know exactly where you are and what you are doing all the time’ In this reformulated village, we hang over virtual back fences and gossip. But our focus is no longer the neighbours, it’s our celebrities. Who’s wearing, buying, doing what and with whom? We seek out every last shred of their PRIVATE lives. And when that’s not enough, we create new celebrities in reality TV shows, lock them away and record and broadcast every minute detail of their usually ‘private’ moments. Men are in crisis we hear. Well, this feminine swing might hold answers to the reason why. The invisible symbolic structures and beliefs that have supported men’s orientation to their world are dissolving and feminine modes of being replace them. Men not only lose their role as ‘breadwinners’, they also lose their ability to relate to their culture and themselves in intuitive and fluid ways – a sentiment echoed by the writer of Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk (The Guardian 8/11/00). This could be one of the reasons why we were hit with a tidal wave of laddism during the 90’s and a boom in the porn industry (The Guardian 5/12/00) – the same decade that saw us swing towards the spiritual. While some of us went off to chant cross-legged two times a week in Yoga classes, others put down their Loaded magazine, grabbed a beer and settled down for an evening down the strip club. The lad had a limited lifespan and we soon lost our ability to tolerate his swaggering, brash ways. But did he disappear? In a real case of role reversal, I suspect he went underground to occupy more ‘private and hidden’ confines. It’s a man’s world still, but women are shaping its contours. At the end of the day, this makes it a much more comfortable place for the female of the species. And, in turn, this shift donates brands of today a uniquely important role. With male rites of passage on the wane and traditional avenues via displays of prowess or bravery all but obsolete, brands are now being asked to act as important communicators of manhood. Not least by offering themselves up as structures of support, reassurance and guidance. Look at Lynx’s recent work. Designated a male brand, the advertising did not go down the traditional macho, masculine ‘Mach 3’ route – a transparent and laughably flimsy approach today. Rather, Lynx chose to respond to the insecurity it sensed in men. It bolstered their confidence either by supporting the validity of their perhaps now www.informer.com

quieter, male fantasies â&#x20AC;&#x201C; spots showed women pleading their lads to keep talking about football and to allow their female friends to perhaps join them in bed. Lynx offered men solutions, without oozing the puffed up laddy arrogance that characterised other brands designated specifically for men. As men strive to find some reassurance and stability, brands are uniquely positioned to offer themselves up as support. Can your brand do the same? Can it replace dissolving structures â&#x20AC;&#x201C; either through language or offering? Can it give permission for men to be men without alienating them with an imposingly macho or laddy approach? Can it lure lads out from under their rocks and show or provide them with a new way to be men in a climate which demands they adapt? If so, it is well placed to earn the loyalty of a group of people currently feeling a tad misplaced in a world which used to be all theirs.

If you have any questions or queries about any of the issues raised above, or would simply like to talk to an Informer consultant please contact the Monitor team on 020 7734 2331 or email us at enquiries@informer.com