Married Str8 Trio – Men’s Underwear / Swimwear Advertising Chat

Here we are the Married Str8 Trio with our next conversation piece. This is a short conversation on men’s underwear and swimwear advertising. We touch on what we don’t like about it, what we’d like to see, how it affects our shopping brands, and brands on the right track.

What don’t you like about the current men’s underwear/swimwear advertising?

Blkmlthng: For me it is focused and geared for gay men and forget about the straight men who purchase from them. Not all of the underwear/swimwear retailers are like this but a good majority of them are. Recently I made a purchase from Audace, while I liked the price of what I purchased and the customer service I didn’t like the fact that they included in my order a magnet to advertise their company with a man in underwear that left little to the imagination in a provocative pose. I wish the advertisers would include women in their ads with the men. This would also encourage, I think, straight men to wear such underwear and show that women do like for their special guy to wear something sexy.

Ron: In agreement with Blkmlthng. Too much of a gay slant and as with women’s bikini advertising, it’s always a young slim perfect body muscular well endowed model. Not saying that we need over weight Un toned etc but average and yes, with a few ladies in the frame. There is an ad on TV here for perfume, d&g I think which shows, yes, the perfect toned couple, she in a little white bikini and he in a small white speedo in a boat in a little Mediterranean cove. Nice to see the guy in a bikini. I also think for improved ratings on skimpy mens swimwear, the younger set need to be more accepting and it should come from the cat walk or celebs. I’m convinced there is a huge population of guys out there just waiting for the moment to slip into a little bikini and have an army of women admirers.

The Bottom Drawer: I’m in agreement that there are too many ads/photos with guys in provocative poses in men’s underwear/swimwear advertising. Typically you don’t see this in women’s advertising. Maybe a woman is in a seductive pose, but I’m assuming those ads are targeted at men. I haven’t noticed two women together in provocative poses like you do with some men’s advertising. This type of marketing is not going to draw in the straight male crowd or draw the women to buy them for their man.

Does this type of advertising push you away from particular brands or retailers?

The Bottom Drawer: Since I do not want to see that type of photography and ads, it can impact my decision to some extent. I won’t be following the company as well as another company that just shows a guy in a normal pose. If I’m not following them that will lower my chance of seeing something I may want. I’d probably still buy a pair if I happen to stumble upon a pair I really want to try from a company that is advertising with more provocative content.

Blkmlthng: I’m in agreement with Nate, I don’t want to see that type of imagery so it does affect my decision to purchase. There are some retailers I feel uncomfortable when I browse their websites for products as it borderlines softcore porn. I have certain retailers that I frequent and they focus solely on the products. I personally gain a lot of insight from the reviews, I don’t care about the pictures of models modeling the underwear. I would prefer seeing just a picture of the underwear, front and back and not the person in them, it’s not a realistic view of how they will look on me anyway…lol.

Ron: Total agreement. Some of the online retailers have more of a gay slant which is off putting. I tend to shy away from those. Annoys me considerably when ebay advertises skimpy bikinis ad ‘gay interest’ . That totally puts me off buying from them.

This was touched on a bit in the first question, but What would you like to see in men’s underwear/swimwear advertising?

Ron: So for me such advertising has to leave the prospective customer with the thought that the bikini/thong swimwear/underwear is not specifically directed at the gay community though at the same time not discriminating against them. I fancy scenarios where there might be a beach scene with a guy in a little bikini being admired by his wife for the cut, style, colour; anything other than focusing on his bulge or the sexual element; a guy being handed a bikini to wear by his mum or sister and being encouraged about the benefits of the suit relative to comfort, fabric etc. For underwear, similar. Maybe have a mixed group by the pool,males and females in little bikinis or the locker room with guys talking about comfort or support of thongs for sport. We have to get away from the sleezy bulge shots of muscular pretty boys

Blkmlthng: Great response Ron! I agree with everything you have said. I think it is important to get away from the “pin up boy” poses in the marketing and advertising. One example that would come to mind is to have the male in his underwear, getting dressed for work or an evening out with his woman and the woman standing at the door looking watching him as he dresses or as Ron suggested a group of guys in the lockerroom changing laughing and discussing things getting ready to workout. There are so many functional and comfortable aspects of wearing a thong or bikini and I think the advertisers need to focus more on that to appeal to all men not just one demographic.

The Bottom Drawer: Think you guys pretty much covered everything on this one. I definitely like to see ads with a woman admiring her guy in a bikini or thong. Even just a guy in an everyday situation like shaving at the mirror, reading the paper, fixing breakfast, etc. Ads that you can put yourself in that situation I think are good neutral type of ads.

Have you seen any advertising that you think is in the right direction?

The Bottom Drawer: One brand I have seen photograph of things I mentioned in the previous response is Dietz. They have several photos of guys in their underwear doing some everyday things you’d probably do in your underwear. They also have some shots of guys with women. Another one that comes to mind is Ergowear. They had some photos with a man and a women that should have appealed to the straight guys. I know I’ve seen some others, but they weren’t towards the bikini and thong crowd.

Blkmlthng: The only brand that comes to mind is Ergowear. When I first discovered them years ago they had several ads that featured women in them and they have done this recently with their Gold Suave collection. To me, the other brands can learn something from how Ergowear advertising their underwear. It makes you feel like any everyday man can wear their underwear, if you are looking for supportive ergonomically correct underwear!

Ron: To be honest I can’t really think of any advertising that portrays mens skimpy wear positively. I’ll need to check out those ones you have spoken off

That’s a wrap of this conversation. Let us know what you think about the current advertising for men’s underwear and swimwear. Also gives us suggestions on topics you’d like to see us discuss. We’ll see you next time.