Mammoth and The Identity of 'Man' - Aaron Troy

I read an article in a ProDesign that addresses a recent trend in design and advertising in New Zealand to start targeting the traditional male role, focusing on the Mammoth Supply Co brand.  It says masculinity has always dominated the categories of power-tools and beer, where as things such as shaving cream that should be targeted at men are now targeted at women, saying “masculinity tends to be portrayed by hairless, tanned avatars..” However I believe this could be the new evolution  of what men aspire to, rather than targeting women.

The author believes the designers chanelled masculinity effectively by reverting back to the retro, nostalgia of the good old days.

This begs the question, what is masculinity today?  If we must revert back to the 70s for a masculine aesthetic, does that mean the traditional sense of masculinity is now different.  I believe so, the bridge between male and female fashion has already decreased significantly as shown With labels such as Stolen Girlfriends and now even the traditional forms of advertising that should be targeted at the ‘bloke’ such as beers like ‘Stella Artois’ are becoming more ‘metro’ (being also from European influence in this example).

        

I believe that in the age we are living currently the whole concept of the ‘mans’ man’ is completely redundant. Power and what we could call the ‘alpha male’ status is no longer decided by physical strength and brawn but more by intellect, appearance, wealth and sophistication.  Therefore these advertisements, while playful and humorous do not address a huge change in our culture.