Laugh with men, not at them, says Millward Brown

Lazy, beer-soaked and not that bright? Useless in the kitchen? In need of general supervision, ideally by an implausibly perfect woman? You must be “ad man”, the unflattering male stereotype that pops up in commercial breaks with all the subtlety of a Liam Neeson film.

Marketing to men – what works, what fails – is "grossly under-researched, both academically and commercially", according to Millward Brown Ireland, which yesterday presented its clients with the findings of its own study into the age-old question: What do men want?

Men are “crying out for a more evolved communications response”, according to the research firm, which used techniques including facial coding (a neuroscience technique that records consumers’ unarticulated emotional responses) and intuitive association measurement (“gut-level brand associations”) to establish why some advertisements and brands hit the mark with men and others don’t.

As part of its study, the WPP- affiliated Millward Brown also looked at hundreds of advertisements from its database and identified “patterns of commercial or creative success”.

The most effective advertisements may “leverage male traits”, but they do so in a way that is sympathetic and remembers to “laugh with, not to laugh at” male subjects, Millward Brown’s study says.

“Don’t worry about alienating women, because positive depictions of men are far more likely to engage and carry them along than outmoded man-bashing,” is the second of its key four principles. The third principle claims that marketers should “respect the fact that some things are an innate part of the male make-up”, citing interest in sport as an example.

“Understand that men are crying out for the social justification to behave bigger, better and bolder,” the study concludes, with Millward Brown advising clients to “stretch definitions of maleness in every positive dimension”.

The research firm also lists a number of myths that it says advertisers should avoid. These include the idea that “men are still reluctant to countenance unorthodox depictions of maleness”, the assumption that the “sex sells” principle is always met with unqualified approval by men and the idea that men “do not derive status” from an increase in their domestic responsibilities.

Marketers should also remember not to dismiss body image, nor male fondness for “slagging”-style humour, it advises.

“So much of it is about tone,” says Maureen van Wijk, Millward Brown Ireland’s managing director. The inclusion of stereotypical traits frequently does make for effective marketing messages, but one-dimensional depictions of men will be less successful than “more rounded conversations”, she says. The “sex sells” approach, meanwhile, can “be quite polarising, quite niche”.

Van Wijk says marketers should recognise that there have been changes in the ways in which men perceive themselves, though she cautions there are limits to how much advertising can pre-empt social evolution.

“I don’t think we can just put an ad up and say the culture will change, but at the same time, I think advertising does have a role to play.”