Does brand image dictate fashion?

On the assumption that our concerns on self-image are not to make us appear less attractive, therefore more so, then why do the marketers – in the car industry in particular – push an image that contradicts market research? Yes, dear reader, I’m talking about the great beard/car debate. Again. Joking aside, research puts a figure of around 60% of women prefer clean-shaved men. Yet in the world of the television car commercial, the beard is king.

This may well be a case of ‘me too’ advertising, and the SUV (or urban 4x4, if you prefer) market is the biggest culprit. It would appear that Nissan have always frowned at the idea that the beardless should even think about driving one of their cars, but the rest of the manufacturers seem to have jumped on the hirsute bandwagon.

Looking for a moral in the story, one conclusion must be that creatives are attributing growth in competitive clients’ market share with the advertising message rather than the quality of the products themselves. In other words, if you are an established manufacturer, build damn good cars and don’t charge a fortune for them, they will sell irrespective of the state of the driver’s face.