Imperial Blue’s Men will be Men ad is both humourous and relatable across genders

Indeed Men will be Men

Seagram’s Imperial Blue ‘Men will be Men’ advertising campaign features real life elements in its situational advertising that is highly relatable.

As advertising alcohol is not possible, the brand opted to do a slice of life piece picturing the modern day man in his bid to impress the opposite sex.

The ‘Men will be men’ tagline is the brainchild of advertising big wigs Ogilvy & Mather.

Seagram’s Imperial Blue was launched in 1997 and targets male audiences in the 25 to 40 year old age bracket, with many of them being able to relate to the “Men will be Men” campaign.

Laced with humour and irony, the advertisement depicts how the modern Indian man is constantly trying to impress the opposite sex as well as other men by virtue of his weakness for all things feminine, often landing up in embarrassing and unwanted situations.

The fun element is mainly the depiction of men as being incorrigible when it comes to getting attention from women and how they want to go the extra mile to come off as gentlemen too. And often how the sight of a female leaves them quite helpless in wanting to impress.

The fact that the subtle situational comic scenes in the TVCs are a direct representation of the kind of anecdotes a typical young Indian would share with his friends over a drink makes this campaign all the more appealing.

The ad also features popular ghazal singer Jagjit Singh’s “Pyaar ki raah mein chalna seekh…” penned by Ajay Gahlaut, exec. creative director at O&M.

The ad campaign continues to run mainly on television and new digital media, making men smile self-consciously and women chuckle condescendingly saying, “Men will be men.”

After 20 years of evolving technology, shifting market trends, and adapting to changing consumer behaviour, the media landscape has nearly reached saturation.

We’ve optimised to the fullest, providing advertisers with abundant choices across technology, platforms, data-driven marketing, CTV, OTT, DOOH, influencer marketing, retail, etc.

Media specialists have diversified, but with more options comes the challenge of maintaining income growth. The industry is expanding, but revenue isn’t keeping pace.

Now, we’re at a TURNING POINT: time to explore and harness new sustainable revenue streams. While GroupM forecasts a 7.8% global ad revenue growth in 2024, challenges like antitrust regulation, AI and copyright issues, and platform bans persist.  

Collaboration is key: partnerships that thrive on synergy, shared values, and aligned goals are becoming increasingly essential.

Hence, the Malaysian Media Conference, in its 20th year, has assembled the partners and players under one roof on October 25 for a day of learning, sharing, and exploring.

 

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