Young urban males like the Hemsworth brothers are the new target market for luxury brands. Pictured Luke, Liam and Chris.Source: Getty Images
ARE you a “Yummy”? HSBC wants you to be.
The multinational bank sent out a report this week about the economic potential of targeting “young urban males,” hence the instantly off-putting moniker, “Yummy.” So, what makes a Yummy?
A Yummy is a young urban male professional who cares about his appearance, cares about luxury items, is marrying later in life and thus has the disposable income to spend on the aforementioned and is using his smartphone to shop for luxury brands from all over the world.
Aside from maybe the smartphone thing, you’re probably thinking that this trend sounds an awful lot like one from about 20 years ago: the “metrosexual.” And that is essentially all it is: a rebranding of a consumer identity that never really caught on with consumers.
An article on the Yummy trend in Bloomberg Businessweek talks about the Yummy who “looks past cars” and instead buys a “travelling martini satchel from Tumi” for $5,000. The fact is, there will always be members of the rich elite who are willing to spend $5,000 on a “travelling martini satchel,” but that is not representative of the average male consumer.
At 42, Jared Leto is the ultimate yummy.Source: Supplied
That’s where the rebranding of the term “metrosexual” comes in: The issue advertisers had in the past with the term “metrosexual” was trying to erase the connotation to homosexuality they feared would alienate heterosexual consumers. By rebranding the term “metrosexual” to “Yummy” and asserting that it is a trend, advertisers can cast out a wider net to male consumers willing to buy in to the label. It’s the metrosexual trend all over again, except this time advertisers won’t limit it to a niche group — if you have disposable income, you can be a Yummy.
The average male consumer is not going to buy the $5,000 martini satchel, but if he believes that there is an elite class of men above him living beautiful lives surrounded by beautiful things who would buy the satchel, and that this is the new standard of masculinity, it’s possible that he will spend in order to buy a piece of this identity.
Would James Franco wear a travelling man bag? If so, count us in.Source: AFP
And even though the term “metrosexual” never entirely caught on with the average male consumer, the belief that the trend existed was enough to convert some men on to the ideas of increased personal grooming and styling.
Think of, for example, Steve Carrell’s character in the The 40-Year-Old Virgin. His friend tells him that all men are “manscaping” these days and convinces him to wax his chest, only for him to find out that his friend has never even done it himself.
He buys in to the myth that all men are now metrosexuals and thinks that he has to live up to that standard, even though he has no interest in it.
There is no doubt that some men are routinely waxing their chests and some men are buying $5,000 travelling martini satchels, but no one should be fooled that it is the new standard of masculinity or the new norm.
Speaking of “norm,” weren’t we being told a few weeks ago that “normcore” was the new trend for both young men and women? If both these trends are in fact occurring simultaneously, they’re obviously capturing very different audiences of young men and neither is the majority of men, but rather just a portion.
This seems like an exaggeration of a niche trend that will rely on consumers fuelling it into life by believing in it.
The “Yummy” trend will no doubt be used by advertisers who will try to redefine masculinity as something that has to be bought in a store. And that is only the truth if you believe it is.
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