At The Male Stylist we’ve covered various aspects of what makes a gentleman; his style, his fashion, his manners and his eloquence. There’s a lot of literature on this topic but very little media is devoted to the art of being a gentleman. Every now and then advertising manages to encapsulate this idea and present it in a format that goes beyond selling a product, instead it touches upon an aspect of gentlemanly character and style. Today we run through 3 of our favourite examples of advertising and what they say about a gentleman’s style.
3) Volkswagen – The Great Pretender
Volkswagen have always been renowned for doing great things with their advertising campaigns, providing thought provoking and humourous marketing that assumes their customer is much cleverer than other companies think. This one is a particular favourite of ours, a discussion on the art and value of subtlety, why it’s important and what shouting can by symptomatic of beneath the surface. Using the Freddie Mercury’s lyrics from Queen’s hit “The Great Pretender” it shows the difference between brashness and subtle styling, we love the clarity of the message and the poignancy of the lyrics timed with the imagery. Enjoy gents, it’s a lesson in the value of whispering to encourage people to take notice.
2) Jaguar – It’s Good To Be Bad
Last year Jaguar launched their flagship campaign for their new car range starring Tom Hiddlestone, Mark Strong and Ben Kingsley and the question of why english actors play villains in Hollywood movies. All three put on a dark and charismatic performance attempting to establish the characteristics of an English antagonist and all too soon they fall back into their typical on-screen characters. Shot in and around London it shows how the dark mystery of a man can be truly seductive and charming. One thing we know for sure, it sure does look good to be bad.
1) Johnnie Walker – The Gentleman’s Wager
Released a few weeks ago and part of a long line of successful marketing campaigns, Johnnie Walker launched their wildly successful and highly anticipated advert dubbed “The Gentleman’s Wager”. In it, Giancarlo Giannini and Jude Law try to win a boat from one another by expanding their skills and personal horizons. Jude Law says he would like to win the boat using a dance and, after a fair amount of organisation and practice, sets the scene for a great show. We’ll let you watch it through as we’re big fans of the whole story and concept. The description of the boat by both Giancarlo and Jude is fantastically elaborate and wonderfully boyish. A truly great lesson in the value of expanding your mind and bettering yourself as a man.
Well that covers our top 3 adverts for gentleman’s style. As always if you’ve enjoyed the article feel free to like, comment and/or share this with your friends and followers. If you feel we’ve missed one out then make sure to comment below and we’ll see if they make it into our next article.
By Adam Walker
