Metrosexual? It’s about ‘ubersexual’ now

MUMBAI: Move over metrosexual, the ubersexual man is here. If our metrosexual was seen as a tad dandyish, our ubersexual man is confident, yet not obnoxious, masculine and stylish.

He’s committed to uncompromising quality in all areas of life; is more into relationships than self; has a consistent personal style over fashion fads; like the metrosexual, he enjoys shopping, but he shops for items that enhance his collection, rather than shopping for entertainment.

Call this a new style clan or the visage of the new 21st-century man, as discovered by Marian Salzman, JWT Worldwide’s director of strategic content, in her new book The Future of Men.

Interestingly, Salzman also coined the term `metrosexual’- a man who uses moisturiser and is in touch with his feelings. Now, the `uber’ has emerged as one of the four archetypes that make up `M-ness’ or this new form of masculinity that combines the best of traditional manliness with traits traditionally associated with females.

Is this new M-ness reflected in the way men are portrayed in Indian advertising, or even popular culture? Problem is, there have been no in-depth, coherent portraits of men painted by advertising, other than Raymond, The Complete Man in the late 80s. “After that, there’s been no sharply defined male stereotype here, who’s captured popular imagination.

Changes after the Raymond Man have been driven by popular culture, not necessarily radically changing definitions of male. Take ‘desi cool’, a concept popularised by MTV etc, and reflecting Indian-ness in a light-hearted way and context. Philips, Fevicol et al,’’ says Hamsini Shivkumar, vice president and head of planning, JWT Mumbai.

Listen to market researcher, Rama Bipjapurkar: He (the uber) sounds exactly like the evolved woman of substance, I’m glad that he’s getting there. Advertising has anyway not done a good job of painting a holistic picture of anybody. There’s only been lifestyle pictures.

It’s all about portraying real situations and real people in ads, reckons R Balakrishnan (Balki), national creative director, Lowe “The uber wave is coming and will come in a big way. Example: ICICI retirement Solutions-I’ll retire from work, not life. Uber ads tap into something so real. In cinema, Mani Ratnam people are uber, real people.’’

Adds a film critic: Shah Rukh Khan’s portrayals in films by Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra could be seen as balanced and uber. The philosophy is you only find true love once, and that there’s someone out there for everyone. The first glimmers of the uber man-balanced, sensitive, connected to others-is beginning to shine through in Indian advertising. JWT India’s research reveals that a more balanced Indian urban male is emerging, a la uber style.

“Indian urban men are getting softer, more vulnerable,’’ asserts Shivkumar. This changing profile will be seen in their upcoming ads for diamonds etc. Male portrayals are category-led, and hence for the bike segment we now see the macho Indian make riding Avenger who is sensitive enough to forgive. Similarly in slots like food and finance (ICICI ), the balanced, caring guy steps

Marketers and ad agencies have long cold-shouldered the male market and evolving psyche, thanks to the fact that women were hot-ringed as purchasing influencers across categories. On its part, JWT says it’s dedicated to helping its clients reach this audience with smart, positive portrayals of the modern man.

Men, are not beefcakes sizzling with hormonal angst, is the premise. In the words of author Marian Sulzman: “All too often in the marketing arena, we’re portraying man as the victim of his sexual organ or his lust, his emotional neediness, his overinflated ego, or his sheer ineptitude Instead of relying on lowest-common-denominator, stereotypical solutions, we are striving to depict ‘balanced men,’ `men of the world with conscience,’ and other positive portrayals of men.’’

Meanwhile, will the real uber man please step forward - at least in advertising?

People want the real connect

Did Indian advertising ever celebrate the uber guy? Balki of Lowe is not so sure: The Raymond ‘complete man’ was ahead of his time, but he was still proving a point that ‘I am a different kind of guy.’ With the uber, it flows naturally. People want that real connect now, in Bollywood or advertising. And when they get fed up of that ‘realness’, then the larger-than-life hero could step in again.

In relief, the metrosexual dude-as epitomised by Beckham - has more aspirational values. A few shades more of coolness, finesse. More of the ‘I’ factor, and fashion-fad whimsy.

The caveat: Uber is about the actor’s identification with the ad character, rather than the traits portrayed. “The crafting and casting for ad films must be exquisite. There should be tremendously controlled acting; the nuances of scripting and direction have to be perfect-the perfect pitch; actors should be believable in the uber role. Ad directors hence have to be uber and real too. The gap is more about agencies’ lack of skills, than about audience’s receptivity,’’ adds Balki.

The male-female equation stands to get rather skewed in this entire quest for the real. In the words of Salzman: “What’s intriguing is that part of M-ness is man’s recognition that he needs a woman. This realisation comes, ironically, during the Era of Female Independence. Women are increasingly less likely to feel the same about men. And that’s changing everything about the rules of the game.”