In 2006, Harvard professor Harvey C Mansfield penned Manliness (2006), and cited that society's attempt to create a gender-neutral society has had an effect of stripping men of their boldness, and that a revolt may be on hand.
This would lead to the ‘menaissance' - the resurrection of bone fide masculinity where manliness is deeply rooted in values such as stoicism, strength of character, assertiveness, and decisiveness. Men also have confidence to take risks and when appropriate, be true gentlemen, Mansfield said.
Illustrating the receptiveness of male audiences in East and West African markets to the menaissance on a marketing front, the virtues of masculinity were the creative thrust in Guinness' “There's a drop of Greatness in every man” campaign, conceived by Saatchi and Saatchi.
“The menaissance in Africa seems to be more rooted on intellectual masculinity, and is based on virtues of courage, perseverance, loyalty and inventiveness,” comments Graham Cruikshanks, Saatchi deputy MD. “For African males, it's also about strength from within and male camaraderie or actions of other males that inspire.”
The first execution was a TV commercial entitled “Sky”, where a man achieves greatness through the pursuit of his dream, his strength of character and his perseverance of becoming a pilot.
The commercial was recently voted as one of Nigeria's favorite broadcast advertisements, and copy lines from the commercial have been assimilated into the Nigerian bar-call lexicon.
Patrons will ask for an “Udeme”, the name of the character in the commercial, when ordering a Guinness, and rally behind the catch-phrase, “Let the beer see the sky,” when opening a bottle of Guinness.
The second piece of communication developed against this strategy was launched to coincide with the African Nations Cup, and delves into the spirit of men's competitive nature.
Two opposing soccer sides are forced to team up to retrieve their ball, which inadvertently gets kicked into the back of a passing Guinness truck. Rivalry turns to camaraderie as the two teams find greatness through their ability to set aside their differences in pursuit of a common goal.
Prior to the ‘Drop of Greatness' campaign, Saatchi and Saatchi increased sales volumes by 50% in some African markets between 1998 and 2004, through the creation of an aspirational, African, action hero, known as Michael Power.
Saatchi breathed life into Power, and introduced him to beer consumers through a series of innovative five-minute long TV commercial episodes. He was a dashing, charismatic man of action. He would foil the baddies, save the day and drink the Guinness. A veritable James Bond of the African continent and the people of Africa loved him.
Power appeared on billboards, in bars, in the local newspapers and at events. His popularity was so significant that Guinness was able to create a full-length feature film with Michael Power as the lead character.
Concludes Young of Saatchi, “Theories into a possible ‘menaissance' is no longer in the gathering pace stages, but already in full throttle, with African male audiences biting, or in this case, drinking”.
NOTES - Visuals are still photography from the Guinness TV Commercial Sky, where a man pursues greatness by following his dream of becoming a pilot and who then uses it serve his community by delivering urgent medical supplies to a village, and then enjoys a beer. The advertisement tapes into masculine virtues such as courage, perseverance, loyalty and inventiveness, and become an instant hit with male consumers in Africa so much that copy lines from the commercial have been assimilated in to bar-call lexicon.
