The case for and against brands changing how they market to men after recent election results

That could mean embracing the “manosphere” podcast creators credited, in part, with delivering younger male voters to Trump — or incorporating messaging that references “conservative” values into their ad creative. But depicting all young men as broad-shouldered stoics or Hulkamaniacs could be a wrong turn, according to research published by Kantar in November, after the election. 

Its researchers found that male consumers report seeing fewer progressive portrayals of men in ads than traditional — and that Generation Z and millennial U.S. men were almost twice as likely as older men to report negative feelings about the way they were depicted. Just under a third (31%) of LGBTQ+ men reported the same.

Both the election result, and Kantar’s research, suggest there’s a gap between what marketers think young men want, and their actual desires. But which signal should marketers trying to mend that gap listen to?

Let’s dig in.

The case for heeding the election result

Advertising deals in aspirations. What better indicator of someone’s aspirations for the future than the way they vote in a historic, crossroads election?

Trump enjoyed a 14% lead among men aged 18-29, compared with Kamala Harris’ 18-point lead among women in the same age bracket. That result followed a quieter, but similar wave at the U.K. general election, when 17% of men voted for Nigel Farage’s Reform party, versus 12% of women, according to YouGov; among voters under the age of 30, Reform edged the center-right Tories.

Brands would be smart to pay attention to those trends, said Matt McCain, co-founder of creative shop Little Hands of Stone. “You’ll just get dismissed if you ignore that people are feeling the way they feel,” he said.

Walmart has already acted. Following a report by the Wall Street Journal it confirmed it was set to wind down a DE&I scheme and restrict the sale of some LGBTQ+ focused products such as binders, retreating last week in the face of criticism from conservative activist Robby Starbuck. The retailer is the largest company yet to pull back from DE&I efforts, amid a broader retreat among corporations prompted in part by Starbuck’s lobbying.

According to McCain, brand marketers that previously stepped away from traditional stereotypes did so perhaps too readily. Young male consumers, he said, are “feeling they’ve been meant to feel ashamed for being masculine and expressing strength.”

Just consider the reaction to Jaguar’s category-defying rebrand campaign, for example. The automaker’s work “[threw] out its brand codes,” said Douglas Brundage, founder and CEO of brand studio Kingsland. In return, it’s been pilloried.

Still, taking a cue from the election doesn’t necessarily mean brands must make an about-face turn toward creative heavy on male “bravado.” There’s room for nuance.

Grooming brand Gillette’s recent U.K. campaign work by PG One and Saatchi & Saatchi, for example, is far removed from the fighter pilot-starring ads it used to run. The spot shows a diverse range of men navigating mundane moments and big life events, from first dates to wedding days, and includes English soccer player and broadcaster Ian Wright — a figure now almost as famous for his openness around mental health issues as for his time playing for Arsenal.

Rob Baiocco, chief creative officer at agency The BAM Connection, suggested inclusive marketing could be set traditional masculinity alongside more modern ideal, rather than setting it aside entirely.

Oil-stained breadwinners and gentle-parenting stay-at-home dads can fit into the same ensemble. “There are many types of masculinity. Accept them all,” he advised.

The case against heeding the election result

While young men clearly helped push Trump across the threshold, his election was also propelled by an anti-incumbency trend that unseated Britain’s ruling Conservative party over the summer.

So, instead of potentially misreading a complicated election, marketers might be better off paying attention to research, such as Kantar’s, that shows male consumers are often unhappy with the way they’re depicted in ads.

Věra Šídlová, global creative thought leadership director at Kantar and the author of its November study on male perspectives on advertising, told Digiday that: “Historically many brands have, I think it’s fair to say, resorted to very monolithic portrayals of what men should act or be like.”

That hasn’t evolved quickly enough for modern men, she said. “Young men are struggling with finding their identity in today’s day and age,” added Šídlová. 

It’s important to remember that the demographic isn’t a single bloc, said Jed Hallam, co-founder of Common Interest-owned culture shop CultureLab.

While manosphere podcasters might be putting “ultra-conservative” values into circulation, large numbers of men instead value role models willing to be “unflinchingly honest about mental health issues, about the importance of inclusivity,” he said.

With that in mind, some marketers are determined to continue forging ahead with inclusive marketing strategies. Verizon, for example, began sponsoring Trans History Week this year and has committed to doing so again in 2025, “so that that initiative can properly cement itself as a moment in the calendar,” added Xavier White, head of EMEA social purpose at the telco.

Marketers would be mistaken to focus too closely on political choices made yesterday, said Fernando Desouches, managing director of agency BBD Perfect Storm’s “New Macho” division. The unit, launched in 2018, has worked with Dove Men+Care for the past five years. “We need to design the future. We don’t need to mimic the present,” he added.

Instead, they should continue to think critically about portraying the kinds of men consumers and voters might want to become tomorrow. 

“Show them that they can be the better protector, the better provider, the better procreator,” he said. “Stop trying to reflect what men are today, help them to go where they want to go.”