When we talk about models, lately, it’s a tricky subject. Some guys want to see the traditional models, and then some guys want to see real guys in undies. And there is room for everyone in the world of underwear. Having worked on the blog for 12 years, I can see the issue from brands and consumers. This is my take on models in the Underwear industry.
Traditional Models
Brands use traditional models in their posts because they have a brand image they want to convey. It could be athletic, muscular, more realistic, or even plus-sized guys (saying plus in the world of modeling). Granted, very few of us reading this will ever be like the model in the underwear picture. We want to feel sexy and confident in our underwear. If it looks that great on him than it will look awesome on me. And to be fair, pictures do sell underwear. A hot picture will increase the sales of a pair over a pair without a hot pic. I have seen this time and time again. Brands are in the business to make money, and they do what will sell undies.
Real Guys – Non-Traditional Models.
I like many of you want to see more real guys in undies. This includes all shapes, sizes, and colors. I will give it to many brands starting to do more real guys, and those should be applauded, like Yocisco. They recently had a beefy guy star in some of their pics. I think many brands are hesitant because of backlash from people online. Before you start going off on me, just wait. We have experienced this first hand. When we first started doing our UNB shoots, we used more real guys. Not all of them had abs; some were thin, some were a little bigger (for models). I was super proud of these shoots. However, when we posted them on social media, get got comments like “These aren’t models,” “Where did you find these guys” “If this is what you consider models, I’m unfollowing.”
Yes, guys said those things and more over the years. It sucks when we invest our time and money into a shoot to get this feedback. If you want to see real guys, like, comment, share, and buy. When you do buy, tell them you bought because of the real guy or non-traditional models.
I personally think we need a mix of real and traditional models. We are a diverse group of guys, gay, straight and bi, looking for different things in undies. As the industry grows more into the straight market, we will see marketing evolve even more. This is a quick post I threw together, and I would love you guys to share your feedback.
