Are Bad Boys Regaining Their Cachet On Madison Avenue?

The "bad boys are back on Madison Avenue," according to Michael McCarthy of USA TODAY, who writes, "Swaggering, loud-mouthed, sometimes obnoxious personalities are making a comeback as endorsement stars in the $250[B] ad industry." Euro RSCG's Marian Salzman: "It's trendy again to be obnoxious." McCarthy notes that in the latest example of the trend, Heineken has signed John McEnroe to a two-year endorsement deal "that ranges from TV ads to T-shirts." A spot set to debut during next month's U.S. Open shows McEnroe "having a nightmare and moaning, 'It can't be out!' and 'How can it be out?'" During his nightmare, McEnroe is at a bar where the Heineken tap runs out, and he says, "It's not fair. ... You can't be serious." Heineken USA Dir of Marketing Ken Kunze said McEnroe "has a great personality. People are more drawn to him now than when he was younger. ... John is opinionated. But he has a hipness that 24-year-olds respect." McCarthy notes other examples of the trend included Minute Maid and Bobby Knight, as well as Reebok and Allen Iverson. Salzman added that the "bad boy trend is part of a cultural shift of male consumers aggressively 'pushing back' against female control over an estimated" 70-80% of consumer purchases. Salzman: "We're seeing a big movement away from the soft, sensitive male. This is part of the backlash against the women's movement. And it's been in the making for 25 years" (USA TODAY, 7/24).