The Brief Effect

THE BRIEF EFFECT

Antonio Ebron Jr

There are not many sights more provocative than a pair of briefs. Not the new ones crisply pack in plastic, but a pair in use, doing what it does best.

Perhaps this is one good reason why, despite being able to trace back to the Renaissance and to antiquity the nude male body as a sex object, many lens men still prefer photographing men in their underwear or skimpy- best, even if not for sales pitch purposes. Although, of course, it was commercial photography Ð'- upon whose immediate impact was created by the valuable art photography of the audacious Robert Mapplethorpe Ð'- that gave birth in the Ð''80s to the idea of using scantily-clad, young, handsome, and muscled men to advertise anything from underwear to cosmetics, to toothpaste, to liquor. These youthful and beautiful men had invaded the world's most famous designers, as such noted photographers as Richard Avedon, paired them with top female models. Soon every man wanted to look bigger and have smoother skin, be -supplemented and pumped up- the likes that would even make the best athletes of yesteryears look wimpy in comparison. Talk about nature imitating art! (Butch Francisco, Brief Encounters, August 2000).

This is the foreword of the coffee table book released by Bench on August, 2000. Dedicated to their underwear campaign, this book contains 203 duotone photographs (black and white) of various male models wearing nothing but underwear. That was only the beginning, and soon enough, on succeeding years, they have launched several campaigns having models in their underwear to promote the whole brand itself. I shall say, they have gone too far in promoting the brand, stripping a celebrity, or perhaps, entertaining the eyes of the public.

Many companies are now utilizing advertising campaigns with the use of half naked men through billboards, magazines and big fashion events. Bench is noted for several events like Understatement, Bench Fever, Be Bench Model Search; each is considered to be a major event, utilizing every medium like print, massive billboards, television ads, and internet advertising. Many people are also waiting for the annual Mossimo Bikini Summit, and unlike the usual beauty pageant; this event presents the contestants only on their skimpy swimwear. The event produced several noted celebrities; among them are Brent Javier, Carlo Maceda, Jordan Hererra and Aj Dee to name a few. If FHM has their annual 100 sexiest women and targets men and people interested for women; its little sister, The Cosmopolitan Magazine also spearheads the same big event, the Cosmopolitan Bachelor Bash. This gives the viewers a chance to see famous male celebrities and models at their sexiest condition, wearing trunks or briefs, very short pants, or even stripping off their clothes.

If men are not interested for these events, or they never attended any of these, magazines will never be exempted for their ads. Let's take FHM as an example, being a magazine designed to target straight men, it contains ads of Bench Body models, Jockey and other companies for their underwear campaign. Well, those are underwear companies, and how else should we market underwear but by presenting models to wear it. Their eyes will never miss these ads.

These ads are seen everywhere, even when they're driving, be it on EDSA, Guadalupe, the haven of billboards, Magallanes, in the malls or almost anywhere in Metro Manila. In promoting ads in billboards, half naked men are being placed not only to promote clothing and underwear; but for slimming products as well, such as the ad of Dr Vicki Bello presenting Doug Kramer as one of her models.

These companies that spearheads fashion shows, utilizes billboards and print ads promoting the brand