He didn’t go out of his way to find famous people out and about, but my husband was amazingly good at celebrity spotting. One of his early finds was Sy Sperling, whose famous ad claimed “I’m not only the president of Hair Club for Men, I’m also a client.”
We saw Sy while eating out at the late lamented Magic Pan creperie in Newbury Street somewhere in the 1980’s when the ads were fresh, new and ubiquitous. (And my husband already a couldn’t-care-less bald guy. A very cute one, I might add.)
While some women do experience baldness, it’s mostly a male issue, and I’m all for them having their own club. Not that there’s anything wrong with being bald. In fact, as the daughter, widow, and sister (times 2) of bald men, I’m rather fond of bald. Not to mention that some of my best friends are bald. (Yes, I’m talkin’ about you, Sean.)
But I understand the many men are bothered when their scalp starts showing big time, and I’m happy there are products, services, and clubs that cater to them.
I can also see why men going through divorce might want to work with an attorney who specializes in working with men. The issues are often different than they are for women, especially when it comes to custody. So I get the appeal.
In this, I agree with lawyer/pundit/writer/twitter guy Elie Mystal, who had a recent article on Above The Law (where he’s an editor) that focused on a law practice in Virginia that does guy law, and bills itself as “The Firm For Men”. He’s not an advocate for such firms, mind you. Just that he gets it, as do I.
But where Elie parts company with ‘sure, fine, have at it’ is the ads which are, well, pretty freaking extreme. (You can find them on the home page banner, if you’re so inclined.)
Like the one that shows a black and white video of a naked woman getting into the shower. The voice over asks the question “Has She Gone Psycho?” If she has, well, who ya gonna call? Why, The Firm for Men.
Now, maybe their advertising firm has forgotten that a woman was stabbed to death in the black and white movie Psycho, and they’re just using a woman getting into a shower (in a black and white video) because. Ah, nope.
Given that spousal abuse is a pretty serious issue (and, yes, sometimes it’s a woman doing the abusing, and sometimes it’s occurring in a gay couple), the Psycho trope is a pretty terrible card to play.
(And lest we forget: Norman Bates turned into a psycho-killer because of his dear old mom, Norma Bates….Just another woman gone psycho, I guess.)
Another ad shows a honey in a gilded hard hat, swinging a gilded pickax (when she’s not hanging onto a gilded shovel), picking dollar bills out of the thin air she’s standing in. If you, Mr. Man, want to “Stop the Gold Diggers Today”, you need to call The Firm for Men. (“She can dig her own gold. You worked too hard for yours.”)
Something tells me that type of men who would be attracted to The Firm for Men aren’t the type of men that gold diggers glom on to. But maybe they do a subspecialty in sugar daddies.
Then there’s the positioning on their web site:
…[we] work consistently to level the playing field so that men’s rights aren’t infringed upon through draconian and biased interpretation and implementation of the law.
That’s because the law has a “soft spot” for women; the system gives them “the upper hand” (when, as we well know, psycho women get a flashing blade repeatedly jammed into their upper torso; and gold diggers, well, they no doubt deserve the back of the hand, not the upper hand).
The overall vibe of the site is a bit bro-ish, and a bit Trumpy – there’s a version of the U.S. flag embedded in their logo. And their point of view seems a tad bit straight-white-male as endangered species.
Anyway, distinguishing your firm by focusing on a niche may be good marketing. So, bravo. And if men want to deal with lawyers that specialize in family issues from a male perspective, go for it.
But there’s something undeniably creepy and sleazy about these guys. There really is a way to get your story across without showing the naked woman – who, by the way, doesn’t look in the least psycho – in the shower. The Firm for Men somehow decided not to go that route.
Consider me bleched out by all this.
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If I were a British barrister, I would be doffing my wig to my sister Trish for sending this one my way. (And to Elie Mystal who is always worth a read and a listen.)
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