I just met the harder version of me. And I like him.
Peter Milne may lack the macho building chromosome, but he’s been inspired to pick up the hammer again by Home Timber and Hardware’s latest TVC campaign.
Building stuff. It’s what men do. At least, it’s what men who know how to swing a chisel, own a power drill and rarely – if ever – hit their thumb when hammering do.
Instructions? Bah! Whether putting together Ikea furniture or setting up a new AV system, real men build on instinct.
My dad calls me ‘Lightning’ with a hammer; I never strike the same place twice. And deep down, in that dark place nobody ever sees, that makes me feel less of a man. Because real men know how to build stuff.
I’m not alone. Thousands of guys all over Australia are equally as defective. We lack the building chromosome.
So when I saw the first ad in the campaign for Home Timber and Hardware, featuring a guy just like me confronted by the harder version of himself, it hit a nerve.
It was funny. Spot on. And memorable.
Best of all, the other ads are just as funny. It’s the same gag over and over, but the nuances are enough to make them all very watchable. Especially the differences in facial hair.
This campaign is a great example of a strategy that is actually based on a genuine (and usable) consumer insight. It opens up the hardware market to all those men like me, who actually could build something if only we had the confidence to give it a crack. Hey, how hard can it be?
Here’s a place that understands that men like me will happily spend cash on hardware if we’re given a little reassurance, advice and confidence that our manly endeavours won’t be a total disaster. Just don’t laugh at my pergola, okay?
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