Video Killed the Football Star
2014 was undoubtedly the year of the vlogger with YouTube sensations like Zoella and Tanya Burr releasing sell out books and cosmetics lines, snapped up by their many millions of subscribers.
However, it’s not just teenage girls who are surfing the web and looking to internet stars for style and grooming advice. Research by Fudge Professional, to celebrate their hair sponsorship of London Collections: Men, have discovered that men (not just teens) are increasingly turning to YouTube lifestyle gurus for inspiration.
For many generations famous sports stars have inspired the fashion and grooming choices of boys and men of all ages. With David Beckham and his ever-changing hair having inspired millions of trips to the barbers over his illustrious career (and having recently been voted as best hair for 2014), nobody can deny the ‘Becks Effect’. The new research by Fudge Professional however shows that only nine per cent of men now look to footballers for hairstyling inspiration.
Whilst Hollywood actors still provide the biggest source of inspiration for men’s hair (with 14 per cent of the vote), a huge one in ten men now cites blogs and vlogs as their go-to place for inspiration when deciding what to ask for in the barber’s chair. Footballers now lag behind the vloggers with nine per cent of the votes. Notable men’s lifestyle vloggers like Jim Chapman, Robin James (The Utter Gutter) and Andy Samuels regularly rack up hundreds of thousands of views on every video they post.
And it’s not just teenagers who are watching the videos; Fudge Professional’s research shows that despite under 24s being the biggest consumers of these videos (17 per cent of men under 24 cited vloggers and bloggers as their main source of style inspiration), 12 per cent of 25-34 year olds agreed and eight per cent of over 35s.
Male grooming expert and vlogger (www.julesheptonstall.com) Jules Heptonstall comments,
Long gone are the days of watching the match and following it with a mo-hawk bleach. Now the web offers an emporium of video tutorials in how to get your desired ‘do’ and get sartorially slicked from the comfort of your own bedroom – THE DREAM. From pomades to pastes, combs to quiffs – you name it, YouTube it, watch it, style it. As a blogger and YouTuber I’m constantly changing my hair, restyling it and testing products because my viewers demand it – I take my inspiration from street style, celebrity and fashion and in turn my how-to is fed to my viewers. It’s a totally new way of grooming education.
Fudge Professional creative director John Vial says,
It’s always great when a blogger or vlogger genuinely likes and reviews our products – the influence they have over their captive audience is staggering and their recommendation means so much. As a brand, we can’t ignore that there is a shift in buying behaviours of our consumers. It’s great to see our favourite YouTubers who we have been working with and supporting since the beginning blossom.
Men’s style inspirations:
- Actors (14%)
- Bloggers/vloggers (10%)
- Footballers (9%)
- Friends (9%)
- Family (7%)
- Colleagues (6%)
- Singers (6%)
- Models (5%)
- Sports stars (4%)