Mandom
By Mr. Moderator on Mar 6, 2009
Why bring back the following series of clips? To ensure we never forget the true essence of Mandom. That's why.
This post initially appeared 4/30/07.
This pretty much sums up my life. Maybe your's too. Mad props to would-be Townsman Jay for pointing this out.
UPDATED!
Follow up:
HVB has notified us of 3 more Mandom ads available for viewing. He notes:
YouTube has a bunch of new Mandom ads which go even further to help us all understand the Mandom concept. My lousy Japanese was still competent enough to translate the Mandom slogan at the tail end of most of these. This slogan also helps explain this critically important concept. The slogan, "Otoko no sekai ni, Mandom ga aru" translates into: "In a man's world, there is Mandom." Exactly!
Check these out:
Go fish!
Fireside smoke!
Ride 'em cowboy!
Paul Weller's favorite!
Working for the weekend!
For fathers and sons!
39 comments
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
Chickenfrank, I know this will resonate with you.
04/30/07 @ 23:51
Comment from: shawnkilroy [Member] 
HOLY SHIT!
If you've got the time...Santori time
If you've got the time...Santori time
05/01/07 @ 07:21
Comment from: hrrundivbakshi [Member]
This brings back memories! When I was a wee, wee lad in Japan back in the 70s, Charles Bronson was HUGE. He had somehow become *the* epitome -- the personification, I guess -- of masculinity; of "Mandom," if you will. At ski camp, we had a counselor who was so infatuated with the guy that he sported the same 'do, same 'stache, and probably sported Mandom, come to think of it. Anyhow, his name was Mr. Yamanaka or something, but he *insisted* we call him by his one-word nom-de-mandom: "Bronson." Which in a Japanese accent sounds something like "Boo-rohn-sohn."
This usage of manly white dudes in ads persists to this day, by the way. Another image from my childhood, however: my 6' 3", red-haired, bearded aikido teacher, who was hired to star in a commercial for "Black Nikka" whiskey because of his Aikido master imperviousness to cold. They had him stripped to the waist, sitting cross-legged in a snowbank, making a fist with one hand and holding a tumbler of Black Nikka in the other. He might have watered it down in manly fashion with a handful of snow, too; I don't quite remember. What I do remember is that his "lines" consisted of laughing a long, hearty laugh for about 15 seconds -- as if mocking the elements -- then taking a swig, showing his manly pearly whites through that manly red beard, and saying "Ahhhh! Black Nikka!"
This usage of manly white dudes in ads persists to this day, by the way. Another image from my childhood, however: my 6' 3", red-haired, bearded aikido teacher, who was hired to star in a commercial for "Black Nikka" whiskey because of his Aikido master imperviousness to cold. They had him stripped to the waist, sitting cross-legged in a snowbank, making a fist with one hand and holding a tumbler of Black Nikka in the other. He might have watered it down in manly fashion with a handful of snow, too; I don't quite remember. What I do remember is that his "lines" consisted of laughing a long, hearty laugh for about 15 seconds -- as if mocking the elements -- then taking a swig, showing his manly pearly whites through that manly red beard, and saying "Ahhhh! Black Nikka!"
05/01/07 @ 07:54
Comment from: chickenfrank [Member]
That ad should be awarded 20 retroactive Cleo awards for the greatest ad of all time! My favorite aspects: Bronson's cavalier "chuck" of his shirt in the air when he gets home, and just the copious volume of the stuff he pours all over himself. It's either a very weak scent, or he's got a lot of manhood to cover up. Mandom: it sounds like such a bizarre mistranslated word, but there is no mistaking its power.
05/01/07 @ 09:07
Comment from: hrrundivbakshi [Member]
I'd like to propose a new entry in the RTH glossary. Surely there are plenty of artists who make "mandom" a core component of their rock existence. For starters, I can think of:
Frank Sinatra
Lemmy
Mick Avory
The O'Jays
... an interesting bunch!
Frank Sinatra
Lemmy
Mick Avory
The O'Jays
... an interesting bunch!
05/01/07 @ 09:15
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
I second your Glossary term suggestion, Hrrrundi! Would you like to nominate yourself to write it based on this clip? Let me know.
Would early Neil Diamond (ie, pre-combover and spangled jumpsuits) be another artist for whom Mandom is a core component? We were at some friends' cookout a couple of weeks ago and they were playing The Early Years collection, which I'm a big fan of but had not spun in a few years. With each song I felt more ready to take on the world.
Would early Neil Diamond (ie, pre-combover and spangled jumpsuits) be another artist for whom Mandom is a core component? We were at some friends' cookout a couple of weeks ago and they were playing The Early Years collection, which I'm a big fan of but had not spun in a few years. With each song I felt more ready to take on the world.
05/01/07 @ 09:32
Comment from: Rick Massimo [Member]
Did anyone involved in the making of this commercial say, "Um, don't you think he should, at some point, actually attract some chicks with this stuff?"
Mandom: The fragrance for guys who go home alone. Use copiously.
Mandom: The fragrance for guys who go home alone. Use copiously.
05/01/07 @ 09:34
Comment from: BigSteve [Member]
He apparently doesn't need chicks. My favorite part is with about :57 remaining where he masturbates himself using only his manly jaw, while images of .. um ... shooting his gun go through his mind. It seems like the doorman was actually needling him by telling him to 'sleep tight.' All the world loves a self-lover....
05/01/07 @ 10:35
Comment from: Rick Massimo [Member]
I was thinking that when he gave the polite response to the doorman (MICKEY FREAKING ROONEY!), there was an undercurrent of "yeah, I'll let you think I'm going home." But that's exactly what happened.
05/01/07 @ 10:52
Comment from: mockcarr [Member]
That's not Mickey Rooney, he was off getting another wife. Mandom is what you put on AFTER you struck out at a lame piano bar.
The only explanation I can draw from this commercial is that this stuff makes gunpowder residue disappear.
The only explanation I can draw from this commercial is that this stuff makes gunpowder residue disappear.
05/01/07 @ 11:37
Comment from: hrrundivbakshi [Member]
Mockcarr, as usual, that is the funniest thing I've read on here in ages.
Mr. Mod, I'll gladly write a "Mandom" glossary entry. I'm getting my brother to translate the Japanese tag at the end, which I hope will provide some color to my definnition of "mandom" in Rock. (BTW, I totally agree with your suggestion that pre-jumpsuit Neil Diamond reeked of Mandom.)
Come on, guys (and gals, if you dare) -- which other artists exude the not-so-subtle whiff of Mandom?
It's a subtle thing, I think -- David Lee Roth doesn't wear the stuff, but drummer Alex Van Halen is Mandom all the way. Keith Richards wears a lot of Mandom, I think. As does Lou Rawls.
Mr. Mod, I'll gladly write a "Mandom" glossary entry. I'm getting my brother to translate the Japanese tag at the end, which I hope will provide some color to my definnition of "mandom" in Rock. (BTW, I totally agree with your suggestion that pre-jumpsuit Neil Diamond reeked of Mandom.)
Come on, guys (and gals, if you dare) -- which other artists exude the not-so-subtle whiff of Mandom?
It's a subtle thing, I think -- David Lee Roth doesn't wear the stuff, but drummer Alex Van Halen is Mandom all the way. Keith Richards wears a lot of Mandom, I think. As does Lou Rawls.
05/01/07 @ 11:44
Comment from: mwall [Member]
Just a question: are we sure that this is a real commercial?
No one wears more Mandom than Phil Lynott.
No one wears more Mandom than Phil Lynott.
05/01/07 @ 12:02
Comment from: sammymaudlin [Member]
David Lee Roth doesn't wear the stuff
Definitely not, but he might be one of the sources that they excrete the key ingredient from.
05/01/07 @ 13:38
Comment from: chickenfrank [Member]
I wonder if an aspect of Mandom is a an unambiguous, non-ironic embrace of one's Mandomness. You're so sure of and in love with your own manhood that you're oblivious to the fact that your manliness is ripe for parody. George Clooney and David Lee Roth don't embody Mandom because they've always maintained a sly wink about their own appeal. Steve McQueen while never being ironic about his manhood seemed too cool to invite parody. I offer 3 Mandom candidates; HESTON, The Nuge, and Kirk Douglas.
I also tend to imagine the best avatars of Mandom must either have a beautiful mane of hair, or some interesting use of facial hair.
I also tend to imagine the best avatars of Mandom must either have a beautiful mane of hair, or some interesting use of facial hair.
05/01/07 @ 13:55
Comment from: Oats [Member]
Can't remember if I ever mentioned this before, but I have long wished to write (or commission) a song about Richard Burton that contained the line "He's the thinking man's man's man." Maybe the title of the song could be "Mandom."
05/01/07 @ 14:46
Comment from: hrrundivbakshi [Member]
I think a key ingredient in Mandom is the artist's willingness -- need, even -- to trade on *extreme* manliness as part of the artist's whole, uh, "package."
05/01/07 @ 15:17
Comment from: sally_cinnamon [Member]
I hereby enter the following into the Hallowed Halls of Mandom:
* Eric Burdon (clearly not a member of Mensa, but a Mandom candidate down to his mafioso pinkie ring - I'm sure he has a stylist doing his hair before big shows)
* Glen Campbell (Mandom right down to his arrest photo)
* Bo Diddley (yep.)
and my pièce de Mandom rèsistance:
Mr. T-Bone Walker (drink in hand AND a turtleneck for chrissakes! I can hear the bullets raining down now pa-pow!pow!pow!pow!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfNbLNp5kcE
* Eric Burdon (clearly not a member of Mensa, but a Mandom candidate down to his mafioso pinkie ring - I'm sure he has a stylist doing his hair before big shows)
* Glen Campbell (Mandom right down to his arrest photo)
* Bo Diddley (yep.)
and my pièce de Mandom rèsistance:
Mr. T-Bone Walker (drink in hand AND a turtleneck for chrissakes! I can hear the bullets raining down now pa-pow!pow!pow!pow!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfNbLNp5kcE
05/01/07 @ 16:55
Comment from: sally_cinnamon [Member]
My alternates are Jack Bruce and Bob Seger. Am I off-track here?
05/01/07 @ 16:57
Comment from: hrrundivbakshi [Member]
Sally C: that T-Bone Walker clip is indeed the perfect storm of Mandom. Great find! I'm with you on Jack Bruce as well, and I think Bo Diddley, Eric Burdon and Glen Campbell have been known to occasionally douse themselves with the forbidden scent.
But I gotta disagree with you on RTH patron saint of mediocrity Bob Seger. I just don't think the guy trades on masculinity as his ace in the hole, when-everything-else-fails-I-can-at-least-do-this schtick. I actually think the Seeg's fall-back thang is a kind of "Beautiful Loser" sensitivity. Let's not confuse everyman-ism with Mandom. They may both have the word "Man" in them, but the two terms are not at all alike. One comforts and heals, while the other is always coiled and ready to strike, like a testosterone cobra.
But I gotta disagree with you on RTH patron saint of mediocrity Bob Seger. I just don't think the guy trades on masculinity as his ace in the hole, when-everything-else-fails-I-can-at-least-do-this schtick. I actually think the Seeg's fall-back thang is a kind of "Beautiful Loser" sensitivity. Let's not confuse everyman-ism with Mandom. They may both have the word "Man" in them, but the two terms are not at all alike. One comforts and heals, while the other is always coiled and ready to strike, like a testosterone cobra.
05/01/07 @ 17:30
Comment from: sally_cinnamon [Member]
"One comforts and heals, while the other is always coiled and ready to strike, like a testosterone cobra."
If I was drinking some kind of beverage, I do believe that it would have ended up on my keyboard...! Thanks Hrrundi;)
By the by, I'll concede on The 'Seeg. Sometimes that line is just grayed when it comes to the every man and the Mandom man - especially when he's belting out numbers in skin-tight jeans and a full beard and long-hair with his fist raised in the air.
If I was drinking some kind of beverage, I do believe that it would have ended up on my keyboard...! Thanks Hrrundi;)
By the by, I'll concede on The 'Seeg. Sometimes that line is just grayed when it comes to the every man and the Mandom man - especially when he's belting out numbers in skin-tight jeans and a full beard and long-hair with his fist raised in the air.
05/01/07 @ 18:33
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
Great call on the underappreciated Mandomness of Jack Bruce! Although the early Burdon aspired to Mandom, he gladly (and some would say wisely) traded it in for some wizard's funk.
That HESTON, Nuge, Kirk Douglas triumverate was impressive!
That HESTON, Nuge, Kirk Douglas triumverate was impressive!
05/01/07 @ 19:32
Comment from: sammymaudlin [Member]
BTW- That's not Mickey Rooney. It's Percy Helton, who is often confused for Sterling Halloway (voice of Winnie the Pooh) as they have similar voices. Percy was all over 70s television and according to Wikipedia was in both Jailhouse Rock and Head.
He often played wimpering Mandomless characaters.
He often played wimpering Mandomless characaters.
05/01/07 @ 21:04
Comment from: sammymaudlin [Member]
Is Mandom in the same geographical or psychographical region as Marlboro Country?
05/01/07 @ 21:06
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
Re: Mandom's Glossary entry
Does this post and the fine commentary that's accompanied it do the trick? If not, Townsman Hrrundi, I'll be sure to link to it in your official entry. Carry on on all fronts!
Does this post and the fine commentary that's accompanied it do the trick? If not, Townsman Hrrundi, I'll be sure to link to it in your official entry. Carry on on all fronts!
05/01/07 @ 21:54
Comment from: hrrundivbakshi [Member]
For the record, my brother translated the voiceover at the end of the spot, thusly:
And what is love...
What is courage...
What is gentleness?
When you ask what a man ought to be, it's there in that distinctive, permeating scent.
Where manliness is to be found... that's MANDOM.
And what is love...
What is courage...
What is gentleness?
When you ask what a man ought to be, it's there in that distinctive, permeating scent.
Where manliness is to be found... that's MANDOM.
05/02/07 @ 06:20
Comment from: Rick Massimo [Member]
Six more commercials, full frontal male cast-iron nudity and still no visual evidence that women (or other men, for that matter) actually like this scent.
Who the hell puts on cologne when they get HOME from the club? Or camping?
All of which is my way of saying: Totally awesome! Thanks.
Who the hell puts on cologne when they get HOME from the club? Or camping?
All of which is my way of saying: Totally awesome! Thanks.
03/17/08 @ 15:57
Comment from: Rick Massimo [Member]
P.S.: Tell me the second line of that song is "All the girls in every landom." Because that would be even awesomer. I don't know why I didn't notice it before; probably busy figuring out (incorrectly) whether the doorman was Mickey Rooney.
03/17/08 @ 16:01
Comment from: hrrundivbakshi [Member]
I believe you heard that second line correctly, Rick!
03/17/08 @ 16:41
Comment from: Mr. Moderator [Member]
HVB, you are commended for eternity for pointing us in the direction of these other Mandom clips. We need to get our hands on a bottle of this stuff and send it around the country, so that each Townsperson can shower him- or herself with its scent.
03/17/08 @ 17:04
Comment from: hrrundivbakshi [Member]
I suspect women would melt, wicked-witch-of-the-west-style, if they doused themselves with Mandom's essence.
03/17/08 @ 17:07
Comment from: chickenfrank [Member]
What is going on with that campaign? The naked men, missing women, and spending a day in the country with his boy-toy. I get the feeling the scent of Mandom may be of a man's ass.
03/18/08 @ 20:57
Comment from: hrrundivbakshi [Member]
Here are a couple of classic Japanese spots for G&G whiskey, starring an obviously drunk Orson Welles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Repiw3064i4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNDfGlCgBKU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Repiw3064i4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNDfGlCgBKU&feature=related
03/06/09 @ 11:38
Comment from: bobbybittman [Member]
Well, he had to do SO many takes, because the director, IN THE DEPTHS OF HIS IGNORANCE, wasn't feeding Mr. Welles what he felt were grammatically correct lines, which would fall trippingly off the tongue. Plus, he was a bitter, gluttonous, alcoholic by this time. Good stuff.
03/06/09 @ 12:05
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