Hat Advertising

[Michael Carter]

Why aren't hat manufacturers advertising? Nothing on TV, radio, or in print. I haven't seen a hat advertisement since I was about five.

I'm sure hat manufacturers want hats to catch on again as a normal clothing item for men, and I'm sure they would like to increase the bottom line, but yet I still see nothing.

The characters from the television show 'Mad Men' have advertised unrelated products on television. How much of a stretch would it be for Stetson, Biltmore, Dobbs, or anyone else to hire their services to promote hats for the masses?

Even Sam Waterston wears a hat on Law & Order and he hawks for T.D. Waterhouse as a side gig from L&O. He'd be a great spokesman for any hat company.

So what's with hat manufacturers not advertising? How do they expect to increase sales and make the hat an everyday item again without it?

 

[tonyb]

I don't have an answer, MC, and even if I did, it would be worth about as much as it cost you.

It's not that hats aren't advertised at all. You see ads in certain print publications (David Morgan, for instance, advertises that they carry hats) and catalogs for certain other retailers feature lids. But I get your general point. You just don't see the hat manufacturers buying space in the "general interest" media. I'm assuming they figure it isn't worth the expense, that an ad for Stetson, say, isn't going to prompt a guy who has never once in his life bought a fedora to go out and get a new Stetson.

I could see the manufacturers of Western style hats buying ad space at rodeos and livestock shows and such, and in publications catering to that audience. Indeed, you do see such advertising.

 

[danofarlington]

I don't have an answer, MC, and even if I did, it would be worth about as much as it cost you.

It's not that hats aren't advertised at all. You see ads in certain print publications (David Morgan, for instance, advertises that they carry hats) and catalogs for certain other retailers feature lids. But I get your general point. You just don't see the hat manufacturers buying space in the "general interest" media. I'm assuming they figure it isn't worth the expense, that an ad for Stetson, say, isn't going to prompt a guy who has never once in his life bought a fedora to go out and get a new Stetson.

I could see the manufacturers of Western style hats buying ad space at rodeos and livestock shows and such, and in publications catering to that audience. Indeed, you do see such advertising.

I think it's like potential hat-wearers out there, they are waiting for a critical mass to form before they jump aboard the bandwagon. They are wondering whether there will be a bandwagon. They'll believe it when they see it, is my impression.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

As a recovering Ad Guy, I'd say it's just that the incredibly high investment associated with paying top talent and producing a quality spot -- and the broadcast media flighting itself - - would mean they'd have to sell about six hundred thousand top end hats to break even.

Really. Little, local cable productions can be shot and edited for hundreds or a couple thou' (and you can truly SEE the savings). But it is very common for a :30 spot at the national level to cost a quarter million or so just to make.

 

[Michael Carter]

I guess only the largest manufacturers could afford a national spot. But what about print? Surely that can't be as expensive as television.

You know the old saying...'you have to spend money to make money'. Making money though is not where I'm going with this. Although I can see that if they get little to no return on their investment, we won't be seeing anything on TV or in print.

 

[scottyrocks]

So much of what is advertised today is not stuff we're told we need. Its stuff we're told we want. Men dont want hats, especially high-$$ ones that cant be stuffed down the sleeve of a jacket when having nowhere to put them when theyre out to dinner. And wont want them even of theyre told they need them.

 

[BanjoMerlin]

Advertising today isn't so much about attempting to create a demand for a product as attempting to create a preference for a brand.

If a man isn't going to buy a hat it really doesn't matter whether he doesn't buy a Stetson or he doesn't buy a Borsalino.

Lacking something like the Urban Cowboy craze we won't see much hat advertising in the general media.

 

[Michael Carter]

I guess 'Mad Men' isn't cutting it.

 

[BanjoMerlin]

I guess 'Mad Men' isn't cutting it.

3 million viewers isn't going to do it.

 

[danofarlington]

if a man isn't going to buy a hat it really doesn't matter whether he doesn't buy a stetson or he doesn't buy a borsalino.

Ha!

 

[dwebber18]

I think its sort of a self fulfilling prophecy. I know that where I live you can not walk in to a store and try on a hat, except for a packable wool stetson at Dillard's in 1 style and 2 colors, but you have to stumble upon them in the store. What I'm trying to say is that if they did advertise, they still wouldn't really sell any more hats because you can't just go and pick one up, or try them on. It would take a good deal of effort on the part of the consumer to find a hat they like, and would turn many people off who are just casually interested. Now if Stetson, had a store in my town and then ran a commercial, they would probably see some traffic. But no one is going to hear a commercial and then go online and pick a hat based on no experience with hats. Its like saying hey, you need this motorcycle, but you have to get online and order it because no one sells them near you and we'll send it to you but you don't get to test ride it, and we know you've never ridden before; so have fun. No one would sell anything that people have little or no experience with without the consumer being able to get some experience with the product first. I didn't order my first felt fedora until I got back from NYC where I made it a point to try on a good number of hats and get a feel for what I liked. Until then I wasn't willing to drop the cash for something I had no experience with, but that's just me.

 

[azhiker]

I agree about not having a way to try on a hat first. i went throught the same feelings when I bought my first Fedora several months ago. I actually found what I 'thought' I wanted, then took a road trip to Chicago to Hats-Plus to find out, that was not really what I wanted. Of course I had my lovely wife helping me try on hats, so I do have an excuse. And in the end, I left with a nice Black Biltmore Ark, which I love and am wearing today at work. I then found I have a very good hatter locally here in Detroit, (Henry the Hatter) and have purchased a nice brown Biltmore from them, and am currently having a western hat converted by them.

I do believe it's going to be hard to get effective advertising unless you are DP, or Stetson, etc.

 

[-Ariel-]

Need a thread about vintage men hat commercial photo.

 

[scottyrocks]

Although I do buy hats online, I find it difficult because I am the type of person who, when shopping, will try on more than one of the exact item I am looking for to find the one that is juuust right. This is especially true of hats and shoes.

If hats were sold the way shoes are, in multiple stores, I would probably be very happy. But hats are not necessary in the way that shoes, or even most clothing, are. We're not all about to be walking around barefoot, or naked, all day.

 

[Frunobulax]

Need a thread about vintage men hat commercial photo.

There are already several. Try Mallory MADness, or Nothing but Stetson Ads.


Sent directly from my mind to yours.

 

[johnnycanuck]

I have seen a few Akubra advertisements in recent years but noting note worthy.

Maybe we should make our own. Show off our photo editing skills and make our own Hat advertisements we would like to see in print. New slogans, catch phrases and all.

Johnny

 

[Mustang Mike's Hats]

Oddly, the only "hat" ad I've seen lately is for the Resistol RideSafe Helmets. (Not REALLY a hat, is it??)



I sure as heck ain't wearing that one in a public space, unless it's in an arena... on a fairly green horse!! LOL!!

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Oddly, the only "hat" ad I've seen lately is for the Resistol RideSafe Helmets. (Not REALLY a hat, is it??)

I sure as heck ain't wearing that one in a public space, unless it's in an arena... on a fairly green horse!! LOL!!

It's a protective rig you put on your own hat.
At least it was how I understood it's use, since I've never seen one.

 

[Mustang Mike's Hats]

It's a protective rig you put on your own hat.
At least it was how I understood it's use, since I've never seen one.

Actually Joao, it's an entire hat! Just talked to a rider wearing one today. Darnedest thing you ever saw...

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Actually Joao, it's an entire hat! Just talked to a rider wearing one today. Darnedest thing you ever saw...

The first advertise I've seen on this, was a rig you could put on your hat, not a "complete" hat/helmet. Maybe they changed something.