Branding Masculinity: Tracing the Cultural Foundations of Brand Meaning (Routledge Interpretive Marketing Research) by Hirschman Elizabeth C

Author:Hirschman, Elizabeth C. [Hirschman, Elizabeth C.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781317386056
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2016-01-21T16:00:00+00:00

Source: Brode, Darren. Digital Image. Shutterstock. 12 Jan 2015. Web. 03 Sept. 2015.

Along the way, the F-150 evolved from a rural utility vehicle to a flashy, air-conditioned, Dolby-stereo-system–equipped, chrome-laden behemoth with heated leather seats, weighing in at 1.5 tons and generating 300+ horsepower with a V8 engine. The rural ‘workhorse’ had become a showy stallion.

As Mueller writes, (2008, p. 116), “Image consciousness gained prominence during the Sixties … [There was] a growing preference for the trendy Styleside body … Even more style and flair became available in 1965 by way of the new Ranger package … According to Ford this option was ‘designed to appeal to the luxury and sports minded light truck operator.’” Mag wheel covers were drawn from the popular entry of the muscle car era of the 1960s and 1970s (as we shall see in detail when discussion turns to the Ford Mustang). The masculine meaning of the pickup truck, especially in its full-size, fully tricked-out version, evolved from workhorse to show horse. Power, engine size, height and hauling capacity became ways of demonstrating one’s masculine presence to others on the road. A Ford brochure from 2004 for the F-150 declares that the new model was meant to “communicate a tough visual strength with boldness and honesty” (Mueller 2008, p. 143).

In a match likely made in a venue other than Heaven (Hell, most likely), the ultimate macho mating took place—the Harley-Davidson Ford F-150 was born bearing the Harley-Davidson winged logo with a midnight-black interior and exterior finish, 20-inch, five-spoke chromed wheels and a ‘power plant’ capable of generating 340 horsepower.

Motor Trend magazine said of the 2003 model, “The Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson Edition sets a high standard for tough-truck styling and backs that up with 340 supercharged horsepower. The result is a pickup with catapult-like thrust and Lincoln-grade appointments.” The H-D edition carried forward through the next decade and extended to the larger size F-250 and F-350 pickup offerings. Clearly, the concept of masculinity the Ford-Harley truck embodies has morphed into a statement of power and prestige, in addition to the danger and utility implied by the earlier Harley motorcycles and F-series Ford pickups, respectively. The irony here is that the enormous, costly and exquisitely appointed H-D-F model pickup has lost its ability both to work in the dirty, dusty, gravel-road environment from which its pickup ancestors came and to provide the no-cares, no-responsibility, repair-it-on-the-side-of-the-road freedom the Harley cycles represented.

Howard Zehr (2013) conducted interviews with several pickup owners in the Southeastern United States. Most of them drive Fords, but some have Chevy Silverados and Dodge Rams. Excerpts from these interviews are given in what follows to illustrate the split between the pickup-as-workhorse and the pickup-as-show-horse theme introduced earlier.

My white truck is a 2000 Ford F-250 Super Duty with a nine-inch lift kit and a V10 motor. There are blue neon lights that light up the whole underneath and the whole inside wheel area is red. And it has a boomin’, boomin’ stereo system.

(Kelly Randolph, Virginia)

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