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Beer Belly Briefcase

12/1/2017

34 Comments

 
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by David Hagenbuch, founder of Mindful Marketing & author of Honorable Influence

Wondering what to get for that guy on your holiday shopping list who doesn’t need anything?  How about buying him some belly fat?  I’m not talking about a giant box of chocolates or gift cards for his favorite fast food—they would take too long.  There’s a much quicker way to give him the perfect paunch.

As the newest edition to the series ‘I can’t believe somebody would make that,’ British art designer Albert Pukies has created a fanny pack called the “Dadbag” that looks exactly like a middle-aged man’s beer belly.  It even has hair.
 
What’s the point of these paunches?  In terms of functionality, Pukies says they’re a great place to store “typical dad items, like beer, medicine, a sandwich, wallet, sunglasses, keys.”  That’s right, a beer belly that can hold a couple cans of Budweiser, literally.

While the Dadbag is outwardly a practical product, Pukies purpose in creating it was apparently more about image.  He claims he was “desperate to have a dad bod” but didn’t want to assume the associated health risks.  What’s a “dad bod?”  The designer says it’s a term a college student coined a few years ago in describing coeds going crazy over guys with “a nice balance between a beer gut and working out.”

Pukies admits that the Dadbag is “a pretty silly product,” which he originally had no intent to mass produce; however, given the interest the fanny pack has found, he’s decided to explore production partnerships with the idea of retailing the Dadbag for about $30.

If offered, there would be different versions of the bag, as Pukies has prototyped six separate styles featuring a range of skin tones and quantities of belly hair--qualities that caused one potential user to praise the product’s inclusivity.  The designer has also demonstrated his marketing savvy by giving each style a distinct name: the Allen, the Derek, the Magnus, the Bobby, the Sherman, and even the sunburned Wolfgang.

So, what should we make of the Dadbag?  Obviously, it’s an item to be taken with a grain of salt, not with complete seriousness—Some products are meant to be fun.  However, at $30 a pop, it’s not like buying a whoopee cushion, dribble glass, or some other cheap gag gift.  Besides the significant cash outlay, there are other factors that just make the Dadbag wrong :    

1.  Looks Disgusting:  Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I bet most initial reactions to the Dadbag are a similar “Gross!”  Such repulsiveness wouldn’t matter as much were it not for the facts that fanny packs are typically used in public and the hairy belly looks extremely real.  So, wearing a Dadbag is like actual inappropriate exposure (e.g., a visible but crack) that no one should have to see.

2.  Impractical:  I suppose there are still some individuals who buy fanny packs, but it seems that most people prefer other means of carrying their valuables, e.g., pockets, purses, backpacks, etc.  Plus, putting a couple of beer cans inside the Dadbag would make for a pretty heavy paunch.  All that to say that producing Dadbags is probably not the best use of materials and time, i.e., it’s bad stewardship.

3.  Denigrating Dads:  As described above, the pack is objectionable for other reasons, but the fact that it’s called the Dadbag makes the offense even worse.  Dads have taken exceptional abuse over recent years, including in advertising.   They don’t need any more unflattering stereotypes.  Yes, I’m a dad, so maybe I’m overly critical, but can you imagine a firm offering a similar product called a “Mombag”?  The backlash would be brutal, and rightly so.  Dads’ bodies deserve the same respect.

4.  In Poor Taste:  The Dadbag not only unfairly ridicules fathers, it also makes fun of something else that should be taken very seriously:  fat.  Many nations, like the United States, battle obesity epidemics that add billions of dollars to healthcare and cost millions of individuals their lives.  What makes matters worse is that some other countries can’t get enough food, as many of their citizens live and die undernourished.  In sum, belly fat is no laughing matter.

If there’s one potential virtue of the Dadbag, it’s that probably no one will try to steal anything from it.  Beyond that benefit, the novelty fanny pack is interesting to talk about but unlikely to achieve significant demand.  With that prediction and the pack’s associated social issues, the Dadbag is an unfortunate example of “Mindless Marketing.”


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34 Comments
Austin Bright
12/2/2017 01:33:12 pm

I have to agree with the rating of "mindless". This product does not create any stakeholder value. At a high price of $30, there are so many other options for carrying "dad things" that would be significantly cheaper and possibly perform better. As for upholding societal values, this product is only fueling stereotypes against dads and poking humor on the widespread issue of obesity. The humor may be appealing to some teenagers and young adults, but the comical aspect of the product will only self itself for a short amount time.

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Noah Cable
12/7/2017 11:24:27 am

I mostly see this product as a "gag" gift. I wouldn't think that this product should be taken seriously. I can see this as something that a college student would buy for another college student as a joke or to wear around campus to be funny. I don't ever see this product making any more popularity than simply that. I do agree its mindless because I do not think that it will sell very well and it also pokes fun at dad's bodies in general. However, I do think that this is a funny product and would definitely laugh if I ever saw someone wearing one.

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David M.
12/3/2017 08:37:56 pm

Hagenbuch gets it right again.... ;)

The value of this type of product cannot be much, and the demand will be even less. It is a specialty item that could be bought as a joke, or on a whim. To say that it upholds social values is a dubious proposition at best. The marketing for the product encourages the stereotypes very commonly seen used against dads, and makes light on issues like obesity and weight problems. Therefore, the product, and its marketing, lacks both social value and stakeholder value, making it mindless. I think that Dr. Hagenbuch gets it right here.

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Brian Doron
12/5/2017 09:56:47 am

I definitely agree with Hagenbuch's overall analysis of the Dad-Bag as being mindless. This product is right on the line between a funny niche product and just an offensive unethical disaster. The idea in and of itself is very humorous, but when applied to the actual product it can be taken as offensive by anyone who is a dad. The use of this product is also a mindless issue as the purpose of discretely stashing alcohol and other products will no doubt lead to people using the Dad-Bag to sneak alcohol into places where it is prohibited. Also, a $30 price for a product most likely to be used by high school and college students as a gag type product is pretty high. If they want to create stakeholder value I would suggest making a much cheaper version more in the price range of $10-$15 to appeal to their intended target market.

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Alexander J Ransil
12/5/2017 11:46:44 am

I actually disagree with this mindfulness rating. Is this product and ad grotest? Of course is it. I Agree that is does degrade dads and overweight people, but the point of this product is to not be taken seriously. This is, for all intent and purposes a gag gift. Therefore, I do not feel like this product is mindless, because it is meant to be a harmless "White Elephant" type gift. Thris product and it's ad aren't mindless. However, people who gift this item for the purpose to hurt or offend are mindless. A firm should not be blamed for how a consumer misused their product.

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Brooks R.
12/5/2017 07:35:31 pm

I fully agree with this product as being mindless. It is popularizing a much more unhealthy lifestyle that many in this country are fighting against, and losing. For the stakeholders, the price seems pretty high for a product that is probably valued a lot lower than the price. With the price a bit higher, the demand will probably go down, if it hasn't already. I believe it's a lose-lose situation for this product.

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Lexie Ometz
12/5/2017 08:03:22 pm

I do agree that this product is mindless, especially in the way that it is portrayed. The fact that it shows an offensive stereotype towards what "dads bodies" look like is only the first problem. Although some people may find it comical, many more would find it offensive, and fanny packs aren't even bought very often anymore. It is impractical and doesn't match the high standards that society places on products these days. Maybe a product like this would have been accepted and even widely bought in previous eras, but the high amount of social justice that people are striving for simply doesn't match the personality of this product.

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Kennedy O'Shea
12/6/2017 10:18:37 am

While this product is mindless, it is also a joke. There are multitudes of products available today that fall into the category of "niche" products that appeal to very specific markets, and one of those markets is sarcastic college students. It is very obvious that this product is meant to be seen as a humorous nod to a common pop culture phrase, the "Dad Bod." Fanny packs have made a comeback in some younger circles recently, such as young people who regularly attend concert festivals. At least from what I have seen, it is common for people to individualize their fanny packs, sometimes to make them pretty, sometimes to make them funny. The joke "Dadbags" would be popular with this market because it would be something noticeable and the majority of the group would get why it was funny.

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Tyler Kime
12/6/2017 12:02:52 pm

I agree that this product is considered to be a mindless product but I also think there is some humor to go along with it to give it a comical aspect that can be considered mindful to attract some people. Consuming the amount of alcohol that someone would have to consume to actually have a belly of that size is in no way helpful for that persons lifestyle but the comedic aspect of that again can take away some of the negativity involved. As a 20 year old man and maybe soon approaching dad years in the next 5-10 years I do not find it offensive at all and in fact even though overall it is a mindless product in some ways

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Matt Wright
12/6/2017 02:17:43 pm

I agree that this product is "mindless". This product is trying to encourage men to buy this product as a "gag gift" and to not be taken serious. Even though there is some humor in this product, I do not think that this is a well thought-out product. This product is also encouraging men to get beer bellies and overweight. In our society today, many Americans are overweight and this product goes against many Americans goal to lose it. I believe that $30 is very high for this product if they are trying to sell a lot of this product. They need to be less degrading and lower their prices to get people to buy more of them. Even though, this is a funny product, there needs to be a fine line of what should be sold in the market.

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Sunny Gelnovatch
12/6/2017 04:54:12 pm

I agree that this product is considered to be mindless. Even though it is mindless I think there is some humor that goes along with it. Consuming that much alcohol to get a stomach that size is an unhealthy lifestyle, but the humor in that takes away from the negativity. With that being said I do not agree with this product being $30. I think it is possible to make a much cheaper version to appeal to their intended target market.

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Deanna Clemens
12/6/2017 05:14:38 pm

I would agree that this product is very mindless. Besides the fact that it could be humorous to give someone as a gag gift, I think the Dadbag is disturbing and not worth paying for. There's plenty of other things people can spend their money on that could be of better value to them. In addition, I don't think anyone would actually wear this in public. If bought as a gag gift, I think most people would have a laugh and give it to Good Will. Definitely not worth the money. If made for women or any other type of profiling, i think this would create an uproar of protests against this product. This product was created to be a joke, but i think it's taken a bit too far.

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Randy Lohman
12/6/2017 05:10:01 pm

I fully agree with the mindless rating you have. There seems to be no point to this product and will fail to attract attention for the right reasons. For all the reasons you gave it will only further the stereotype of the Dadbod which will ultimately make society worse off.

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Allie Sipes
12/6/2017 05:58:52 pm

I totally agree that the Dadbag is mindless. I get that there are people that still wear fanny packs, but did someone have to design one that looks like a stomach. When I first saw the picture my first reaction was what is going on and then I read the title of the post and then I became disgusted.

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Catherine A.
12/6/2017 07:22:39 pm

I would agree that this product and its marketing is mindless. I think that even though it was meant as a joke or to bring humor to the "dadbod," it is very stereotypical and unnecessary. The company is asking a lot of the consumer to spend $30 on a fanny pack that makes fun of men and their bodies. I'm sure some people would find it humorous, but at the same time it's really just gross. I also agree with the comment above that talks about the fact that if the product had any relation to women, there would be a lot more issues and unhappy people. Overall, it's really just an overpriced product with very little purpose.

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Christian D'Andre
12/6/2017 08:40:20 pm

I agree with this. This product does not have a lot of actual value, nor would anyone with any serious need purchase this product. Perhaps it is because I am not a dad, but I don't find any objection in the stereotype of calling it a "dad-bag" Although, I do understand the argument made. Overall, this is not a good serious product, but it makes a funny gag-gift.

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Joshua Hayner link
12/6/2017 11:34:32 pm

Yes I agree that this product is mindless. It seems like it would only appeal to a very specific audience of people but for most people they would just find it funny. Yes this product isn't very mindful for those dads who care about their looks.

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Derek
12/6/2017 11:38:15 pm

I think that this product is mindless. This product isn’t helpful to people except for small little things for dads, but overall it is not effective. This is very demeaning of dads and the obesity issue we have in there United States. Some dads would find this product funny but others would find this humiliating and discriminatory to the dads that might be overweight. So in conclusion I think that this product is mindless in its effectiveness.

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Emily Koontz
12/7/2017 01:50:04 am

I agree that this product is in poor taste and most definitely mindless. It bothers me that this is what our society seems to be gravitated towards. It's disheartening honestly. We have these platforms on social media and could use them to impact lives and change the ways in which people view things; however, this most certainly is a mindless way to have your voice heard on a social media platform.

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Lila
12/7/2017 08:21:34 am

I understand this is meant to be more of a gag gift, but at $30 each, it cant be worth purchasing a gag gift. I certainly agree that this is mindless marketing. It is offensive to multiple types of people and is something that is not necessary.

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Erika
12/7/2017 08:48:34 am

When I first saw this advertised I thought it was a joke because I do not understand who, in their right mind, would actually purchase a fanny pack that is so disturbing to look at. I agree that it is completely mindless marketing because they advertise it with being the perfect "dad bod" which is offensive to men who are trying to stay in shape. I guess I also do not see a point in it anyways because I am from an area where people aren't afraid to hide their beer, so I understand it's probably meant as a gag gift, but it is a very mindless gag gift.

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Josh Hagwell
12/7/2017 11:12:20 am

At first, I thought this product was a joke, but now I know it's not. I also didn't get who would buy this for $30 no less. Just like others have said, the only purpose for this is for it being a gag gift to be used as something funny. This product totally goes against all the fight for obesity that we have going on in this country by saying it's ok to have a "dadbod" which is the opposite of the fight against obesity. I agree that it's mindless because it makes no sense.

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Juliana Coover
12/7/2017 11:47:58 am

This "Beer Belly Briefcase" blog definitely caught my attention as I was perusing the Mindful Matters Blog webpage, and I think the overall point of this product is to get people’s attention. If you were walking down the street and you saw one of these seemingly realistic “Dadbags” fastened around a man’s waist, you would probably have to do a double-take. I think the majority of young American’s would find this product to be funny, but I can also see people taking offense to it. I know my grandma certainly would not approve. This product and the message it sends can be taken as lightheartedly or as seriously as one wants to take it, but its uniqueness and creativity is something to be praised.

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Pepita Uwineza
12/7/2017 11:54:30 am

The Belly briefcase blog post caught me by surprise to me it looks disturbing I understand why the add was made that way however I would not even look at it if I saw it on my timeline.

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Nicole Hoppe
12/7/2017 12:46:33 pm

I would agree that this mindless. I originally thought it was supposed to be a cheap $5 gag type of gift but looking into it more it seems like it was sold as a more serious $30 gift which simply made no sense to me. Why would anyone by this for their dad or husband? It would be funny at first, but would you actually expect them to wear it? Dads want someone tough and manly to be worn around not something that looks like a cheap gag gift bought for them by his buddies.

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Reagan Lyle
12/7/2017 01:32:47 pm

I agree that the ad is mindless. The picture of the ad is mindless. It should be a gag gift not a serious gift as Nicole said. This would cause a good laugh, an expensive one, but the no one would wear it unless they were drunk which is what the product is portraying.

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Matt Ly
1/29/2018 09:12:55 pm

I would have to agree with this product being mindless. I think that this product is actually pretty funny but on the terms of me buying it, I would have to say no. Even though fanny packs are coming back into the spot light, I dont think anyone wants to be seen walking around with a beer belly fanny pack.

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Nicolas Kane
1/31/2018 02:43:03 am

I agree that this was mindless marketing. As I think the product is very funny, and could be a good gag gift, I do not believe that it would create shareholder value, or increase it. Even though Fannypack‘s are starting to get big again, and especially with college age students and high school students, I do not believe that this will catch on, or last long at all. While I might get one for my dad just for the humor of it, I again agree that is mindless marketing.I also believe that is not within the price range of a gag gift. For $30 you can get something that is much more worth it. Gag gifts should be worth around $5 to $10, not $30

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Gerry Cassel
1/31/2018 03:06:48 am

Although this particular product lacks conventional practicality, it could provide as a source of humor among friends. The Dadbag could be a great selection as a "gag" gift at a white elephant gift exchange. However, apart from simply being a "gag" gift, the Dadbag serves not relevant purpose to consumers. As mentioned by the blog post, the Dadbag lacks aesthetic appeal and is denigrating to those who have a "dad bod." Therefore, this particular marketing strategy is mindless, in that it does not generate stakeholder value and does not uphold societal values.

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Kathan K.
2/1/2018 08:28:18 pm

I do have to agree that this is a mindless product. Although there has been a fad surrounding the whole "dad bod" look with younger men, I think this doesn't really speak to a specific consumer base. It may be practical in some sense and humorous in another, but it is not a niche product that corners a specific market.

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Marc T.
2/1/2018 10:15:48 pm

I enjoyed your article! I had no idea the Belly Briefcase existed. I do agree that the product in question does not uphold societal value due to its insulting nature, but I can see it leaning towards Simple-Mindedness instead of just being Mindless. It seems that there will always be a market for gag gifts despite the fact that the target audience is restricted to adolescents. As you said in the beginning of the article, this item could be an appropriate joke purchase for those who don’t know what to buy their friends, and the number of young adults who could face this scenario seems to be increasing with each passing generation.

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Liu Yang
2/7/2018 07:00:07 pm

British art designer Albert Pukies has created a fanny pack called the “Dadbag” that looks exactly like a middle-aged man’s beer belly. It even has hair. It’s functionality, Customers can put the routine supplies in this bag like beer, medicine, a sandwich, wallet, keys. In addition, it offered different versions of the bags, a range of skin stones and quantities of belly hair. However, I also think this production is ridiculous, and “Mindless marketing”. Though the idea is a novelty, people will think this is disgusting, and not willing to buy it. For the most of customers, they are more willing to buy regular bags instead of it. Even, some customers buy this product, they will not use this product frequently. In main aesthetic, this product is low-taste.

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Aini Song
2/22/2018 08:31:24 pm

I think this product is totally mindless because the “Dadbag” is not worth for people to pay for it. That bad is so ugly, and I can not image that anyone would like to wear it in the real life. There are a lot of other choices in the market, so why people are willing to buy that “Dadbag”. I cannot understand why the designers’ thinking, even though it looks like a joke.

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Garrett Bloemhof
3/11/2018 09:48:12 pm

This product could not be taken seriously by the consumer. The Dadbag can be viewed by the consumer as a joke or gag gift, but at the price listed it is a very expensive joke. The consumer would have to a mindless behavior with money to purchase such a gift. Fanny packs are readily available so many people can have a variety of options to choose from, so why should the consumer purchase this one? This is a great question. As a company they must know that they are producing a product that will mainly be used as a "joke" or for "funny situations" so marketing should consist around the idea of a fun laughable product.

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