Marketers Aim to Man-Up Men

Dec. 2, 2008 — -- It's not just women who buy products that promise to tuck, tighten and conceal their guts, butts and blemishes.

Men have become the latest targets of marketers eager to sell merchandise that purports to improve and enhance everything from their abs to their skin to the shine of their hair.

"The men's market is an untapped market with huge growth potential," said Daniel Billett, the men's fashion and grooming expert at About.com.

"All of these companies are popping out of nowhere and targeting men," said Billett. "The pressure has shifted from women to men to look like they belong on a magazine cover."

An Australian company known as Equmen plans to release their "Core Precision Undershirt" in 2009. According to their Web site, the shirt is equipped with engineered compression technology that "energizes the body with essential structure and support."

One British journalist referred to the shirts as a male version of Spanx -- the popular women's control-top pantyhose made famous for their ability to suck in and hide even the pudgiest women. Similarly, the Equmen appears to accentuate its owners' abdominal region.

But marketers don't want to stop at the abs.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, Unilever, the company that makes Axe body sprays for men, is launching a hair care line that pledges to give men "girl-approved hair."

The man vanity craze is even spreading globally -- bras made for cross-dressing men are flying off the shelves in Japan.

The Japanese lingerie store known as Wishroom had sold over 300 men's bras for approximately $30 each as of Nov. 21, according to Reuters. The bras -- or bros, as they were called on the hit sitcom "Seinfeld" -- can be worn discreetly underneath clothes, according to the report.

But as strange as these products may seem at first glance, fashion experts say that with men becoming increasingly conscious of their appearance, it was only a matter of time before clothing makers caught on to an untapped source of revenue.