Marketing: Get your hands off my man cave

Ranging from a tiny spare room decked out with games machines to a vast basement of metal work tool memorabilia, man caves are the personal spaces us guys retreat to be away from women and all things girly.

They are not a marketing opportunity, but try telling that to the people behind ManCave, a new range of beauty products for the man who is “at one with his natural environment”.

“Looking at the core needs of the male consumer” (borage oil and shea butter apparently), ManCave has launched with a product range including ManCave Moisturiser, FaceWash, Caffeine Shampoo, ShowerGel and Deodorant. Not only is this kind of gender-based marketing lazy and patronising, it also makes the products sounds weirdly unappealing. “Ooh, Dave, your ManCave is looking parched. You need some ManCave Moisturiser to plump it up.”