# Red Heads in Advertising **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 18, 2010, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393 "2010-01-18T03:46:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/21 "2010-01-21T03:02:57Z")
> [@n2sobr](#): > > Dear Cecil: > > I have always had a special place in my heart for red heads. Gosh, I even married one. > However, lately I have observed a rather growing trend of using red headed women in > TV commercials as well as in magazines and other media advertising. While I am fully > enthralled with this preponderance of ravin _[sic-Leo Bloom]_ haired beauties, is there a special reason for > this phenomenon ?? šŸ˜ƒ My wife, a flaming redhead (although redhead red hair turns slightly blonde, but not gray, as the lovely possessor ages), pointed that out exactly as you put it, dating from about 6 years ago. Her take on it was that people think of them as somewhat innocent and trustworthy. I myself can think of no reason, but I too notice it now always. I do notice that female redheads are members of a secret society, and will nod to each other and give a furtive smile of recognition to each other when they pass on the street. At least my wife does. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/22 "2010-01-21T03:10:57Z")
> [@figure9](#): > > If redheads are so attractive/rear/photogenic, why are there so few MALE redheads in advertising? I have a theory on that one. Mascara. Regular female makeup easily mitigates the pink mouse look that invisible eyelashes give a person. Redheaded men are often kind of funny-looking. That said, Iā€™m a total sucker for 'em. > [@Chris\_Luongo](#): > > ā€“Red-haired actors solve the problem: They offend almost no one, are not politically or racially polarizing, but also attract attention. I seem to offend people quite regularly. But Iā€™m not an actor, though I do play one on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/23 "2010-01-21T03:31:13Z")
I [brought up a related question](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=340927) in this forum back in 2005: > [@Kimstu](#): > > Apparently only about 4% of the entire human population has the red-hair gene, which furthermore is recessive, so the characteristic might entirely die out of the human race in the foreseeable future. What Iā€™m saying is, redheads are naturally very rare. > > So why did it ever become common practice to include a redhead along with one blonde and one brunette in a trio of female entertainers, models, actresses, or what have you? The Andrews Sisters had a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead. The ā€œCharlieā€™s Angelsā€ remake had a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead (and apparently even the producers of the original series initially wanted the standard BBR configuration). > > The PowerPuff Girls are BBR. Nancy Drew and her two sidekicks are BBR, or became so at some point. Hell, the 1639 painting ā€œThe Three Gracesā€ by Rubens shows a trio that are arguably BBR. > > How did this particular aesthetic trope get started? What famous work(s) launched the convention of including this very rare hair color in one member of any stereotypical group of three lovely women, to balance out a conventional brunette and a conventional blonde? > > (Iā€™ve tried to look this up, but googling on ā€œtrio blonde brunette redheadā€ brings up a whole lot of stuff unrelated to my particular question.) IIRC we never did succeed in pinning down the artistic-or-advertising-media origins of the standard blonde-brunette-redhead trio, although **Mister Rik** (and **Exapno** in this thread) may have a good point about the influence of color photography. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/24 "2010-01-21T04:33:18Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I take it youā€™re in the UK? I donā€™t think thereā€™s been a ā€œbeat up the redheadā€ mentality in the US during my lifetime, and red hair (at least, on a woman) has been considered sexy here at least since the 50s. U.S. Guessing you forgot about the incident last November in Calabasas, California. Iā€™d post a link, but, duh, I donā€™t know how. It was called ā€œkick a ginger dayā€. They seem to believe the event was actually precipitated by the old South Park episode. And red hair on women as sexy is totally subjective. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/25 "2010-01-21T04:41:16Z")
> [@hellpaso](#): > > Iā€™d post a link, but, duh, I donā€™t know how. Just cut and paste the URL into the post. If you leave spaces before and after, the system automatically converts it into a clickable link. You donā€™t need the http:// for this. To make a word clickable use [noparse] word[/noparse] [the quotes are required] You do need the http:// for this version. When you hit the quote button, the formating is displayed, so you can always copy from that and paste in a new URL. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/26 "2010-01-21T05:31:50Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Too much hennaed Lucy, probably. If you are referring to Lucille Ball, her natural hair color was ā€œ[mousy brown](http://www.lucy-desi.com/info/faq.html).ā€ > [@figure9](#): > > If redheads are so attractive/rear/photogenic, why are there so few MALE redheads in advertising? [Does this face have an air of credibility](http://blog.rifftrax.com/wp-content/photos/Donny_Most.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/27 "2010-01-21T06:04:29Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > If you are referring to Lucille Ball, her natural hair color was ā€œ[mousy brown](http://www.lucy-desi.com/info/faq.html).ā€ Which is why everybody knew her with the red hair dyed with henna. Why would she want to look like Ethel? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/28 "2010-01-21T06:31:37Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Which is why everybody knew her with the red hair dyed with henna. Why would she want to look like Ethel? I donā€™t think Lucy had any concerns that Ethel would upstage her, in character, or in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/29 "2010-01-22T00:01:41Z")
Not 100% on topic, but today, Mythbusters is [filming](http://twitter.com/donttrythis/status/8045153276) an episode about redheads and pain threshold. I saw the ā€œcastingā€ call and got a friend of mine in. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/30 "2010-01-22T02:43:33Z")
The use of black and white film obscured the fact that the wig that Harpo Marx wore was bright red. The three character types of the Marx Brothers descended from the vaudeville standard trio of a Jew, an Irishman, and an Italian. I donā€™t know why the red-headed Irishman was the zany in the tradition. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/31 "2010-01-22T02:58:33Z")
Iā€™ve never understood the fascination with redheads. With the exception of Felicia Day, I find red hair entirely unattractive. Blonde too. I am really drawn to dark hair. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/32 "2010-01-22T03:37:39Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Iā€™ve never understood the fascination with redheads. With the exception of Felicia Day, I find red hair entirely unattractive. Blonde too. I am really drawn to dark hair. Please do not ask about your horrifying, disgusting, debilitating, loathsome, nauseating, revolting, repulsive, and repugnant medical conditions in GQ. Seek qualified help. Even Qadgop the Mercutan would run screaming from you. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/33 "2010-01-22T04:01:04Z")
> [@](#): > > And red hair on women as sexy is totally subjective. If you mean that different people have different standards of sexiness, then absolutely. But if you surveyed a large number of men as to whether they find red hair sexy, I suspect you would find a majority in agreement that it is. So in that sense, yes, red hair on women is objectively sexy. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/34 "2010-01-22T06:33:50Z")
> [@figure9](#): > > If redheads are so attractive/rear/photogenic, why are there so few MALE redheads in advertising? Because Iā€™ll bet the first male redhead most Americans could name off the tops of their heads is Archie Andrews šŸ˜ƒ > [@Kimstu](#): > > I [brought up a related question](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=340927) in this forum back in 2005: > > IIRC we never did succeed in pinning down the artistic-or-advertising-media origins of the standard blonde-brunette-redhead trio, although **Mister Rik** (and **Exapno** in this thread) may have a good point about the influence of color photography. This gave me a WTF?! moment - I saw my name bolded here before I saw that you were referring to an older thread, and Iā€™m all, "Wait, I havenā€™t even replied to this thread yet! šŸ˜› > [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > Not 100% on topic, but today, Mythbusters is [filming](http://twitter.com/donttrythis/status/8045153276) an episode about redheads and pain threshold. I saw the ā€œcastingā€ call and got a friend of mine in. I remember reading about the pain threshold thing a while back, and it occurred to me then that redheaded submissives/bottoms do seem to be extremely rare in BDSM/spanking porn. ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/35 "2010-01-22T07:37:04Z")
I fondly recall Angie Everhart in Pantene commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/36 "2010-01-22T10:52:13Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Because Iā€™ll bet the first male redhead most Americans could name off the tops of their heads is Archie Andrews šŸ˜ƒ > > \ My first few thoughts would be Richie Cunningham, Ralph Malph and Conan Oā€™ ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/37 "2010-01-22T13:46:05Z")
Something no one has brought up yet: Iā€™ve been a ā€˜redheadā€™ for the past 25 years (since I was 23); in the winter, I go for a lighter auburn, in the summer, a deeper one. My skin is pale, and my natural coloring is _very_ ā€˜Irishā€™. Iā€™m actually half-Irish, half-German, but I _definitely_ look Irish. So the red looks completely natural, and I like it (and it covers the gray!) Without the hair dye, my hair is a very nondescript brown, with lots of gray at the roots (not pretty gray, either; battleship gray). Anyway, one time when I went to my regular salon to have my hair-color done, my hairdresser opined that _red_ is the _one_ color that, in her humble opinion, _any_ woman could pull off; she just needed to choose the right _shade_ of red. You couldnā€™t say that about blond or brunette necessarily. But _anyone_ can look good as a redhead. At least that was what she said. Personally, Iā€™ve gotten _tons_ of compliments on my hair color, mostly including comments about how nice it is to see a ā€˜natural redheadā€™. šŸ˜‰ My skin coloring fools them every time. Ironically, my mother almost had a seizure the first time I dyed my hair red. She said ā€œI always prayed to God Iā€™d never have a red-headed child, and look what youā€™ve done!!!ā€ šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/38 "2010-01-22T16:37:39Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > I have a theory on that one. Mascara. Regular female makeup easily mitigates the pink mouse look that invisible eyelashes give a person. Redheaded men are often kind of funny-looking. I am a red-headed male and my eyelashes are quite dark, as are my eyebrows. That isnā€™t true for my sister who has to augment hers. BTW, who is the redhead in the progressive commercials? The only one I can think of is the overly perky brunette (who is 10,000 kinds of hot, but that is another story). I just want to warn everyone that there is a special level of Hell for anyone who participates in Kick a Ginger Day. Rob ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/39 "2010-01-22T16:47:01Z")
> [@sweeteviljesus](#): > > I just want to warn everyone that there is a special level of Hell for anyone who participates in Kick a Ginger Day. :eek: Wait a minuteā€”you mean itā€™s actually called ā€œ **Kick** ā€ A Ginger Day??? ā€¦ [back from googling] :eek: OMG, it really is; I must have mis-heard. Oh dear, that guy is probably never going to figure out why Iā€¦ :eek: :o oh well, at least he didnā€™t seem to mind. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393/40 "2010-01-22T17:35:03Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Because Iā€™ll bet the first male redhead most Americans could name off the tops of their heads is Archie Andrews šŸ˜ƒ At one time, Red used to be a common nickname in sports, Red Schoendienst, Red Auerbach, Red Grange, Red Barber. My WAG is that this was a holdover from the time when the immigrant groups who were most likely to have red hair - Irish, Germans - hadnā€™t yet fully made it out of the lower class where sports was seen as a good route up. Thatā€™s less true today. And Dennis Rodman doesnā€™t count. The last macho Red I remember was the father on That 70ā€™s Show and he barely had hair and what we saw was no longer obviously red. The problem with the male image of reds is that they tend to have very pale skin. That milky white skin tone is still an acceptable image for females, even in the age of tanning, but on males it tends to look unmacho, as Conan Oā€™Brien always jokes. Tanning isnā€™t much of an option for true gingers. As redhead Woody Allen used to joke, I donā€™t tan, I stroke." > [@](#): > > I remember reading about the pain threshold thing a while back, and it occurred to me then that redheaded submissives/bottoms do seem to be extremely rare in BDSM/spanking porn. Audrey Hollander. Wait, who said that? Must be malware on my computer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-heads-in-advertising/525393.md?page=1)