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While America’s been responsible for some of this year’s weirdest fitness trends and Australia’s led the way when it comes to food or drinks, Europe has been responsible for the most memorable style trends of 2020.
Lewis Hamilton and Conor McGregor reviving the ‘Canadian tuxedo’; Richard Biedul and Harry Styles redefining masculinity when it comes to men’s fashion; Johannes Huebl singlehandedly proving that a pandemic’s no excuse to dress poorly… They might be struggling with The Bat Kiss right now, but Europe’s not struggling to come up with the goods.
Speaking of COVID, many men have taken advantage of our current socially-distanced circumstances to experiment with different haircuts. Europeans once again led the way in the ‘do department, with celebrities like David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo providing follicular inspiration in spades.
But it’s not the Brits or the Portuguese who are kickstarting the next men’s grooming trend: instead, it’s those crazy Swedes, who just as the year is coming to an end have decided to one-up all the other bizarre trends of 2020 with a real doozy.
NORDDDB, the Scandinavian arm of global advertising firm DDB, has come up with a particularly unique ad campaign for McDonald’s Sweden, which celebrates what they’ve rebranded as “the Golden M”: huge 90s bangs. They’ve even opened a virtual barbershop to help you style the cut, as well as released a ‘Golden M Detector’ app that will give you a voucher for a Big Mac if it detects that you’re rocking the hairstyle.
“DIY hairstyling has become a necessity in the pandemic… people can book virtual consultations with influencer hairstylist Adam Lukacs at the pop-up “Golden M” barbershop in Stockholm, which opened this past weekend, to style the ultimate Golden M cut,” AdAge reports.
“(People took part in the session from home after booking via a website, but Lukacs worked from the actual shop and people could see him at work when they walked past.) The virtual salon was fully booked within two hours of the launch.”
It’s a very clever ad campaign, capitalising on our nostalgia for the 90s. If you didn’t associate Leonardo DiCaprio bangs with McDonald’s previously, you will now: it’s effectively retroactive subliminal advertising, now that they’ve planted that thought. But we’re not so sure about the haircut. Are we laughing with the Swedes, or at them?
RELATED: Decoding The ‘Skullet’, This Century’s Most Controversial Men’s Haircut
90s revivalism has been one of the most persistent style trends of the last five years, with ugly shoes, bold colours and a deep sense of irony blurring the lines between good and bad taste. This haircut stunt is a good example of this: 90s bangs are so uncool that they’ve become cool, like cargo pants or white socks with dark shoes.
Of course, confidence is half the battle… But it’s worth it for a free burger, right?
