Absolutely nothing to do with recruitment but I love this marketing campaign (although it was so unusual it took me a while to ascertain if it were a real company!). This is the press release I got from Socked.co.uk’s “Gentleman Creation Officer”:
Holy Sock! Most men’s socks are over three years old
Shocking state of Britain’s footwear is “a national disgrace” majority of partners turned-off by unsexy socks
A survey by Socked.co.uk finds that nine out of ten women are turned off by the state of their partner’s socks. The figures show that a huge majority of men are wearing socks that are more than three years old, will rarely – if ever – go shopping to replace them.
Worse, three-quarters of men admit to wearing odd socks when their tired old footwear has let them down, and have failed to act when others have commented on their appearance.
“It’s a national disgrace,” said Mark Hall, Gentleman Creation Officer and Managing Director of Socked.co.uk, the sock subscription service. “The true gentleman should have standards, but we’re letting ourselves down with footwear that should be classed as little more than toxic waste.
“According to our figures, wives, partners and girlfriends have noticed this dreadful state of affairs,” Hall said, “and a massive majority have told us that holy socks are a turn-off. Strangely, our questions show that many women still wear their partner’s socks, so there is some shared responsibility on this issue.”
“Judging from our research, we’ve got a lot of work to do if we’re going to turn the men of this country into proper gentlemen.”
An inexpensive subscription from socked.co.uk will go some way to ending this state of affairs.
Socked.co.uk asked men:
Has anyone ever commented on the state of your distressed socks?
Nearly three-quarters of (73%) men said “Yes”
How often do you replace your socks?
When I’m bought new ones as a gift: 64%
I never replace them:14 %
When they have one hole or more: 19%
When they become faded: 3%
Do you ever wear socks that are more than three years old?
More that four-fifths (82%) said that they do
Do you have to resort to wearing odd socks at least once a week?
Three-quarters of those replying say they do wear odd socks in public
Does your partner borrow your socks?
Yes: 85%, No: 15%
How often to do shop for new clothes?
While half of men shop for clothes at least once every three months, socks appear to be the lowest priority purchase.
Four percent of men can’t even remember the last time they went clothes shopping, clad, we presume, only in what they receive for birthdays and Christmas. We exist to help these poor unfortunates.
Socked.co.uk asked women for their opinions:
Does your partner ever wear worn-out socks?
Five-sixths (83%) said, yes, their partners are guilty of this fashion faux pas
Does it bother you that your partner wears shameful socks?
Yes, 78% are ashamed of their partner’s worn-out footwear
Do you find worn out socks a turn-off?
The killer blow for men’s libido. 89% of women we asked are turned off by holy socks
Do you think it’s your responsibility to buy socks for your partner?
Astonishingly, despite being the household sock-finder (88% of women buy socks as a gift), only one-fifth of women (19%) feel they should be buying socks for their male partners
Do you ever wear your partner’s socks?
Yes: 86%, No: 14%
Gentlemen, partners: Help is at hand. Our research shows that 88% of both men and women buy socks as a gift. There is no better time to invest in a socked.co.uk subscription for a loved one to banish holy socks forever.
Socked.co.uk is the sock subscription service that delivers fresh socks to your door on a monthly basis ,starting from just £19 a year. No longer will you have to wear shameful socks, odd socks, or be left sockless when one goes missing. Partners will no longer be put off by unsexy feet.
[…] She obviously never read this blog post in which I pointed out that socks had “absolutely nothing to do with recruitment” (yes I really did write about socks once […]