Ladbible have rebranded, now think ‘lad culture is a positive force’, are still idiots

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Ladbible have rebranded, now think ‘lad culture is a positive force’, are still idiots

Apparently now they think they’re ‘post hipster’. Oh hun

If you looked at Ladbible’s social media now, you wouldn’t see much of their origins. Nowadays they focus on past-it normie memes and endless fucking viral videos about how cute dogs are that your mum probably shares on her profile. It’s less of a brand, more of a haul of clips. Like a Facebook You’ve Been Framed.

It’s hard to believe they were once the publication which featured “Cleavage Tuesday”, “Bumday Monday” and were accused of using banter to shield jokes which merely contributed to rape culture. That they once published a “commandment” which read “Any female proving hard to bed shall be referred to as a Nobstacle course.” That they regularly referred to women as “wenches”.

If you missed those days though, you might be in luck!

https://twitter.com/ladbible/status/271591863620874242

Ladbible has just undergone a massive rebrand thanks to London design agency UFO. They’ve overhauled their visual identity, but in a “just putting glitter on shit” kind of way, because the design team also says the rebrand is rooted in: “lad culture being a positive force”

“We wanted to create something that was post-hipster,” says UFO, presumably with absolutely no-hint of Portlandia-style irony, “a celebration of design outside of niche.” Here, for instance, look at this lookbook which is in no way incredibly similar to Supreme and a bit like Vetements and definitely totally original.

It’s kind of sweet, in a way, that Ladbible are attempting to evolve. They are making steps in the right direction, but it’s always in this bumbling, heavy-handed way. They can’t just streamline their visual presence without a lunging statement like “you know what boys, fuck it, let’s bring lad culture back”.

It’s the same not-quite-there-clunky-attempt that they have in their mental health efforts. It’s pretty bizarre that in response to young male suicide rates reaching the highest they’ve been since 2001, someone at Ladbible thought “oh my god, wouldn’t it be great to call it U ok m8? Meta! Reclaiming language of men! They talk like this right??? Accessible”.

These days over at Ladbible tower it’s less about wenches and shagging and all about stark lines, bold colours, embracing a mid-noughties mentality of toxic masculinity which is just as harmful and reductive to young men as it is to women, and perhaps most tellingly, a design which works for Ladbible because “it’s not clever but it’s funny”. Truer words were never spoken.

@rosielanners