Not long ago, Hawaiian Tropic was known for two things: tanning oil and beauty pageants. Those days are over.
On Tuesday, the brand announced the retirement of their famous tankini swimwear
bikini contests, first launched in 1983. That means no more oiled up
fitness models in neon string bikinis competing for the title of Miss
Hawaiian Tropic on beaches across the world.
What you really need to know about sunscreen
The reason? Women. “The bikini contest wasn’t
resonating with our target female consumers,” Danielle Duncan, Hawaiian
Tropic Brand Manager, tells Yahoo Shine. With women making up 70
percent of the brand’s users, that was a problem. The solution,
according to Duncan, was to reinvent product offerings "to appeal to
today’s Hawaiian Tropic women.”
That means saying goodbye to yesterday’s Hawaiian
Tropic women. Known as a slightly raunchier version of Miss Universe,
the Tropic pageants rose to popularity in the ’90s, but faded from a
national spotlight in recent years. Since 2008, the contests have moved
from the U.S. to an international setting—but not before spawning some
disturbing “Little Miss” and “Teen Miss” spin-offs. The
“shark-jumping” moment came in 2006, when the brand opened Hawaiian
Tropic Zone, a Times Square Hooters-style restaurant featuring
bikini-clad waitresses. But Tropic’s days of catering to the male
libido are over.
Now the company is launching a national search for a
new spokeswoman. They’re moving the contest off the beach and onto
Hawaiian Tropic’s Facebook page. Beginning May 6, contestants can
submit a photo and some background information on their interests, and
let Facebook fans vote on a winner.
Online beauty contests worry parents
Don’t expect anyone to win with a swm suit sets
bikini shot. The company’s female-centric Facebook page currently
reads like a yogurt commercial. There are inspirational quotes, updates
on skin safety, and even a nod to the Ryan Gosling ‘Hey Girl’ meme.
The brand’s product focus, meanwhile, has turned from
tanning oil to sunblock. “The modern Hawaiian Tropic woman,” as Duncan
calls her, “still loves to spend time in the sun, but also understands
the importance of sun care in helping to keep her skin healthy.”
If Hawaiian Tropic used to promote undressing, it’s now
about covering up. The company hopes the new spokesperson will reflect
that “sensibility” by “enjoying the sun and keeping skin healthy.”
The new winner will appear in Hawaiian Tropic ads and
land a free tropical vacation. Compare that to winners of the old bikini
contests, who, according to one report in 2005, received, among other
prizes, a four-night stay at the Florida home of company founder Ron
Rice.
Back then, the real prize for winning the contest was
an unofficial entry point into modeling and hosting gigs for Playboy and
the WWE. Tropic’s male fan base may have been strong, but they weren’t
in it for the sunscreen. It didn’t help that the brand’s image was
tarnished by sexual harassment lawsuits. In the late ’90s, founder
Ron Rice was sued by a former employee (Rice denied the claims). Later,
multiple claims of sexual assault and harassment, reported by
waitstaff, haunted Hawaiian Tropic Zone until the restaurant finally
closed in 2010.
The bikini contests—staged a final time in Australia in
2012—were the last vestige of an era when men mattered more to
advertisers. Ironically, Rice told Elle Girl in 2005, he started the
swimwear pageants “to promote the female market.” My, how that female
market has changed.
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