Pair of Thieves Addresses Toxic Masculinity in Content Series 'Be More Bear'

A new branded content series Be More Bear speaks out against toxic masculinity. Created by creative consultancy, DANG, for Pair of Thieves, the leading men’s basics company, the work cleverly plays off of the viral Man vs. Bear TikTok meme, where women are asked if they’d rather be stuck in the forest with a man or a bear. 

Pair of Thieves’ logo is Bandit Bear, and the Be More Bear project took the opportunity to deflate the pompous, loud, manosphere through the Pair of Thieves’ bear, who shows men they do not need to be an alpha man, they need to Be More Bear. The content series features a gruff-talking bear whose words are actually much gentler than they sound. For example, one of the videos starts with the bear advising men to “go be a warrior, arm yourself... with empathy.” Each video in the four-series campaign, dropping on TikTok and Instagram, plays off a stereotypically masculine start to ultimately reveal a message that encourages young men to be better men. 

“Since its founding in 2014, Pair of Thieves has been committed to empowering communities and to social good,” said vice president of creative, Damion Triplett. “As the brand celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, it presents an opportunity to reflect culturally on its stance when it comes to socially destructive topics like toxic masculinity, as it relates to misogyny, homophobia and violence, as well as pressures men may face to act “tough” and avoid showing emotions. With Be More Bear, we are speaking out against toxic masculinity and standing up for empathy, benevolence, solidarity and vulnerability.”

The initiative uses light humour to call out toxic masculinity in our culture, epitomised by the misogynist Andrew Tate, the biz-bro bluster of Andy Elliott and the like, who are gaining ground among young men. A recent IPSOS poll found that gen z males are more likely than baby boomers to believe that feminism is harmful. 

“It turns out that the Pair of Thieves Bandit Bear is also a Trojan Bear, who uses the same aggressive alpha male tone, but his mindset is actually to instil good values and positive masculinity traits,” said Karan Dang, CEO and co-founder of DANG. “Seeing how bears were emerging in culture, we took the opportunity to define what the Pair of Thieves’ bear stands for, in a highly memorable way.”

The initiative might address men, but it is designed to equally appeal to women, many of whom purchase underwear for the men in their household. “We think women will enjoy the spoofing of alpha men while appreciating the message that men do better and be better,” said Dang’s co-founder and COO, Shruti Dang. 

The campaign leverages DANG’s gen z and gen alpha focus along with its proprietary methodology, Next-Gen Centricity, which ensures that brands are resonating with the mindsets and aspirations of these influential generations.  

Pair of Thieves, a top-selling brand at Target and Walmart, which is also sold via Amazon, DTC and through other retailers, including Dick’s Sporting Goods, is replacing Fruit of the Loom at Target. 

The brand, co-founded ten years ago by Alan Stuart, Cash Warren and David Ehrenberg, to bring to market high quality basics at an affordable price, recently introduced the ‘Power of 10’ campaign, a charitable initiative supporting underserved groups and minorities in celebration of the brand’s 10-year anniversary. Through the give back initiative, Pair of Thieves will donate a total of 100,000 pairs of socks, with 10,000 pairs going to 10 worthy charitable organisations across the country.