research into the little finger within culture

“There is only a finger’s difference between a wise man and a fool.” 

- Diogenes

I like the concept of utilising something as universal as the human hand as part of the branding because it gives an audience of potentially 99+% of the global population. This creates the potential for a viral campaign in which the Swanker hand signal could be used by anyone and everyone helping build a strong brand identity. It was explored before by McDonalds in the 90s and Budweiser’s wassssup advert in the early 00s, which didn’t officially feature hand signals but has got people making a hand phone and answering with their tongue out even to this day. People love to quote and copy things they find amusing, making the concept of Swanker all the more powerful. From research it appeared to be the case that the little finger alone was not a popular tool for hand branding, perhaps due to its slightly more limited visual impact. However when tied in with the Diogenes quote  and the joke of it being an elitist thing that makes the user better than other people, the concept is very effective.

There are a multitude of theories as to why ‘upper class’ people drink with their little finger out including: Parisian socialites with VD were socially expected to drink with their fingers out, so that others in high society could tell who they could safely dally with. Or, the disease simply prevented them from doing it, as the upper class were so much more rife with the disease than the lower class, that it became a sign of the upper class. Whereas other stories claim it’s down to Henry the VIII’s wife who had an extra pinky finger which couldn’t bend, and copying her was a sign of those who supported the king. With so many of these stories knocking around there appears to be a bit of a cryptomnesia on the topic. In fact it’s now considered poor etiquette to drink with your finger out. All of these factors aid the Swanker brand as it is meant to be a bit of a mockery of class culture and in no way a serious reflection of Sol Chadwick. Incorporating humour into the branding is essential for its success. Alongside humour another essential factor that makes Swanker, Swanker is the slightly risqué, offensive nature of the campaign. For this it was essential to touch upon hand gestures of offense such as the middle finger. The origins of which date back to 4th Century BC Athens, when the philosopher Diogenes told a group of visitors exactly what he thought about the orator Demosthenes. This explanation makes the chosen Swanker quote all the more relevant and was a theme that needed to be played upon. 

The reason for the placement of fingers can be described as a Phallic gesture “The middle finger is the penis and the curled fingers on either side are the testicles, you are saying, ‘this is a phallus’ that you’re offering to people, which is a very primeval display.” says anthropologist Desmond Morris. Fingers are often used to portray a specific character or gang e.g. Dr Evil and the Bloods (bellow). Dr Evil the most akin to the Swanker gesture found in research but is still distinctly different, furthering originality.  

Information adapted and found on www.cliseetiquette.com/2014/11/21/raised-pinky-fingers-scone-slicing-tea-faux-pas/