The Peacock's Plume and Dancing Birds of Paradise

In today’s world we know that we consciously market ourselves in order to attain goals such as securing employment, meaningful social and romantic relationships, or the dissemination of our ideas. In fact, we are in a constant state of marketing what we have to offer to social groups, family, friends and potential mates. With this insight, we might define the origin of marketing as the point in time when humans began to interact within markets for ideas or other social currency. But personal marketing didn’t begin with the human species. We need to look at our ancestors to begin to understand the true origin of marketing.

Darwin argued that animals choose mates to endow their offspring with good genes, thus creating a market for genes (1859). Animal species have specific marketing tactics hard-wired into their behavior and physical development in order to successfully compete in this market for good genes and ensure the propagation of their genes into future generations.
A flashy example of marketing genes can be found in the plumage of the male peacock. These birds are burdened with elaborate plumes that they must display in order to attract mates (Miller, 1999). This inconvenient and heavy plume actually reduces a peacock’s individual chances of survival, so its presence on mature males suggests to females that the male possesses exemplary skills and genes (Barber, 1995).

In other words, the peacock’s plume serves as an advertisement of having “resources to burn” and this is attractive to the peahen who finds “available resources” attractive in a mate. Interestingly, many evolutionary psychologists argue that humans market themselves in a similar way when they flaunt extravagant consumer products (Tierney, 2009).
Another colorful example of natural marketing tactics can be found in the jungle of Papua New Guinea. Male birds of paradise also have glamorous plumage that they display in elaborate mating dances to find a partner:

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We don’t need to travel to Papua New Guinea or Darwin’s Galapagos Islands to find more illustrations of gene marketing. Examples like these can also be witnessed in our own backyard in the form a bird as common as a house finch. Male house finches may range in color from pale yellow to bright red, and females prefer their brightly colored counterparts. The brighter coloring indicates genetic quality and a stronger degree of parental investment, which are valuable traits in this monogamous species (Miller, 1991). Birds that lack these glamorous features are much less likely to reproduce.
THE HUMAN MATE SELECTION MARKET
Of course this phenotypic version of marketing also appears in the human species. According to the Theory of Resource Exchange, humans market themselves in order to gain valuable social interactions (Hirschman, 1987). Exchange in social interactions is not limited to goods and money—it can also involve items and concepts that fall into the categories of services, love, status, and information. Thus we have market for the dissemination of our ideas as well as the dissemination of our genes. The human mate selection market thrives of the necessary marketing forces as people market, develop preferences and match up with other individuals having equally desirable traits (Hirschman, 1987). Women and men each choose romantic partners according to specific traits that suggest superior survival and reproductive assets relative to the choice set that is available to them.
Today’s hyper-politically-correct environment has made discussion and debate around basic male/female differences difficult outside of the most objective academic circles. But research continues to reveal fundamental differences between the sexes that are difficult to dispute. Preeminent evolutionary theory claims that women prefer men who can invest in children because human children require a significant amount of care, including 9 months of gestation and many years of protection and resource demand before they are functionally independent. The ability to invest in children is a male trait that can be represented by social dominance behavior, material or economic resources and other social status indicators (Barber, 1995; Buss, 1988). While many might find this human truth hard to swallow, the research continues to support the theory. In a vast cross-cultural study, women in 36 out of 37 examined cultures revealed that they value “good financial prospect” in a romantic partner, demonstrating the female desire for security (Buss, 1989).
Physical characteristics of male suitors also offer cues to women on the likely success of any offspring from the relationship. Women search for men who are taller than average and have specific facial features, because these traits suggest higher social status, maturity, masculinity, and industriousness. Prominent cheekbones and a large chin imply social domination, while large eyes and a large smile indicate sociability Along with body symmetry, these features also indicate disease resistance, a lack of illness during development, and good physical health (Geary, 2009). All of this non-verbal communication serves as information for the woman choosing between options in the market for genes, and as such constitutes a fundamental form of marketing.
“Men are attracted to women who display youthful facial features such as large eyes, small nose, small chin and full lips.” (Geary 2009)
Similarly, men have specific cues that provide information on mate value in the market for good genes. Men concentrate on physical attractiveness in women; preferring women with a youthful appearance, because this indicates a greater degree of fertility and suggests reproductive success (Barber, 1995).

In the same cross-cultural study mentioned above, the results showed that men value physical attractiveness and youth more than do women across all 37 cultures studied (Buss, 1989). As a result, women “bear the burden of physical advertisement,” unlike other species (e.g. the peacock), in which the males exhibit burdensome desirable features (Barber, 1995).
Men are attracted to women who display an hourglass figure (a low waist-hip ratio), body symmetry, and youthful facial features such as large eyes, small nose, small chin, and full lips (Barber, 1995; Geary, 2009). There is good reason why collagen injections and Botox are so wildly successful as “beauty” products.
The application of makeup, the choice of flattering clothes or the enrollment in a weight loss program are all conscious or subconscious attempts to emphasize the traits necessary to attract a mate. Consequently, men and women who find romantic partners have done it as the results of successful advertisement of their most desired traits during the courtship process.
Of course, all marketing is not happening at the subconscious level. In addition to the automatic display of desirable physical traits during courtship interactions, men and women explicitly advertise themselves through personal ads or participation in dating programs to find compatible partners. In these deliberate marketing attempts, men and women pay to advertise their desirable traits so that potential partners have the opportunity to select them (Hirschman, 1987). Successful personal marketing requires the same kind of differentiation from the field of choices by matching “product” traits with the specific market segment that values those traits highly.
While difficult for some to admit, these are some of the same marketing principles that are at play in the market for consumer goods and services: essentially, we are communicating something of value to a target audience.
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