Bad boys' nights out are more affordable now, thanks to digital coupon websites that offer deep discounts to some of the more, shall we say, gentlemen-like establishments.
Thrillist -- a digital men's lifestyle newsletter and website -- recently gave a scandalous deal to men featuring a half-off steak dinner at Roberts', the restaurant inside Manhattan strip club Scores, plus a premium lap dance (cocktail included) -- all for just $50, down from $109. It may be shady, but it's legal.
"We painstakingly wade through the crap to unearth greatness -- you get exclusively the best of your city's food, drinks, services ... and events, like booze cruises, and a divine concept surely birthed on a booze cruise, stripper cruises," Thrillist tells its customers on their web page.
These recommendations don't just involve the underbelly of night life. Deals also include considerably more wholesome guy activities, such as historic brewery tours and samurai sword lessons. Simple all-you-can-eat deals are reportedly always big crowd pleasers, such as the one currently running this week for the restaurant Vamos in New York.
Recent deals included a build-your-own-bag of premium custom jerky for $20 from Vermont's Slant Shack Jerky smokehouse and premium whiskey samples from makers around the world from ForScotchLovers.com. For $125 a different whiskey comes in the mail every other month and you even get a crystal tasting glass.
"We've been extremely successful with offers ranging anywhere from $500 custom-made suits to $29 bottomless beer and ribs," says Mike Rothman, general manager of Thrillist Rewards.
Other sites, such as Groupon and Living Social, also offer guy-friendly deals. Groupon ran a half price deal from the online cigar retailer StogieBoys worth $40. Living Social offered Toronto residents a mojito-making and cigar-rolling class for $32 at a local nightclub.
Groupon says although basic personal information, like age or sex, isn't required to be a member, its bad-boy deals are recommended to those who "personalize" their accounts by providing the company with more information about who they are, or what purchases they've made in past sales. So, if you take advantage of offers for booze, you may get others for cigars.
"It's worth noting that our algorithm gets smarter as you shop ... so you should get more relevant deals the more you buy and we see what you like," says Groupon spokeswoman Julie Anne Mossler.
Why so much success? Online marketing experts say that for these coupon sites it's the use of something that is increasingly considered to be old-tech: email.
"When it comes to keeping customers and users engaged, email has proven to be the perfect tool for the job, even though it may mot be as sexy as other engagement options like social media. The lesson here, of course, is that old tools shouldn't be thrown out just because they're old," says Patricio Robles, tech reporter at Econsultancy.
But for Thrillist, a big part of it is the guy factor.
According to the market research company Nielsen, nearly two-thirds of visitors who go to Groupon and Living Social are female. Thrillist, on the other hand, focuses on a narrower market that targets only young men in their 20s or 30s and prides itself on allowing guys to get what they want without others being any the wiser.
When subscribers purchase a Thrillist deal that requires flying under the radar, the consumer is emailed a voucher with specific instructions on how to fold it and present it discretely at the door. In this way, the consumer remains nameless.
"The merchants are provided a list of confirmation numbers that aligns with the confirmation numbers given to our customers. ... We don't give out our customers' information to our merchant partners or any other third party."
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