There is a lot of buzz surrounding the sexually provocative ads heralding Tom Ford's fragrance for men. More provocative is the website flash presentation of the fragrance bottle strategically placed around a women's breasts and groin (there's as much buzz about the model's shaved pubic region).
The approach is not surprising given Ford's history with designer brands. He was creative director for Gucci and YSL. During his very successful tenure at both brands, he reinvigorated them with cutting-edge sexually featuring nudity and pornographic themes that include female same-sex images (lesbian chic).
Given the sexually-laden promotions he's chosen to run in the past, Ford's current campaign does accurately represnt the brand's essence: If the fragrance carries his name, it's about sex.
A study several years ago found that about half of all fragrances were positioned with sex. True, fragrance can play a role in the attraction formula, but fragrance is unique in that it really has little meaning aside from the images it is associated with. In this case, Tom Ford is fairly certain that money will be made with his current campaign. He would know.
