PSAs raise awareness of sex tourism

You may have seen an ad from this campaign. I first came across these PSAs on a sports site such as ESPN. Estimates are that 2 million children are “enslaved” in the sex trade. The PSAs, in my opinion, do an excellent job raising awareness of a very serious problem. The ads (and website) attempt to communicate that “sex tourism”—traveling to a country with the singular purpose of having sex with minors—is a crime that can result in a 30 year sentence for US citizens. Other than running the ads on sports sites, World Vision is running outdoor ads in countries where this is a problem such as Cambodia, Thailand, and Costa Rica.

Dolce & Gabbana’s sexual fantasy ad crosses the line

A recent magazine ad by Dolce & Gabbana is being pulled by the design house after protests that the ad depicts a rape scene. As evident in the image, a man is holding a woman down as four other men wait their turn. The creators of the ad, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce, claim to be surprised by the protests, and said that their intention was to portray a sexual fantasy: “recall an erotic dream, a sexual game.” Women in Spain, Italy and United States, including Italian Senators—and the president of NOW—say that artistic intent aside, the ad is demeaning and promotes violence against women.

Perhaps this ad is part of a similarly edgy campaign by Dolce & Gabbana that features same-sex themes. Designers are often at the forefront of pushing the envelope to demonstrate that their brands are fashionable and “hot.” As the recent issue of Vanity Fair (or Vogue for that matter) demonstrates, fashion and beauty advertisers must adopt some strategy to stand out among the page-after-endless-page of competition. And sex certainly cuts through the clutter. Last, Dolce & Gabbana’s ad demonstrates that many sexually controversial ads are not produced by large advertising agencies but by freelancers and photographers as these ads are often created “in house.” For example, most of Calvin Klein’s work, especially his controversial ads in the 1980s and 90s was created by Bruce Weber and Sam Shahid, among others.

Red Zone spicing it up on campus

As the temperature rises so does interest in a recent ad in the Red & Black, University of Georgia’s campus newspaper. In the half-page ad, viewers are told to “Keep it clean”—a mocking reference to “Keep your mind out of the gutter.” The image is obviously designed to be sexual and, for young men, a link to Red Zone’s sexual campaigns of the past few years. Red Zone, a P&G brand, swiftly aped Axe’s positioning as a female attractant. Similar to Red Zone’s “When she sweats its sexy” spot, however, the current ad offers no benefit (does anyone really believe that Axe, Red Zone, and Tag are sexual attractants?). The approach is clearly aimed at attracting the attention of college males. One can only hope that these students are not as easily influenced (or susceptible) to such low-brow and empty appeals as this ad suggests.

Svedka's sexual approach yet to be tamed

Svedka may be forced through internal pressure to alter its successful sexual branding strategy. A recent Advertising Age article reported that Constellation Brands, a “pillar” of DISCUS (Distilled Spirits Council of the United States), is buying Svedka and may put pressure on the brand to clean up its notoriously sexual approach.

At the liquor store one evening I noticed a Svedka point-of-purchase leaflet featuring two topless Scandinavian models (Svedka is Finnish). That was in 2002 when Grand Central Marketing handled the account. Since then, Svedka has zoomed from nowhere to fifth in the imported vodka category. To me it’s clear that Svedka’s success can be attributed to its consistent use of sexual themes and images in its marketing efforts. Aside from topless models, Svedka ads have included breast “shots,” allusions to “adult entertainment,” male nudity, and a provocative fem-bot.

Small advertisers and unknown entrants are notorious for using sex and other tactics to get noticed. Ad Age reported that Svedka’s 2006 marketing budget is only $700,000—a pittance compared to industry stalwarts. Revelstoke whiskey took a similar tact several years ago when it sought to gain a foothold in the US. With only $1 million for a national launch, the agency developed three provocative ads (one featuring a stripper) and placed them in Maxim.

Svedka’s efforts grab attention, but it is also branding itself with a sexual identity. Grey Goose is a lot of things, but it’s not hardcore “sexy.” With little doubt alcohol consumption is often associated with sex, romantic encounters, and the see-and-be seen club scene. Coupled with the fact that Svedka is targeting young adults, mostly likely males, the strategy makes a lot of sense. This might explain why Svedka sales were up 60% last year. Blogger Paul Isakson also observes that Svedka’s value pricing and sampling efforts have contributed to Svedka’s success.

But Svedka’s approach may be its undoing. DISCUS standards explicitly state that “advertising and marketing materials should not contain or depict: graphic or gratuitous nudity; overt sexual activity; promiscuity; or sexually lewd or indecent images or language.” Svedka has been rebuked at least three times by the DISCUS board but adherence to the rules is voluntary. We’ll have to wait to see if Svedka’s approach becomes more mainstream now that it has more marketing muscle and moves from “climber” to “established” status.

Tough choice for fantasy sports fans

For many men, especially the ones most likely to see the accompanying banner ad, the choice may have been a tough one. The ad appeared—in various forms—on a premier fantasy sports site (rotoworld.com) during the 2006 baseball season. Although I didn’t click-through, I suspect the link was to a market research firm looking to trade (an “opportunity” for) laptops for personal information and demographic details from online sports fanatics.

The ad was certain to get noticed considering its use of the enticing female image and rhetorical question. But doesn’t the ad come close to being a “bait-and-switch” offer in that there is a very subtle, unspoken promise that the viewer will see more of what’s in the ad with a simple click? At any rate, the sexual image in the ad may have provided just enough incentive for men to investigate further. Also, perhaps the checked-flag patterned bikini top was meant to appeal to NASCAR fans.

ESPN and the sexy Acqua di Gio commercial

My wife and I were watching ESPN the other night when a very sexy 30-second commercial aired for Giorgio Armani’s Acqua di Gio. Filmed in partial septia-tones, the spot features a shirtless muscular male looking straight into the camera. Seawater and perspiration are dripping down his torso.

“Why is that ad running on ESPN?” my wife asked. “Good question,” I thought to myself. The spot is very uncharacteristic of anything you’ll see on ESPN. Any sex in advertising on this network is likely to feature playful Coors Light parties with bikini-babes making snowballs and hot-tubbing.

After a debate that bounced from speculation about the number of gay athletes who watch sports to comparisons to Cosmopolitan covers, I finally convinced her that the ad was “aspirational,” like the many sexy ads for perfume, fashion and fragrance featuring women in Cosmo and Glamour. My wife definitely found the ad appealing, the same way that many men adore the pictures in Victoria’s Secret catalogs. The message in the spot is along the lines of “if you want to look like this guy, feel like this guy, or elicit a reaction from your wife like this guy…get yourself some Gio.”

I didn’t find any Armani under the tree this year. Oh wait, the ad wasn't targeted to her, it was targeted to me.

Victoria’s Secret fashion show experiences lowest ratings to date

Only 6.8 million tuned in to watch the fifth annual VS fashion show on CBS this year. That is down from 9 million last year and 12.4 million in 2001. Washington Post writer Lisa de Moraes blamed the anemic showing on too much chatter from the models themselves: "If you can't get 18-to-34-year-old guys to watch an hour of gorgeous young women prancing about in virtually nothing except the occasional million-dollar diamond demi-bra or tartan plaid push-up (yes, there was a 'Brigadoon' number), you are doing something seriously wrong."

De Moraes noted that the fashion show had fewer viewers than a rerun of “Law & Order: SUV.” Perhaps viewers just wanted to watch the show at their leisure since it is available in its entirety on the CBS website. Up for some late-night viewing anyone?

Victoria’s Secret has truly been a promotional pioneer in the intimates and lingerie categories. Since being bought by The Limited, VS has rocketed from three boutiques in San Francisco’s bay area to a top-seller of women’s intimatewear. VS has been successful with its sex-laced promotions such as its infamous catalog, sexy commercials, and multimedia (and prime-time) fashion shows.

Don't just focus on the bad news. At least there was no wardrobe “malfunction.” Justin Timberlake was this year’s fashion-show performer.