Cheeky advertising crossing the line?

Naked rear ends are showing up with increasing regularity in Times Square and Manahattan. Toto, a toilet marketer, is introducing its heated toilet seat/bidet hybrid, the "Washlet," to US audiences with a campaign featuring images of happy faces superimposed on butt cheeks. Quite popular globally, Americans have been slow to embrace "water cleansing."

A recent Adfreak post noted that a clergyman complained about the visual outdoor assault near his church and sunday school. The ads are attention getting but they are relevant to the product's function. You can see a demonstration of the new seat on the Washlet's website.

Sexy viral videos: Axe and Silverjet

Viral videos, posting one’s commercial on YouTube or other sties, is a way to garner extra exposure for one’s company and sexually themed messages past network standards boards. Two such instances surfaced recently. Axe posted clips of women auditioning for its spots: “Bow chicka wha wha.” Axe is garnering extra exposure with the enticing videos, which in most instances would be left on the cutting room floor.

Second, and we’re not sure of the video’s authenticity, a viral video making the rounds promotes Silverjet’s “women’s only” bathrooms with a same-sex nod to the mile-high-club. It’s doubtful the spot would make on it US television but it can still be seen online.

"Stiptease" meets Bojangles'

Get a load of this commercial. Adfreak features an Austrialian spot showcasing a pole-dancing mom who curbs her cravings for a poultry restaurant (Nandos) with chewing gum. The Nandos patch was interferring with profits so she turned to a form of "nicoderm" for chicken pangs. Quite the approach for a family restaurant. I can't image this commercial running in the States. It clearly demonstrates the use of sexual themes in advertising solely for attention-getting purposes.

Entering NYC's "Hawaiian Tropic Zone"

Although the outside is understated—there is no heralding signage, one shouldn’t be fooled. What lies within this Seventh Avenue restaurant is a male tropical paradise—the Hawaiian Tropic Zone.

I’m in town to moderate a panel on sex and decency in advertising hosted by the International Advertising Association. My hosts thought HTZ was the perfect place for dinner to set the tone for the following day’s discussion. And it was close to my hotel.

HTZ bills itself as "The Hottest Place on Earth." As one woman in our party observed, "it’s more like an upscale Hooters." Instead of tight tank tops and orange hot pants, however, the HTZ’s high-heeled wait staff wear bikini tops and sarongs, but not for long. Periodically the women walk along a catwalk above the bar as patrons clap and holler for the "hottest" contestant. Each table contains a small holder for ballots and pencils so patrons can vote for their favorite waitress.

Similar to Hooters, men are seen talking with each other, stealing a quick glance at the women as they walk by, or catching a highlight on Sports Center. Unlike Hooters, men can stare at a huge bank of monitors behind the bar as it showcases sun-drenched models. Judging from the number of customers, the place must be doing well. In a town of a thousand restaurants I suppose there is room for upscale food, drink and tropic-themed titillation.

Gambling and sex

What is it about online gambling sites that advertise with sex? For one, “sex” consists of images of scantily-clad nubile women like the one in the accompanying MySportsBook.com button, and the target audience consists of men. So these ads might simply be a case of attracting eyeballs.

However, the ads might be appealing not just to men in general, but especially so for those who seek the emotional high of gambling. The thrill and excitement experienced during gambling is a similar to the response evoked by sexual stimuli. In other words, the momentary charge caused by the images in these ads may energize a likely gambler just enough to interrupt whatever he was doing (e.g., reading sports news) to click on the ad. Otherwise the ad utilizes the old “bait-and-switch” because women don’t populate many of these betting sites.

Lohan lends sex appeal to Jill Stuart ads

Lindsay Lohan, recently admitted to rehab for the second time, will be featured in fall 2007 ads for designer Jill Stuart. Sexually, the images of Lohan are rather middle-of-the-road considering they are designer ads, but Lohan’s recent trysts and bad-girl behavior add a “rich, party-girl” flavor to the campaign.

For example, Lohan was mentioned in today’s USA Today cover story about the trials and tribulation of young celebrities. The article also identifies Britney Spears and Paris Hilton—among others—as young celebs unable to avoid headlines for breaking both taboos and rules such as sex tape incidents, DUIs and drug abuse. Obviously, the baggage associated with spokesmodels can contribute to how brands are perceived. Given the sensual look of past Jill Stuart ads, those featuring Lohan should fit right in.