Sexy Las Vegas ads too much for locals

Imagine your kids seeing billboards like this every morning on their way to school. Images like the one on the left for Studio 54 were the genesis for one viewer, and UNLV professor, to write about them in the latest issue of Journal of Promotion Management.

Erika Engstrom, a professor in UNLV's Greenspun College, describes in her article a few of the sexually provocative billboards promoting Las Vegas clubs and casinos. Some of those ads for the Hard Rock Casino feature barely clad models and unmistakable double endendre. For example, one billboard features a pair of panties lowered around a woman's calves. The headline reads: "Get ready to buck all night."

Another Hard Rock casino billboard features two women in a tight embrace and the headline: "Looser than your girlfriend. Play slots at Hardrock Casino." Engstrom describes how in 2004 several complaints from the community prompted the Nevada Gaming Commission to fine Hard Rock over $100,000 for the sexually provocative ads.

"What happens here, stays here," but for the million or so citizens not on mission to create memories or directly involved in the gaming and entertainment industries, blatant sex in advertising--especially when it's on a billboard for many to see--can cross the line. Certainly this is true in most American cities, but Las Vegas is a place where tourism (33 million people visit Vegas each year) and good taste can collide. Check out Erika's article in JPM.

Erika Engstrom (2007), "Selling with Sex in Sin City: The Case of the Hard Rock Hotel Casino," Journal of Promotion Management, 13 (1/2), 169-188.

Victoria's Secret Fashion Show: Sugar, Spice, and.... Seal

A crooning Seal was the highlight of tonight's six annual Victoria's Secret fashion show aired on CBS. The program's finale featured Seal on the catwalk serenading the VS supermodels with his single "Amazing" as they showed off this season's "lingerie."

Who would've traded places with Seal several years ago when he was showcased on an episode of VH1's "Where are they now?" Today, he's back on track as Klum's beau and a featured guest on this year's fashion show. Posh and the Spice Girls also were on hand to do a number from their reunion tour.

The addition of well-known performers is a welcome boost from last year's emphasis on the models' personal lives. As the ratings come in, we'll have a better idea how this year's show stacked up. The annual fashion show has been steadily losing viewers.

Farrah Fawcett = Sexy ad diva

Many young people are surprised that sex in advertising has been around the block once or twice. Reflecting the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 70s, advertising followed suit with commercials on network television that would make today’s audiences blush. Thanks to YouTube, some of advertising’s hidden gems are once again available for viewing.

Surfing YouTube, I was surprised to discover that Farrah Fawcett was a sex-in-advertising icon in the 1970s. Famous from her role in the 1977 hit television series “Charlie’s Angels,” Fawcett's debut role was not as an angel. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, she appeared in several commercials which are now vintage sex in advertising.

Examples of such spots include Noxema, Ultra Brite, and Mercury—all available for YouTube viewing. Two ads for Noxema are excellent examples of sexual double entendre and innuendo. In one spot, Fawcett sings the jingle, “Great balls of com… fort.” Another features Joe Nameth playfully lamenting, “I’m going to get creamed,” as Fawcett lathers his face with Noxema shaving cream. "You've got a great pair of hands."

Spots for Lincoln-Mercury and Ultra Brita utilize Fawcett’s physical attractiveness. Mercury takes it a step further, however, in its subtle comparison between Fawcett and a cougar.

Thanks to YouTube and other video sites, ads featuring Fawcett and other sex symbols can be viewed and remembered by all.

--Posted by Michelle Weidner

Does he come with the gown?

Women perusing the Impression catalog may ask themselves that very question. One of our recent grads discovered the images as she explored the designer brand’s website. The male model is unclothed in several shots. The images caught her attention because you rarely see male nudity in ads for wedding gowns. And in fashion ads with nudity, the roles are always reversed. Unless women are offended, the approach offers Impression a unique edge from a branding perspective. They tout that their designs are sexy and romantic. What a perfect way to reinforce that point than with a bit of beefcake.

Bait and Switch?

"Bait and switch" is the manipulative ad tactic of luring customers with unstocked merchadised so they can be up-sold more expensive options. In a recent post, Chris Boulton, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, likened Porn Nation's promotional tactics to the good ol' "bait & switch" routine.

Porn Nation is an organization marketing campus speaking tours about pornography. One event is billed "The Great Porn Debate" featuring former porn star Ron Jeremy. Boulton accuses Evangelicals of enticing students to these events with alluring posters. Check out Boulton's post to judge for yourself.

Bringing sexy back

Sensual backs and bellies in ads may surprise some students and youths in the Athens area. Posted in the bathrooms of local restaurants and bars, these ads aren’t selling products, but are generating awareness for pro-social causes.

Safe Campuses Now, an Athens-based, non-profit organization that advocates crime awareness, prevention, and education for high school and college students, is utilizing the fact that sex in advertising doesn’t have to be limited to brands and products. To generate awareness about rape and sexual abuse, the organization’s most recent poster shows a portion of a young woman’s bare back with a tattoo visible just above the top of her jeans. The copy reads: “Just because you think she looks like she wants it doesn’t mean she wants it from you.” It goes on to make the point that you must listen to her and behave accordingly if she says “No.”

Another version of the same message exists, this time with a women’s exposed stomach and hip. It’s my guess that these ads really hit home with viewers. The sexy images draw in the target audience and delivers an important message.

Along with rape and sexual abuse, Safe Campuses Now deals with issues such as DUI prevention, alcohol and drug abuse, pedestrian safety, exercise safety, and tailgate safety. The campaigns are developed by volunteers, with the help of partner firm Snowden Tatarski, an Athens-based ad agency.

The PSA by Safe Campuses Now exemplifies how sex in advertising can be used to effectively reach audiences with important social messages.

--posted by Michelle Weidner

Diddy vs. Mariah: Battle for the sexiest fragrance spot

With celebrity fascination at an all-time high, it is no wonder that celebs capitalize on their fame in the form of fashion, cosmetics and perfume licensing deals. Celebrity fragrances, in particular, are on the rise with more than 30 scents launched last year, according to Marketing’s Jemima Bokaie.

This fall, sex was used to position two new celebrity fragrances: Sean “Diddy” Combs’ “Unforgivable Woman” and “M” by Mariah Carey. Although commercials for both feature a great deal of nudity, one has sparked debate.

Diddy’s three-minute “movie-let” was rejected by U.S. standards boards. The spot shows Combs and a supermodel at a New York hotel engaging in various sexual behavior. Combs is clothed, however, while the model proceeds to bare (almost) all. Combs defended his work by saying that although “some people may be uncomfortable with the sensuality and sexual content… it is important for them to make that decision personally,” and not have it made for them by executives. The commercial did air in the U.K. in its original form.

Mariah Carey’s commercial has thus far avoided controversy. The spot shows a nude Mariah immersed in the water as she sings and touches herself. She is the only person in the 30-second spot, and she appears to be promoting a sense of beauty and sensuality. Although there are some scandalously bare shots of the diva’s breasts, no one has reacted publicly to the degree of Diddy’s commercial.

Why has one approach created a stir while the other has remained under the radar? Diddy’s use of sex and nudity positions women and his fragrance with an edgy, somewhat dangerous feel that borders on obsession and objectification. On the other hand, Mariah’s use of nudity, although still risqué, positions her fragrance as a source of beauty. Commenting on the two promotion strategies, Mariah says that her approach “is about being unforgettable, not unforgivable. It’s not about a ménage trios or a one night stand, it’s for the woman who wants the man to fall in love with her immediately, stay in love, and treat her like royalty.”

Combs’ spot does appear to involve a one-time tryst, or at least one man’s infatuation with a women’s body.

--Posted by Michelle Weidner