Want to photograph SI swimsuit models?

Now you can. Grab your camera and photograph Daniella Sarahyba at one of several beach locations: Governor's Beach, Rum Point, or Smith's Cove. "Are you the new photographer?" she asks.

Taco Bell created the tie-in with Sports Illustrated to coincide with the massively popular 2008 Swimsuit edition. According to Marketing Vox, the site--DirectDaniella.com--is being promoted with online ads at MTV.com, ESPN.com, and sites popular with male audiences, as well as in-store promotions at Taco Bell.

Visitors use their mouse to take pictures of Sarahyba, which they can download or send to friends. Adrants notes that the campaign was created by DraftFCB, Orange County.

Playboy's sexiest commercials of all time

In its February 2008 issue, Playboy ranked the 21 sexiest commercials of all time. Previously reported by Adrants, you can still view and vote online for the sexiest of the lot. The commercials they've chosen range from recent commercials starring Paris Hilton (Carl's Jr.), Britney Spears (fragrance), and Axe (bom-chicka-wah-wah) to early spots with Gunilla Knutson (Noxzema, 1967), Dodge (Charger, 1970), and Brooke Shields (Calvin Klein, 1980).

Other interesting calls include Suzanne Somers demonstrating the Thighmaster, Nicole Smith touting her Trimspa, and Calvin Klein's CK ads from 1995 featuring underage actors and models. To be expected, all commercials identified by Playboy feature sexualized images of women as the primary ingredient--which is certainly true for most sexy ads. To be fair, several commercials for Lee, Dockers, and Subaru turned the tables by featuring hunky guys.

Missing spots

Spots missed by Playboy include Farrah Fawcett lathering up Joe Nameth for Noxema, as well as the infamous Milwakee's Best ad introducing the Swedish Bikini Team--"It doesn't get any better than this." More important, Playboy missed the only example of sex in advertising to receive praise from Advertising Age's Bob Garfield and his Ad Review team. The spot features Grey's Anatomy's Kate Walsh pushing the pedal to the floor in her new Cadillac CTS (see below).

Just in time for Valentine's Day

A Valentine's spot for UK intimate wear/toy marketer Ann Summers puts a twist on Santa's workshop. Three lingerie-clad models deliver gifts made of "wood" to unsuspecting men, followed by a shot of the women crafting additional "toys" in their workshop (Adland). The spot--obviously too suggestive for TV--is a viral video that creates attention and awareness as it spreads across the web. The tactic makes sense for marketers like Ann Summers that do much of their business online because it avoids network standards boards and the risk of scruity, and customers are only a click away. What it says about women is a completely different story.

Top Five Sexiest 2008 Super Bowl Ads

Although the finale for Super Bowl XLII was a surprise, it was no surprise that sexual content made its way into several of this year’s commercials. Overall, the ads were tame compared to previous years as only a handful of sexy ads were broadcast. Here is our list of the five sexiest Super Bowl ads in 2008 plus an honorable mention. View all the Super Bowl ads at USA Today, AOL, or YouTube, and tell us what you think.

5. Tie -- Taco Bell: ‘Hola’ and Planters: “Unibrow”
A sexy commercial for Fiesta Platters? A true stretch but Taco Bell pulls it off with a bit of spice and playful flirtation between a mariachi and a female coworker… Hola! Also, technically, Planter’s “Uni-brow” spot does qualify as sex in advertising: Men falling over themselves because of a woman’s scent is a classic convention, though in this instance the twist is “essence-de-peanut.”

4. Ice Breakers: Whoa!
Any spot featuring sex symbol Carmen Electra is a candidate for the list. In this spot overly excited male admirers line up for a photo op with the gorgeous celeb. Given rumors that she dated Joan Jett, it’s surprising that a female admirer wasn’t shown posing with Electra.

3. SoBe Lite: Thrillicious
It wasn’t the nude lizards so much as an attractive Naomi Campbell. The spot featured Campbell—and the SoBe lizards—dancing to “Thriller.” The commercial is fun to watch; ranking 11 on USA Today’s Ad Meter. Again, ads with physically attractive models in revealing clothing represent a primary form of sexual content in advertising.

2. Victoria’s Secret: “Let the Games Begin”
This spot contained no voiceover, just the soundtrack for “I’m in the mood for love” and 30 seconds of a playful Adriana Lima. Aired during the second half, the spot reminded viewers that “The game will be over soon” so the “real games” can begin. A lingerie-clad supermodel making eye contact with the camera qualifies, but the innuendo between “real games” and sex certainly evoked a few thoughts in the minds of viewers. However, after too much beer and nachos it’s not clear however how many Americans were in the mood for a game of “touch” football after the game.

1. GoDaddy.com: Exposure
The spot begins with Doug surfing while describing his disappointment with recent Super Bowl ads: “I used to watch—for the commercials.” He announces that Danica Patrick’s “Exposure” ad is airing online, and everyone rushes to the computer. Viewers see Patrick “unzip” her leather jacket with a classic cutaway to “See it all…only at GoDaddy.com.” Visitors to GoDaddy can view the “REJECTED” spot where, in true sophomoric fashion, disappointed paparazzi ask Patrick: “Where’s the beaver?” Victoria’s Secret was successful getting Super Bowl viewers to its website with online fashion shows. Using sex to do the same for the rouge GoDaddy.com, is a marketing “no-brainer.”

Honorable Mention: A pair of passionate kisses deserve some love. Among them include: the trailer for Universal’s “Wanted” starring Angelina Jolie, and the kiss in the Dell ad promoting its red computer.

Give us your two cents. Was there a commercial we missed? Again, find all the ads at USA Today, AOL or YouTube.

Victoria’s Secret Super Bowl ad no secret

According to Ad Age and many news sites, Victoria’s Secret will be airing it’s first Super Bowl ad since 1999. Can it have been that long?

Like many people, I still remember VS’s first commercial during the big game. That spot, described by Adweek’s Barbara Lippert as containing plenty of “jiggle,” beckoned viewers to the lingerie marketer’s website for its first ever online “fashion” show. Eager visitors quickly crashed the server.

The new spot supposedly rides the line between taste and sleaze. Fun and “flirtatious” are adjectives used to describe the commercial. According to Age Age’s Natalie Zmuda, the commercial “features Victoria’s Secret Angel Adriana Lima, a football and words that will scroll across the screen.” Ed Razek, Limited Brands’ president, also noted that the commercial will have a different approach than previous VS themes. The spot will air during the second half of the game and be available on VS's website.

This year’s Super Bowl ads are fetching an average of $2.7 million (a record) and advertisers are optimistic that the contest will entice a record number of viewers--94 million watched the game in 1996. With the Pats flirting with a perfect season, a record number of viewers seems likely.

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.