'Sex sells' claims the old and undeniably true adage. We are sexual beings. Advertisers use this attribute by trying to associate their products and services with sexy imagery hoping that some of the hotness gets attached to their brand in the consumer’s subconscious mind.
However, abusing your audience’s attention is a dangerous thing. Showing skin to get attention and then trying to sell completely unrelated products like hearing aides, touch-typing courses or car-rental rental services may backfire. The reader feels cheated and talked down to.
Another thing to be cautious about is how much nudity is sufficient to grab eyeballs and what is 'too much', thus considered offending. This is of course a cultural question. Usually the more religious your target market the less acceptable it is to show bare body parts. For these reasons one needs to be careful where and how to use sex in advertising.
Yet there are many brands that are brave enough to take the risk and celebrate sex as any other source of joy in life in their ads.
Downy's Fabric Softener was campaigned with the headline... "you feel like your clothes are not there". The execution shows how sexiness can be implied.
Their next campaign "Naturally Soft" does not hold back on the visuals... it utilises that
'nearly naked' look used so successfully by Air New Zealand which we highlighted in
Issue 19 of our e-Sight.
We’re surrounded by advertisements that desperately compete for our attention. Everywhere we look, we find ourselves inevitably drawn to images of scantily clad attractive men and women that are supposed to somehow inspire us to purchase products they endorse. Sure, this attention-getting strategy is popular. But, is it effective?
Sex appeal can increase the effectiveness of an ad or commercial because it attracts the customer’s attention.
It’s human nature to be curious about sex. A pair of long legs on a billboard is more likely to catch (and hold) a guy’s attention than a puppy, regardless of how cute it may be. Even women are drawn to them, perhaps with the desire of having goddess-like legs.
However, misuse of sex appeal can be costly. Many campaigns deemed offensive have started brand boycotts that affect sales and damage brand reputation.
Sex in advertising has stirred controversy for many years, an advertiser must be careful when incorporating it in a campaign. Great advertisers consider not only the attention-getting power of an advertisement or commercial, but also what kind of emotional response it provokes in customers. Studies show that the attractiveness of the endorsing model provokes positive responses. Nudity and graphic erotic content, while still increasing consumer’s attention, doesn’t really generate positive feelings among viewers. In other words, advertisers must be careful to avoid the “cheap shot,” which may negatively affect a brand’s image.
To avoid that, the sexual content in advertising must be appropriate to the product category and have a proper underlying message. Heineken managed the right balance when they launched their “It’s All About the Beer” campaign. One spot, called “The Premature Pour,” shows a beautiful seductive woman pouring Heineken into a glass. When a guy across the bar responds, the sexual content is implicit, yet direct.
The sexual reference in this and other spots in the campaign worked, causing sales to rise 13% in the next two quarters after airing. However, Steve Davis (VP of marketing in Heineken USA), claims that, “Provocative is a very good place to be, as long as we’re not inflammatory. But the spots also work for a different reason. From the tag line to the plot, they are about a desire for Heineken. Our ads make the beer the hero.”
Sex sells, yes, but only when used “in good taste.” As marketers we must think not only in getting customers’ attention for the short term, but also in building a brand reputation that will yield long-term results.
To finish off we've included what has been deemed the 'Ad of the Year' by being awarded the coveted Cannes Lions 2010 - Film Grand Prix winner at the recent worldwide advertising awards. A fantastic ad that was filmed in one very well rehearsed take. While we are on 'deodorant' commercials we thought we could not go past the recent Lynx 'spray more get more' beach invasion commercial. Well... we did. We found something funnier... a parody of the successful Lynx ad done by Specsavers. Enjoy!
e-Sight is our collection of 'wisdom'. We hope you find these e-Sights informative,
thought provoking, or at the very least entertaining. If you would like to subscribe
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Archives
Issue 1 - 'Discover the DNA of your brand' click here.
Issue 2 - 'Santa's troubles' click here.
Issue 3 - 'Best practice marketing advice from our customers' click here.
Issue 4 - 'Viral Marketing... a developing media channel' click here.
Issue 5 - 'Acknowledging a wart' - profiting from honest advertising click here.
Issue 6 - 'Military Strategy in Advertising' click here.
Issue 7 - 'Acceleration of Communication' click here.
Issue 8 - 'Recency Planning' click here.
Issue 9 - 'Another Christmas Fairytale' click here.
Issue 10 - 'German engineering drives global brand success' click here.
Issue 11 - 'The Body as Billboard - Your Ad Here' click here.
Issue 12 - 'Re-calibrating brand values and winning back trust' click here.
Issue 13 - 'Creative plagiarism and the YouTube dilemma' click here.
Issue 14 - 'Marketing during a recession' click here.
Issue 15 - 'The Vegemite Effect' click here.
Issue 16 - 'The Evolution of Brands' click here.
Issue 17 - 'Keep your hat on... it's Christmas!' click here.
Issue 18 - 'Consumer Trends 2010 - Part 1!' click here.
Issue 19 - 'Consumer Trends 2010 - Part 2!' click here.
Issue 20 - 'Mass Mingling - Another Online Revolution' click here.
