Sex sells. That isn’t news to anyone but have you considered using it within your branding or within a campaign? No need to get gross here, the slightest innuendo or silhouette can induce the double-take to read the copy. Many companies have ventured down this route with huge revenue gains – burgers, beer and cars being the most prevalent but other industries can certainly give it a try. If your target market isn’t too prudish, even how your product is held can be all that is needed to get someone’s blood pumping. Men fantasize about sex 19 times a day, surprisingly it’s not every 7 seconds to which the urban legend would have us think, but take advantage of where their mind easily wanders! And don’t for a second think that women aren’t easily derailed as well. Sure, women may only think about it 10 times a day, I knew you were wondering, but that’s a lot. There is nothing else we think of more frequently.
Where to start? As you do with every campaign, begin with who you are trying to target – the 4 P’s. After you have a clear understanding and a roadmap, brainstorm ideas surrounding the product or service you are trying to promote. Does it resemble anything? Is there a cliche phrase that could be easily tweaked that aligns with a feature or benefit?
One category that does this apologetically is the perfume industry. I’m not necessarily referring to the Obsession ads from the 80s either. I can’t count how many perfume ads I’ve seen with the bottle situated directly in front of the pink canoe. Just be careful not to take it too far – getting your ad banned (Tom Ford for Men among the many) may not be the press you want, or maybe it is 😉
