Posts with tag advertising

Nothing gets women excited like choking down a bunch of light beer and nachos while a fierce NFL match-up is blaring on the big screen. You know it. And the gear ... those loose-fitting mesh jerseys and awesome wool knit caps with gaudy team colors all over them... women just eat that stuff up. Don't they? Well, maybe that's not the case for all women, but regardless the NFL is marketing directly to women this year -- only it's not what you think.

Is this Levi's ad campaign for real? Or is it part of an underground October Fool's Day movement that we're not aware of?

In order to promote their 501 jeans -- a style that probably doesn't even need an ad campaign because it's such a staple of the American wardrobe -- Levi's has decided to whip out an e-card marketing program that's so shocking and tasteless, it's hard to believe. So how does it work? You send a friend an email, in which a beast pops out of a pair of 501s and starts talking. Brilliant, no?

Usually, we're all about clever innuendo, subtle phallic references -- you name it, we'll laugh at it. But this new ad campaign for Levi's 501s displays little or none of that. It's a straight-up, in your face penis joke that is so lacking in nuance, it makes you want to cringe. Kinda like that movie Teeth scarred us for life -- or at least a couple of hours -- this campaign for Levi's might actually be turning us off to one of the most classic and endearing styles of denim the world has ever known. Keep it in your pants, marketing team.

OK... maybe we'll send it to a couple of friends -- but that's all. We swear.

We love Christina Hendricks, in all of her sexy babiliciousness and glory. Watching her strut across the offices of Sterling Cooper makes us want to rush out for some hardcore vintage shopping and a box of red hair dye.

By now you've all seen the racy Eva Mends ads for Calvin Klein Secret Obsession that were deemed too sexy (oooh, nipple!) for tv. In all the nudity hulabaloo, it's easy to forget that it was an ad for an actual product, the modern update of the iconic Obsession perfume.

We've always known that people with gorgeous hair can make money as hair models, but we never realized that being bald could be so lucrative -- New Zealand's national airline, Kiwi Airline, is searching for 50 male passengers willing to have temporary tattoos slapped on their bald heads sharing the message about the airline's new check-in service.

The men won't go through this humiliation for naught, though -- they'll be paid the equivalent of $666 for walking around with "cranial billboards."

Students of photography know that some of the most stunning examples of the craft come from advertising work. Edward Steichen In High Fashion is literally a beautiful illustration of this truth.

Although Steichen might not exactly be a household name, his subjects were. In his distinguished career, which included 15 years as the chief photographer for Vogue and Vanity Fair, he snapped stars like Greta Garbo, Fred Astaire, Gloria Swanson and Charlie Chaplin.

If you're a famous young socialite trying to break your way into Hollywood, take some hot photos in your undies -- your career is sure to soar.

Oh, you precocious advertising companies -- always trying to push the limit with your racy print ads and TV spots. The latest blow-up over some scandalous marketing gone awry surrounds a fake ad for JC Penney. A production company called Epoch Films created a fictitious TV commercial (above), which features two teenagers putting their clothes on as fast as they can. You find out later that they've been practicing getting dressed quickly so as not to get caught having sex in the house. Saucy!

Dov Charney's genius in the perverted arts and sciences has long been the subject of rigorous debate and legal actions. Well, last Friday's LA Pride festivities brought with it another opportunity for American Apparel's CEO to showcase his rare talent at coaxing free advertising out of America's sex-crazed twenty-somethings.

American Apparel's LA store hosted a party that included the first inaugural 'LA Pride Underwear Contest,' where the winner could appear in an American Apparel underwear ad for free, and receive a gift package -- get it? For clothing that for the most part isn't all that sexy, American Apparel certainly manages to get the most mileage out of their soft-core porn marketing ideas. Sleazy, yes -- but we still kinda wish we could have been at the party. The flier is what really gets us -- click here to see the full flier. NSFW.

[via Gawker]

It's been relatively under-reported, so you may not be aware that Spice Girl Mel B was announced as the new face of Ultimo Lingerie earlier this year. The lack of press is odd, because the line looks surprisingly good. Regardless, the underwear's appearance isn't the most appealing aspect for Mel B. Rather, she likes it because it makes her feel naked.

"It's not like wearing underwear -- I like walking around naked so it's perfect for me," she told the UK's Sun newspaper. The singer also shared: "It's weird seeing massive posters of me in my underwear ... But it's my body and I like it."

And what's not to like? Mel looks exceptional in the new ad campaign . Check it out.

It was just a couple weeks ago that recently-rehabbed actress Eva Mendes appeared in Vogue Germany -- for the most part without her clothes. And now, word 'round the Internet is that the star's latest ad campaign is similarly scandalous.

The TV spots are for a new Calvin Klein fragrance called Secret Obsession, and apparently clearly show Eva "having illicit thoughts." So illicit, in fact, that they're making network TV sensors very uncomfortable -- which means the ads will likely never see the light of day.

The world is still freaking out after witnessing Miley Cyrus' nude shoulder blades -- which, in itself, is kind of understandable, as even non-prudish folk might balk at teenagers posing suggestively for fashion mags. But now there's news that people are raising hell over the naked backs of grown-up women -- calling them "explicit" and demanding that they be removed from public view.

This latest controversy surrounds some ads for K-Rock, a New York-based radio station, which show women with tattoos of rock bands across their bare shoulders. Offended citizens have complained to the radio station, and now the "scandal" is making headlines in the northeast. Subsequently fashion bloggers are up in arms, calling America's recent obsession with "back pornography" ridiculous and pleading with the country to chill out.

But should we? Personally, we don't see what all the fuss is about. However, you can check out the photos and judge for yourself.

Clearly it's not enough for Naomi Watts to be just an Oscar-nominated actress with a beautiful baby and a super-famous best friend. No, the King Kong and Funny Games star has designs on the modeling industry, too -- she has just been signed up as the first celebrity face of Thierry Mugler's Iconic Angel perfume.

Any eagle-eyed dress-watchers at the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute Gala Benefit in New York last week will have spotted the suitably angelic appearance of Watts' dress... of course, it was a Mugler design. Crafty.

Remember when we were all in love with Dove because they ran an ad campaign featuring "real" women? Well, kind of real -- clearly they weren't going to use fat or unattractive people, but at least the women in the ads were of more normal stature, and not Photoshopped to completely unrealistic proportions.

Or were they?

As we mentioned before, Kate Moss has returned to Agent Provocateur, starring in the lingerie-maker's latest batch of advertisements. But instead of sticking to a straight-up print campaign, the company has decided to create six pseudo-artsy, mostly pretentious videos of Moss prancing around in her skivvies.

Each video is based on one of the high-concept (and kind of racy) print ads, which are supposed to convey "the demise of a bride's 'big day' and serialize the unraveling of the religious organization behind it." Heavy stuff -- and it gets heavier. Each ad is based on one of the following themes: The Happiest Day of Her Life, The Garden of Eden, Bad News, Frenzy, Revenge, and Let Them Eat Kate.

Confused yet? So are we. Check out the gallery to see if you can figure which ad is supposed to go with which concept. Honestly we have no idea.

[via New York Magazine]