Advertisements that go too far

[epiclotus]

How do you feel about ad campaigns that go to far in their portrayals of… whatever (usually the human body)?

I was in Sephora with my wife tonight, and took some time to browse the men’s cologne section. What am I greeted with but an advert from Tom Ford for one of his more expensive men’s perfumes that features a young man and woman splashing each other in the shower completely nude. This wasn’t “tastefully” obscure, either. There was a full-on view of the man’s rear end. I decided to “custody of the eyes” and not check how much of the woman was on display, but I was a little shocked at the audacity of it. Being 95% women’s products in the store, I can only assume this is an ad geared toward women, as something to entice them to buy a product for their husband/boyfriend. I must say, though, that the ad thoroughly turned me off from giving serious thought to buying the product, now or in the future (wasn’t a fan of the smell much, either). Truth be told, I had been considering buying one of their sprays from Neiman Marcus (which has a wider selection of the brand), but now I’m not so sure.

I guess fashion companies do this kind of thing a lot? I remember there was a bruhaha back in the 1990’s over Abercrombie & Fitch using naked people in their catalogs, but this is apparently the norm now. I Google’d “Tom Ford tasteless” and there were a couple of hits, one that suggest the ads are much worse in Europe form quite a few companies.

Do ads like this change your buying habits at all? I’m only starting to be able to afford nicer clothing and whatnot, so I haven’t encountered a lot of this kind of material before. It’s a little disconcerting, and I’m not really sure how to respond to it.

 

[Suslar]

They sure do change my buying habits - I would not participate in that kind of evil.

 

[R_C]

Immorality is quite widespread in things concerning vanity I don’t quite pay attention to it, but if I notice, I may make a conscious effort to avoid that product (I do buy cheap unadvertised stuff all the time anyways ).

 

[styrgwillidar]

Well, the Carl’s Jr. (fast food hamburger chain if you’re not familiar) had me stop going there for a while. Wrote a letter to them as well. I think it was back when they had some woman rolling around a car while washing it, skimpily dressed. Too many competitors for me to reward that kind of advertising.

I do find the Jack in the Box ads pretty funny most of the time.

 

[Kamaduck]

Any ad for a video game or anime that objectifies women gets the product automatically disqualified for me. If I actually watched ads for other stuff, I would probably refuse to buy anything with an offensive ad, even if it had no relation to the actual product being sold.

I don’t see ads that objectify men very much. I’ve seen some ads (both real and fake) that parody the ways advertisers objectify women, but I’m not sure I’ve ever seen it done seriously. Maybe a banner for yaoi-inspired webcomics every now and then. You certainly don’t see too many ads involving overly-exposed men that have nothing to do with the product being promoted- I think the ad mentioned in the OP is an exception in that sense.

 

[andrewstx]

Well, the Carl’s Jr. (fast food hamburger chain if you’re not familiar) had me stop going there for a while. Wrote a letter to them as well. I think it was back when they had some woman rolling around a car while washing it, skimpily dressed. Too many competitors for me to reward that kind of advertising.

I do find the Jack in the Box ads pretty funny most of the time.

JITB food is just stuffed with trans fat. Perfect if you want a coronary.

 

[andrewstx]

Personally I buy men’s cologne for the smell, when it’s not picked out for me.

 

[styrgwillidar]

JITB food is just stuffed with trans fat. Perfect if you want a coronary.

Well, I went pescatarian a while ago so I don’t eat at any of the fast food joints anymore, do take the kids occasionally. But in terms of advertising, I prefer the humorous approach and silliness over the overt sexuality.