Why have naked men become such a big feature in advertising in the last few years?
I am not sure if there is a good communication based set of reasons, such as the ability of naked men to stop, grab attention and draw viewers in and so lead to more attention and finally get better ad recall. What if the novelty of seeing naked male flesh starts to wear off?
Are naked men becoming a bit like dogs and babies which over time has been proven to increase the likeability, enjoyment and recall of adverts (I have to admit to once having been involved in a TV that tested well - but we found that the whole driver of all of that was the opening shot of a great looking dog running along a beach....).
Or, is it more of a deep cultural something or other? Letting women experience the titillation that historically was limited to sexy women in ads for men.
Or is it that one ad in particular stood out for me, and then a lot like when you are thinking of buying a certain type of car you suddenly keep seeing them...
Or something else? But it really does seem that naked and scantily dressed men are becoming a bigger part in the creative executions. (And it does, of course, raise the bar for us men as the men are all rather buff, toned and generally in pretty good overall shape).
Here are some ads that started me off on asking myself the question about why there were so many naked men, and what role they really play in the idea.
The ad that started me off was the VISA ad of the poor groom running naked through the countryside with just a visa card. In addition to being somewhat envious of his pert backside, the image of a naked man running through the countryside undoubtedly had the stopping power and pulls you to find out what is going on. Here the naked man device works as the stag night prank is understood at the end which explains why he was naked - but also it makes the product as hero as all he had was the card and it saves the day.
You can see the long version of the ad on YouTube by clicking here
Or watch in the blog posting below.
There is also an ad for Aero that uses a muscular American soap star called Jason Lewis, more targeted at women, talking about the Aero bubbles. The idea is the women don't get the message about the product because they are distracted by the man. So there is an attempt make the semi-naked man part of an idea. But it is probably a bit clumsy and obvious. So unless shirtless men appeals to you don't get into ad and the message.
Watch that on YouTube by clicking here
Or in the blog posting below
I do, however, see the naked men in the ads for D&G 2007/2008 Winter Season as more just gratuitous placing of naked men to stop women. Or is there a bigger creative idea here (women dominating men?)
I guess one question to ask is: do men (straight men anyway) find naked men in ads engaging or they switch off? I suspect it is around the role and the idea. I assume the VISA ad is persuasive to men.
There is one manufacturer (JBS underwear) uses the idea that men do not want to see naked men or men in underwear (and so positioning versus Calvin Klein etc) and made the ad below. Interestingly it probably is more repelling to men than engaging!
Note. The ad shows a woman's naked boobs so if you don't want to see that, then don't watch the ad! Click here to see the ad on YouTube
Or watch in the blog posting
I am not sure if there is a good communication based set of reasons, such as the ability of naked men to stop, grab attention and draw viewers in and so lead to more attention and finally get better ad recall. What if the novelty of seeing naked male flesh starts to wear off?
Are naked men becoming a bit like dogs and babies which over time has been proven to increase the likeability, enjoyment and recall of adverts (I have to admit to once having been involved in a TV that tested well - but we found that the whole driver of all of that was the opening shot of a great looking dog running along a beach....).
Or, is it more of a deep cultural something or other? Letting women experience the titillation that historically was limited to sexy women in ads for men.
Or is it that one ad in particular stood out for me, and then a lot like when you are thinking of buying a certain type of car you suddenly keep seeing them...
Or something else? But it really does seem that naked and scantily dressed men are becoming a bigger part in the creative executions. (And it does, of course, raise the bar for us men as the men are all rather buff, toned and generally in pretty good overall shape).
Here are some ads that started me off on asking myself the question about why there were so many naked men, and what role they really play in the idea.
The ad that started me off was the VISA ad of the poor groom running naked through the countryside with just a visa card. In addition to being somewhat envious of his pert backside, the image of a naked man running through the countryside undoubtedly had the stopping power and pulls you to find out what is going on. Here the naked man device works as the stag night prank is understood at the end which explains why he was naked - but also it makes the product as hero as all he had was the card and it saves the day.
You can see the long version of the ad on YouTube by clicking here
Or watch in the blog posting below.
There is also an ad for Aero that uses a muscular American soap star called Jason Lewis, more targeted at women, talking about the Aero bubbles. The idea is the women don't get the message about the product because they are distracted by the man. So there is an attempt make the semi-naked man part of an idea. But it is probably a bit clumsy and obvious. So unless shirtless men appeals to you don't get into ad and the message.
Watch that on YouTube by clicking here
Or in the blog posting below
I do, however, see the naked men in the ads for D&G 2007/2008 Winter Season as more just gratuitous placing of naked men to stop women. Or is there a bigger creative idea here (women dominating men?)
I guess one question to ask is: do men (straight men anyway) find naked men in ads engaging or they switch off? I suspect it is around the role and the idea. I assume the VISA ad is persuasive to men.
There is one manufacturer (JBS underwear) uses the idea that men do not want to see naked men or men in underwear (and so positioning versus Calvin Klein etc) and made the ad below. Interestingly it probably is more repelling to men than engaging!
Note. The ad shows a woman's naked boobs so if you don't want to see that, then don't watch the ad! Click here to see the ad on YouTube
Or watch in the blog posting
1 comment:
I think it is a good development that there are more naked men in ads and commercials. Naked or half-naked women have always been in there, and it is more than about time that we women see some nice male goodies to enjoy. For we women are also consumers, watch TV and read magazines :)
Of course the men in commercials usually do not look like the guy next door, and I can imagine that men feel bothered and/or insecure by that. Same goes for us ladies.
Anyway, I say: more naked men = more happy women \o/
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