But then I checked out the site and thought whoa! They REALLY want this product to seem manly, which led me to Guys and Dolls™ which is about the extremes of the sexes: “Give me my power tools!” “Give me my power frills!”™

Then I read: “SEX. Get more of it” and saw pic of a swimsuit clad woman being thrown over a dudes shoulder as her scantily clad butt is featured with the tag line: “Swagger. Do it because you can.”

That settled it. Definitely going in Suggestive Selling™.

The Suggestive Selling™ wave is about unashamedly appealing to the reproductive instinct on a visual level. The Human Truth™ is: “I can’t help looking at what’s hot.”™

With other copy like: “Are you a modern warrior? A macho man who could punch a hole in a cement wall while simultaneously banging three girls at the same time?”

They ain’t playin’!

There’s even a part of the site that explains “Peacocking- The Pick Up Artist’s Secret Weapon.” Which is essentially dressing in an eye-catching way in order to attract attention and spark conversation with women. Yes, Alpha Nail is definitely at home in the Suggestive Selling™ wave.

This latest one is no exception.

Yes,  that’s him sniffing a fragrance tester pulled from a models butt crack.
He has had so many magazine shoots and ad campaigns that court controversy… many of them way too NSFW to even link too. Russian GQ have named him its International Man Of The Year (this pic is from their article), but I will call him the poster child for Suggestive Selling™.

This wave is about appealing our basic animal instincts. Most of us can’t help looking at whats hot, even if we ultimately disapprove. Catching the eye is what any campaign could hope for but most brands don’t want to court such controversy. Not everyone believes the “any publicity is good publicity” line.

Suggestive Selling™ is constantly pushing what we will allow on our billboards and magazine pages.

A good campaign should embody a brand’s values and “personality” and Tom Ford is unapologetic about expressing his.

Well, I know a lot of guys who would scan this code if they were waiting for a bus or train.  Even though you know they won’t be naked under there…. you just can’t help yourself… you want to peek!  The VAST majority of us… yes, men and women “can’t help looking at what’s hot!”
That’s why “Sex Sells” will always be one of the oldest and longest lasting advertising truisms.

Well here’s a textbook case of Suggestive Selling™ and it seems to be working out for these gals. Baby’s Badass Burgers arrived on the scene with hot girls in tiny booty shorts, tight tank tops, and high heels pushing $5 burgers with names like Cougar (beef, black truffles) and the Hot Chick (buffalo chicken with bleu cheese).   Their hot pink van streaks around the west side hot spots, and judging from their website, they are getting lots off attention from the press and celebs alike.

Selling sex & meat was the brainchild of ex-New Yorker restaurateur Erica Cohen and celebrated event planner Lori Barbera.

“It’s been fascinating to witness the trend over the last decade of the gourmet burger being added to many high-end restaurant menus, and even more fascinating to appreciate consumers didn’t blink at an exorbitant $15+ price point,” Cohen explains. “Now, with the recession, that consumer perception around value is reversing course. Baby’s Badass Burgers, which strips out the hard costs of a traditional restaurant, allows us to deliver greater value at a fraction of the cost, more conveniently, without compromising restaurant-level quality. It’s a win-win-win from studio heads to college students to late night revelers looking to satisfy their gourmet burger craving.”

Suggestive Selling™ is exactly how it sounds: “I can’t help looking at what’s hot.”™

Whatever camp you fall in, you must admit it’s a fairly engaging 30 secs of advertising and that’s what Suggestive Selling™ is all about.  The Human Truth™ is “I can’t help looking at what’s hot.”

So many viral Suggestive Selling examples are NSFW, which kind of defeats the purpose of it being shared and watched as much as possible.  This is a great example of a vid that is safe for work but really feels like it shouldn’t be!

According to the press release:  “EIZO medical imaging high precision displays for the examination and diagnosis of radiographs. Whereas craftsmen are showered with pin-up-calendars at the end of every year, this kind of present is less popular among medics. EIZO breaks this taboo. This pin-up calendar shows absolutely every detail.”

I think these ads are so Suggestive Selling™, it’s ridiculous! I mean the male doctors may be amused, but how about the females? Are there some image examples of strong, sexy males? Although, a well endowed man could convince me that I needed a EIZO imaging machine!  Oops, I’m a dirty girl…..

Well they do say sex sells, and whether it’s a medical imaging machine, or soap, it is a documented fact!  Some do it subliminally, and others are a little more blatant!  More power to ‘em!  You really can’t get any more bare bones than this…

“I can’t help looking at what’s hot™” …even if it’s an ad for toilet cleaner!  Sometimes the best ideas are about doing the opposite of what is expected.

“Ambi Pur have released a new range of liquid toilet cleaner gels that combine hospital grade disinfectant with Ambi Pur fragrance to produce a toilet cleaner that doesn’t smell like one. To highlight the difference of its product versus other toilet cleaners, Ambi Pur has partnered with new Sydney agency JayGrey to produce a creative campaign titled ‘Now that’s an Eau De Toilette’, likening the toilet gel to leading perfumes on the market. The campaign features a series of print ads and TVCs”

Do your self a favor and click on the link for either a chuckle or a tingle… I had both!

Well I just thought it was interesting that one of today’s most Dugg articles was about just that.  If you feel like an amusing break down of how “All fast food advertising is now replaced with porn” then click thru.

I’m going to focus on a recent Australian campaign for Nando’s (a Portuguese style chicken chain).  After living in the U.S for a long time I couldn’t help but chuckle when I saw the billboard emblazoned with PORTUGASM and wonder if that would fly Stateside.

Nando’s National Marketing Manager, Justin Monaghan said: “Portugasm is a celebration of the way you feel when you eat Nando’s. Nando’s is all about having an ‘uplifting experience’ and the springboard for this is the best tasting chicken in the world. While providing a great experience is serious business, at Nando’s we refuse to take life too seriously.  It has been rumored for centuries that PERi-PERi sauce is an aphrodisiac. Our extensive and exhaustive in-home consumer testing, which involved overnight trials and in depth interviews, have provided the empirical evidence to give us the confidence to pursue Portugasm,” he said.

If you have time, check out the Hi-larious viral site http://portugasm.com/

At the end of the day I guess you have to know your audience well to judge how far you can push the Suggestive Selling envelope.  In Nando’s case, they are quite aware of the Aussie’s very tolerant and broad sense of humor so they got it right.  Apparently, (according to the PR guy) they are “adopting the word into their everyday vernacular – in all sorts of cheeky ways.”

“In 1976 Australia had 54,000 more men than women aged in their thirties, but by 2006 the excess of young men had turned into a deficit of 9,000.”
(I can tell you first hand…it’s pretty rough out there folks.)

Well it seems our rival city Melbourne ( much like the San Fran / LA thing ) is planning to jump on the chance to stick it to us.  I have had unconfirmed reports that they are considering a tourism campaign based on the fact that their “man drought stats” are slightly better than ours.  Along the lines of “come have a girlie weekend in Melb – there’s better odds of a fling or snagging a hubby…” or something like that… probably not that at all- but you know what I’m saying.

Interesting that no-one is really jumping on the even more shocking stats of the devastating Female Drought in rural Australia and rural NZ.  Yep Our Kiwi Cousins have got just as many ( if not more ) lonely farmers looking for a “Missus”.  “Single men are concentrated in rural and remote communities whereas single women prefer the city and lifestyle towns in seachange and treechange communities.” says one study

Then you have the case of the resort in Tropical Queensland that has boosted business by becoming not only nudist, but a destination for swingers – “Hedonism” style.  That’s a pretty ballsy way of handling the downturn  (pun intended) but it’s working, they are booked out months in advance and the laid-back locals seem nonplussed and supportive adopting a “hey, whatever works” response to the “new kind” of tourists wandering their town.

Interesting that in these challenging times we are seeing so much more evidence falling in the “lower” Maslow categories of Physiological & Safety.  Its like people are getting quite primal with their coping mechanisms.

Magazines were feeling the pinch even before the recession so it seems aiming at the LCD (lowest common denominator) is their desperate attempt to shock and titillate readers into buying their publications.

Well that’s the whole point of Suggestive Selling™ and it seems when times are tough the evidence moves down the Maslow pyramid into Safety & Physiological. It’s like a retreat to more basic instinct when we are faced with fear.  Perhaps people’s motivations for purchasing these rags are similar to watching reality TV…witnessing such train wrecks makes us feel better about our lives.