The Consumerist relates a story about this billboard for a Chicago medical spa with a scantily clad woman on it. She's a little too "un-clad" and the community took up a petition to have it replaced. (Modesty Box added by Yours Truly.)What gets me is the owner's arrogant, chauvinistic response (he's French), insisting the billboard appeals to his male clientèle:
"...This is a man's world. I don't want to sound cocky, but I'm so big in the business that if I lose a handful of clients, we'll get some new ones."
Since I work in advertising, I wish more clients would take risks. Generally speaking, if you aren't risking something you have very little to gain. However, flat-out saying, "I'm so good, I don't care if I lose customers," especially over advertising that is neither strategic nor conceptual, is a good way to do the latter: lose customers.
I really hope this guy goes down in flames.
so i heard offensive ads are the new thing in advertising. It is amazing what goes up in some places.
ReplyDeleteShocking ads are being used, essentially, because people aren't bright enough/too lazy to come up with actual concepts.
ReplyDeleteThis particular guy seems like he's shooting himself in the foot in a number of ways, one being that he's likely alienating a lot of potential female customers by using this base method of advertising.