Sexual innuendo in advertising doesn’t get any more textbook perfect than Newport‘s “Alive with Pleasure!” ads that were everywhere in the 70s and 80s. The subconscious imagery was taken to new heights in the Newport ads which were the ultimate in sex sells marketing. You can’t be TOO obvious with your innuendo – otherwise, it ceases to be innuendo and is just pornography. For instance, a naked couple having sex wouldn’t have sold many cigarettes then... today is another time. According to Retrospace‘s blog…
First, you grab the reader’s attention. Brilliant green may be ugly, but you can’t blindly pass by this page… it demands your attention, even if it’s no more than a couple seconds.
One thing the human mind associates with sex (this is proven – not a personal theory) is a certain “O face”. You’ll notice that the women in nearly every single one of these ads is clearly demonstrating the classic O face (i.e. orgasm face). In the example above, she’s between his legs with the O face; and he’s holding a perfectly positioned “pole”.
Okay, if this is for heterosexual males, why is she shooting a stream of jiz water into his mouth? Remember, these aren’t meant to be analyzed (like we’re doing). They’re meant to to be looked at for a split second. The association that’s implanted in your mind is “sex sex sex sex sex”; and sex = pleasure = Newport.
It’s brilliant! Now, I know there’s skeptics out there that think this sort of psychology is a bunch of rubbish. Let me just say that those people are naive. No one understood this better than the propaganda ministers of the The Third Reich….. except maybe Madison Avenue.
It’s been demonstrated that sex is the second strongest behind all psychological appeals. It only makes sense that advertisers would capitalize on this to move product. This woman isn’t holding on to a bed’s headboard in this photo – but she may as well be. Classic O face. Well done, Newport. Well done.
Agreed. But does this make you want a butt? If so, which kind?
(T/Y, Alan; via Retrospace)