I'm all about using sex to sell products. You'll never hear me complain about a suggestive ad; however, this Smirnoff ad may be the exception. I've got a problem with this.
What's the matter with this one? Let me answer that by explaining to you that the "sex sells" principle can be used in one of two ways...
1. Overt sexual imagery. Example: A woman in a Playboy bunny outfit in an office supply brochure
2. Subliminal sexual imagery: Example A woman takes a drink from a garden hose in a cigarette ad.
This Smirnoff ad qualifies for neither. It tries to be subliminal, but it is so unbelievably obvious that the illusion is broken. We see a chick literally polishing a man's wooden shaft whilst he looks down as someone would who is on the receiving end of a dynamite hand job. Unbelievable.
You've got to hand it to Smirnoff. They tried to cross the line.... a line that only Newport knew how to cross. I commend their frontier spirit.
