Sex Advertisments as Borrowed Interest Devices

I read an article about an ad which was actually a poster across a room and had "SEX" written on it in the largest font size possible. As every human secretly fantasizes about it, I (please consider me a human) would have also gone closer to it; just to read a smaller print at the bottom which would have said, "Now that I have your attention, let me tell you about the advantages of….". There are many ads which can be googled and related to the similar theme as mentioned here. Self embarrassment would have crept into me because I myself thought that how can a marketer be prone to such ads. The would be reason for the embarrassment actually was the hidden wish that no one else on this planet should have seen me commit such a probable mistake (would it be one ?). I then would have said, Brilliant Concept. Hats off to the mind behind the ad !!

A thought about the ad specifics made me believe that the concept of borrowed interest was again panned as a poor communications vehicle made by amateur ad designers. I still think that borrowed interest ads and marketing communications of similar types get a lot more credit than they actually deserve. The ad actually targets everyone including me, ignorant of the fact that there have to be specific target audiences to be kept in consideration. The sole purpose of this ad is just to capture the attention of every Tom, Dick and Harry passerby. I asked myself, "Are ads made to create awareness and get attention?" The answer I got is "Yes". I again asked, "Did this ad had a target market in consideration when it was displayed?". This time, I got the answer as "NO".

The ad basically tried to capture attention without before even trying to consider the customers as the potential market. It also made me understand a fact that not all tag lines have the same amount of substance in the body copy and it is better to ignore them. Therein comes the concept of "Borrowed Interest". It tried to borrow the interest from an act "sex" which is actually liked by all human beings on the earth, but it is impossible to have a target audience which comprises of the entirety of human race.

In case, the ad team which was behind this ad comes across this blog post of mine, I suggest 3 things which the ad team should have in mind while making an ad from the next time.

1. Target ads at people who are interested in the ownership of the product being advertised. It is indeed not necessary to get the attention of any non-buyer.
2. Good ads should be aimed at the people whom you are selling to. The ad comprising of the main theme, body copy and the tag line should have a sync in them.
3. The marketing communique should be aimed at the interest of the target market rather than all the viewers of the ad.