Cheeky British ad takes fantasies to new level
David Perry, Executive editor -- Furniture Today, March 23, 2003
A while back we got everyone all hot and bothered, so to speak, with an in-depth examination of the issue of why bedding ads picture bare-chested guys.
Well, this week we take that bedding puzzler to a whole new place. A place where we must tread very carefully indeed. Yes, we now move to a below-the-belt look at the very latest in bedding ads.
This one comes not from the good ol' U.S.A. but from our cheeky friends on the other side of the Pond. I saw this ad in a magazine during a recent trip to London.
As you can see, it features a guy who not only has a bare chest but also has a bare ... bottom, a portion of which is visible. The Furniture/ Today censors have covered the poor guy so that we can show him to you in this family furniture newspaper.
The headline uses the old "no butts..." teaser and then moves seamlessly into the key selling point: "just great beds."
The ad copy builds on the revealing picture: "Our brochure is packed full of temptation. From beds and mattresses, to linen, mirrors, and a full range of bedroom furniture. So order your copy now and prepare to be seduced."
The retailer is The Iron Bed Company, www.ironbed.com, which sells mattresses, hand-made iron beds, linens, duvets and pillows. The company has 19 stores across the United Kingdom.
That naked guy in the ad is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to appealing to consumers' fantasies. The Web site says the company offers everything consumers need "for a good night's sleep."
But not stopping there, it says its products also enable their users to "replenish your energy or indulge in your wildest sensual fantasies."
This, clearly, is masterful marketing. I mean, who doesn't want to get a great night's sleep, replenish his or her energy and indulge his or her wildest sensual fantasies?
Too bad it's not possible to do all that in the same night. (Or am I showing my age here?)
Leave it to our British friends (despite that little unpleasantness back there in the 18th century) to show us in the Colonies ... er, States how to increase mattress and metal bed sales. We've just got to take our bare-chested guys and move the camera south a bit. No ifs, ands or "butts" about it.
