HBO’s show Hung needed a little bit of attention to promote the show. The series features a forty something father, with no money and decides to turn to prostitution to get the funds to win his kids back. An Auckland based marketing company, Colenso BBDO, was sought out by HBO to promote the show and to generate publicity. BBDO is currently one of New Zealand’s highest ranked ad agencies and was ranked top ad agency of the decade by Campaign Brief What they erected, for lack of a better word, is definitely creating publicity. Located on Victoria Street in central Auckland, an enormous crotch with the show’s title plastered on it rests. Despite one’s personal opinion of the show, it is impossible to deny the eye catching success of the billboard. Sex sells, and when the series’ title is ‘Hung’ might as well get right to the point. Is this overtly sexual add too much to be on a billboard? Or is it no different then any beer campaign with scandalous women in revealing clothes, or perfume advertisements alluding to sex and rape. Sex selling advertisements however are usually due to a an attractive person having little or nothing to do with the product being advertised. However, in this case, the subject matter is exactly what is being displayed, clear and concise. So is it fair to say that the advertising company is using sex to sell, because it really is just selling the product it self.Image: coolhunter.com
I don't see anything inappropriate about this ad at all. Like you said they are selling exactly what the product is. I think that it is fairly tame for what I understand the subject matter of the show to be. The billboard could be a lot more graphic than this for what it is selling.
ReplyDeleteI think that this ad is very suitable for the show that HBO is trying to promote. The ad is provocative enough to catch attention, but isn't showing off anything too scandalous that younger citizens couldn't handle. The ad is effective because it doesn't provide too much information, yet holds peoples curiosity to find out more. What is HUNG? People will have to search and find out show times and story lines etc, after seeing the very blunt and sexual advertisement. Overall I believe this ad is simple and will work to create a buzz about the new show.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the comments above. More importantly though, I think that this billboard is an example of what most billboard advertising will eventually be. We see hundreds of advertisements walking down any street. Our brains are beginning to simply block out anything that doesn't immediately catch our attention. More and more we see advertisements that are literally popping out of buildings or in this case, the billboard itself. I would not be surprised if in the near future our city landscapes will be filled with abstract products and advertisements popping out of every direction.
ReplyDeleteI found this photo online and laughed, its a good marketing ploy and its not as offensive as other marketing strategies we've seen online. The 3D dimension definitely makes it step out of the box and even though I know some parents will gasp as they walk down the street, its not graphic and the words are not explicit.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, I have heard of people seeing "innovative billboards" and having car accidents because of this. Is there such a thing as too much eye-grabbing?
Your totally right Robin, basically 3D billboards are much more likely to attract the peoples eye than any 2D billboard.
ReplyDeleteI can see why this company has been so successful, by just adding that 3D dimension to the advertisement they have already separated themselves from every other standard billboard, which in our day in age is pretty damn important if you want to get noticed. Its pretty funny when you think about it, what putting a big implied crouch bulge in an otherwise plane white ad with just the name of the show can do for that eye-catching factor.
Ahhh the 3D revolution! It's jumped from our movie screens to the street. Personally, I'm not offended by this ad for "Hung". It certainly gets my attention, so well played HBO. Also, if anyone has a problem with it, then maybe we should remove all of the half naked women from our billboards as well.
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