Sylvia L. Harvey

Top designer Tom Ford has become synonymous with sexually provocative ads that brought a higher level of creativity to the fashion industry. While there are critics who feel that Tom Ford’s ads are distasteful and reek of pornography, the commercial impact Tom Ford has made in the fashion world is undeniable.

Let’s look at the ad campaign for the fragrance, Tom Ford for Men introduced in 2007. Tom Ford used a captivating recipe of Sex Sells with equal parts of strategic product placement to stir up controversy and effectively make his cologne a success.

The first ad features a sexy image of a woman lying on her back, her mouth covered with red lipstick lewdly reminiscent of a blow-up doll. The model is glistening with oil and her bright red manicured hands are pressing her breasts together to display a bottle of Tom Ford for Men between her cleavage. Check it out here.

The second ad features a model, this time from the waist down. She is still oiled and without a stitch of clothing. Where is the product to be advertised you ask? Tom Ford’s fragrance is strategically placed between her legs! Here’s the ad.

Love the ads or hate them, Ford has accomplished his goal to evoke emotion which will definitely get people talking. With people talking, Ford’s brand name is spoken of frequently and the spotlight turned towards the company. Whether we condone this type of advertising or not, controversial ads will always make you take a second look. One could only ponder at how many brands became famous by just that second look.

When products are sold using promiscuous advertisements; who is the target market?

Photograph Credit:
Sabrina Segal