International brand Remington have apparently created a very near the knuckle, definitely NSFW spoof microsite to try and grow brand awareness with a young male audience.
The site is based around a fake fashion designer called Stephane Monzon who makes "clothes" (term used very loosely) for women. But these clothes are so sparse that basically the models are pretty much naked, and in every case topless. Remington have then "sponsored" the designer’s show (as you can see in the graphic to the left which I had to pixelate to preserve the model’s decency!).
The site intends to grow brand awareness with men by working on a word-of-mouth viral action, with the end result being that when men are next in the market for buying an electronic beauty product, presumably either for themselves or for a girlfriend, they will remember the good looking nude models, and think "ah! Remington"
hmm - yeah! that’s what I thought.
The site is extremely racy and to be honest I am amazed that they’re willing to go along with it. It’s not far from soft porn really along the lines of Zoo magazine etc. It’s either a very bold move that’s going to work loads, or it’s a bit of a crazy mistake and it’s going to tank. It’s got nudes in it though, so virally it’s on the ball! Lads are bound to wing it around the web (you can download the video so no doubt it’ll end up on youtube before too long).
The strategy would seem a little off though IMHO - i’m not entirely convinced that young men are going to think of the brand by association with the naked girls and come up with it next time they’re shopping in argos. Also, as every man knows, you NEVER comment on a woman’s appearance - such as the "does my bum look big in this" type question - i mean, can you imagine buying your girlfriend a bikini trimmer and not getting a look of revulsion at the suggestion she’s a bit hairy??
Well, it is what it is. I mean, I’ve done viral things myself in the past featuring semi nude women (for respectable brands I might add!), and I’ve even got a few friends who have work on porno web sites, and that’s all very well and good depending on your opinion, but in the right place. Whether this is the right move for Remington remains to be seen. It’s working for Lynx/Axe so who knows (but theirs are a bit more though and not so obviously "nude").
Oh, and even though there is a link to the site I advise, it is NSFW!!
http://www.stefanemonzon.com/
Howard
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