Channel Surfing with Dreighton Pickner (ad critic) : July 2007

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Welcome again to another edition of “Channel Surfing” – the online weblog for all you ad guys and gals out there in interland!

Last month I talked a little bit about where the ad execs are missing the boat with youth advertising. I enjoyed reading all of the emails and positive feedback you sent! (Maybe you could forward those to some agencies for me?)

This month we’re going to tackle something a little more “nsfw” – and that is… (a drum roll here would be really funny, wouldn’t it?) sex in advertising. Now I know what a lot of people have been saying for a long time: “Sex sells.” But does it? For all those light beer and sports car commercial guys out there, let me just tell you one thing – it doesn’t. I’ve enjoyed many a frosty Coors Light in my day and never once did I find myself surrounded by several bikini-clad supermodels. Nope, just me and the two guys who live in apartment 3 from the next complex over standing over the barbeque, still talking about our fantasy football leagues.

Same thing goes for the car. Last summer I bought a cherry 2002 Miata. It’s not that I was having some sort of mid-life crisis or anything like that, but with the divorce being final and a little bit of change in my pocket thanks to my YourLogoHere! severance package, I thought maybe it’s time to trade that old Suzuki Sidekick in for something with a little more pop. I had told myself it was time to reintroduce the world to Dreighton Pickner, Part Deux! LOL! And this car had “pop” in spades. CD player. Wheel covers. 160 horsepower? Whew!

So imagine how it felt to be cruising down the strip in Skokie, IL where all the happenings go down and have a couple of gals pull up next to me and ask me if my daughter knew I was borrowing her BarbieMobile? What did she even mean by that? Well, she certainly wasn’t coming on to me… at least I don’t think she was. Who knows with those gothics women anyway?

Now, faithful readers – don’t think I bought any Coors Light or Miata because I thought it would make women fall at my feet. I’ve done enough ad jockeying in this life and I think I’m smart enough to know better. But when you put out that message… well, you’re just lying to those poor saps out there who are in a weak and vulnerable state. Life can deal you some pretty bad hands and the last thing any guy needs is to begin rebuilding his confidence just to have it torn up and thrown in his face by some chick with a nose ring on the one year anniversary of his wife leaving him to be with some sports agent.

By the by, if you know anyone who’s looking to get into a sweet little pimped auto, let them know there’s a sweet deal on Joliet.craigslist.org for a miata. Priced to sell, these child support payments are stacking up pretty rough on old Dreighton. [dp]