Nathanael is a designer within the corporate world, an artist in the real world, and a sometime writer in other worlds. It’s great to have him join us here at kilobox communiqué.
Picture if you will; a pulsing light, from a source that you cannot determine, suddenly transforms before your very eyes into the indicator lamp on a passing car in your rear-view mirror. The car eases into the passing lane revealing the driver to be a slender and sophisticated woman in her thirties driving a luxury saloon whose exotic styling matches her own. She smiles at you showing she has a wicked and mischievous side capable of wild and sensual acts for those she chooses to spend her time with.
Before you can truly drink it all in, the car has passed you by, and sped off into the distance, leaving nothing but the empty, winding Italian country road for company.
Moments later you arrive at your destination; a luxurious house sculpted from concrete, glass, and steel. The light is on in the bedroom and you enter. You smile as the mysterious woman puts her arms around you, and you kiss.
Now that I have your attention, I’d like to broach the subject of engagement. Not the type that involves rings, although that can be just as difficult to successfully achieve. I’m talking about engaging with your audience.
For the purposes of this, I’m going to assume that you have something to sell. I’ll have to trust that your technical information is accurate and available (not to mention accessible in all senses of the word) for those who want it, although it’s certainly not always a requirement; perfume adverts (be they for the male or female demographic and / or variety) and M&S adverts rely purely on the sexed-up imagery without any need to back them up with facts.
What I’m going to suggest is slightly controversial to people with no real exposure to the marketing and advertising worlds; make things ‘sexy‘.
Sexy doesn’t always mean overtly sexual; human beings are all about pleasure centres: use attractive imagery, make your audience feel good, make them feel smart, make them think “Yeah, I’d do them / I’d love to be like them!” or (in some rare cases), sleep with them.
Flatter them, but don’t speak down to them.
People adore being adored. They love to be loved. They want to be wanted.
Use it.
You’ll likely have twenty seconds before the parts of the brain that deal with logic cotton on and decide that the sleek curves of the car that ostensibly suggest a feline grace (but which actually suggest in the mind of the viewer that the car is sleek and graceful like a woman) aren’t actually that attractive, and that they don’t really care that much about the style or desirability of that Yaris because women won’t really be throwing themselves at them just because they think you drive one.
Use it well, and use it quickly.
Engage.
[Nathanael]About the author
Nathanael is a professional artist, working in a visual communications field. Amongst his many jobs are interface design and marketing materials where he has to evaluate who the end user is, and who the target audience is.
Hi Nathanael, well you certainly caught my attention!
I don’t find your suggestions at all controversial; I always knew that ‘sex sells’ but it’s enlightening to discover the psychology behind the adverts.
I’m not sure how I can make my erasers sexy (unless I revert to calling them rubbers!) but you’ve certainly given me food for thought this morning.
Thank you.
I’m sure that your erasers are pleasingly shaped and/or coloured, and I’m guessing that there’s a good chance that they’re pleasing to the touch too. It’s more about pleasure centres than actual sex per se. ;)