The ad world's hottest trend: hot hunks.
That's right, sexy guys — not gals — featured in racy TV spots. It's hunk-a-rama time in new or recent advertising from some of the nation's biggest brands. On Monday, one more will enter the fray — Diet Dr Pepper — in a 30-second commercial with a new, shirtless hunk who, with a wink, lays claim to being the hottest of all of his hunk predecessors.
Wearing nothing but tight denims, newcomer actor Josh Button emerges from the ocean onto the sand and boasts that he is "really, really, really, really — really good looking." The ad was created by the Los Angeles office of the ad agency Deutsch.
Behind all the heat: cool. It's become culturally cool to feature hunky guys in ads, something even Kraft is doing with its Zesty line of salad dressing. After all, women still do most of the shopping — and advertisers are targeting them with these racy TV spots. It's all about getting folks to first notice the ad from among all the media clutter, and then share the ad via social media.
"The idea is not to associate hot men with the brand but, rather, to get female viewers to watch," says brand guru David Aaker.
One problem: The trend's become a tidal wave. That's when consumer interest tends to wane. "Seems like it's time for a break from this approach, because the "surprise" factor is kind of used up for now," says Allison Cohen, ad consultant and president of PeopleTalk Research.
Never mind that Dr Pepper is only too happy to jump in. That's because, it says, it's doing it with a wink. "We're poking fun at ourselves and the trend of hot guys in advertising," says Jaxie Alt, senior vice president of marketing at Dr Pepper. Even then, she adds, with a laugh, "Our guy's the hottest."
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