Sexy Advertising: Paris Hilton and the 3 tests

The sexy Paris Hilton ads haven't made Hardees burger sales jump. This, of course, doesn't surprise us. As we spelled out in our 3 tests for evaluating sexy ads, sexy ads do capture attention and generate word-of-mouth. But to be effective, the ads need relevance and should be part of a whole brand image.

Is Paris Hilton and her "slutty heiress" act relevant to burgers? No. A thousand times no. You wouldn't want her near your food unless she'd washed up really well. Who knows where those hands have been? The ad probably chased away as many women as it attracted men.

Is the ad part of a whole brand image? Hardees is targeting young men, but none of their other ads feature rich girls gone wild. No.

The Reef girls are still my standard for sexy ad effectiveness. They promote the product, not themselves. The ads are hot enough to be (literally) remarkable. And they are part and parcel of the overall Reef brand.