Herbal Essences defined their brand by being "unintentionally" sexy. It's never explained why washing hair with Herbal Essences makes women climax anytime, anywhere, but that's not the point. It's also convenient that someone's always in earshot so that everybody enjoys the girl getting off. The example below (with bonus Australian accent!) is filled with the oops-I'm-naughty dialogue, adding comedy to deflect any guilt felt listening to a hot model get her rocks off. Closing line and the expression from the goofy male part of the couple clearly takes away from the "unintentional," but bear with me.
This is smart advertising in that people have a distinct association with Herbal Essences thanks to these ads. At least their marketing department gets the joke. Other marketing bits start off with (probably) no sex in mind but evolve into something else. Case in point: Erin Esurance. Do a Google image search and you'll find plenty of not-safe-for-work links. The esurance website has designed a virtual pad for any voyeur to peek into her life; click on the "Erin's World" tab and you can even read her Secret Diary! Don't expect anything titillating from the esurance site, but rest assured, there's plenty of other online places to find sexed-up renderings of a cartoon character. Even in the storyboards of the company that creates the commercials (frame 5 especially).
Intentional or unintentional? Maybe that question is also not the point. It's just interesting that something seemingly innocent could evolve into something very sexually charged. Know what I mean?
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