Accidental Sex Appeal
Recently Mabbly undertook an experiment to see how sex can be used as a tool for exposure. Those senior to me proposed a challenge in that: can someone make something that is inherently not sexy… sexy?
I responded with flaccid confusion but primal interest. Scouring the web for something inherently not sexy, like mayonnaise, yielded evidence that the effort to make something sexy is in full swing financially.
The sex article did well, which is a testament to the power of sex in marketing. Applying a metric to sex appeal, as discovered, only happens retroactively. This retro activity is often time not planned for, and marketed to death afterwards.
3) Michelle Jenneke
Michelle Jenneke is an Olympic Athlete, as a hurdler she is already decorated with various medals from competition. She competes for Australia and for all intents and purposes is not necessarily known for her off the wall, championship skills on the track, but her pregame warm-up routine.
2) Playboy
On the surface Playboy is a company consumed by sex. Playmates, bunnies, and films are all an outgrowth of this magazine’s success. Playboy was not meant to be the sex behemoth it appears to be though. There are other articles in between the centerfolds. Those articles are highly intellectual and thought provoking. Playboy is a legitimate publishing body, that was first and foremost meant to be a publication for the contemporary gentlemen.
So what happened? Marilyn Monroe and teenage boys helped change the perception Playboy was known for in the 60’s and 70’s. It transformed from a publication that covered free love, counter culture, and politics into who has the nicest body. Trapping this sex appeal has worked out well for the company.
(Probably the one of the coolest men of all time)
Why is this woman famous? This is the first thought I have whenever anyone mentions this individual. She has been able to construct a massive and highly profitable brand out of her celebrity. The origin of this celebrity is rooted in a highly sexualized video she and her partner at the time, ‘Ray J,’ produced. This video, which was released in 2007 was essentially a sex tape, actually it wasn’t just essentially a sex tape, it was in its entirety, a sex tape. At the time Kardashian was a stylist for Paris Hilton and pretty much that was it.
The tapes explosion into the mainstream enabled Kardashian to build her brand on the E! network, which led to endorsement deals, and arguably the dissolution of intelligence by many viewers.
Her life is now a media affair which sells, sells, and sells. She was able to tap into a sex appeal that was much greater and in general not intended. Her sex tape was not meant to be the reason she became famous but it seems that it is the only reason she is famous.
(She is worth nearly $40 million)
