I picked the NewPaper up today, blue blue moon. Have you guys seen the front page? I was downright (upleft) appalled. S'pore's First Topless Car Wash, just what we need eh? The company of a motoring website had come up with the idea of a “one-off private car wash with topless women for a group of lucky winners.” It upsets me to find girls selling themselves like that. Private event it may be but hasn't it already been publicized, appearing front page? Which in turn makes this event to an extent, immoral and unethical. What is modesty in the world today?
"Sex sells. Advertising has to be something different, controversial at best, to attract attention." said Mr Chen, founder of the website holding the event. It attracts attention, yes, but the unlikely event isn't going to help the company in the long run. I don't know but how many guys will actually buy it? And what about the womenfolk who drive just as much as men today?
The event has a facebook page where participants are to introduce five “fans” in order to be eligible for the draw. Take a look for yourself, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Singapore/Tease-Wash/121780528043.There are 345 fans so far and the 'show' is later this month. Is that really the turnout Mr Chen wanted?
He could have come up with a morally excellent or lighthearted gimmick like say for example the latest Magnum royalty treatment advert with the woman being followed by people from the classical period. It won me over. I went to get my first Magnum ice cream right after I saw the advert and smiled thinking about it. That's what I call successful advertising, one that stays with you in a good way, makes you feel like the product being advertised is can I say, awesome? I'm not an extreme feminist or anything but bare chested women isn't exactly my idea of a gentleman's prerogative. I give Mr Chen credit for making it on the front page of the NewPaper, maybe the publicity stunt was what he was aiming for afterall, maybe his facebook page is going to be flooded instantly after tonight. Now I want to know what others think about the event. Shoot!
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In my opinion, I don't actually care about what others do to themselves as long as it doesn't involve myself or my loved ones. I think Singapore is still a little traditional when it comes to moral values. Maybe in countries like America, events like this would be nothing new.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I am nonchalant about this man's ideas. If you think about it, this man runs a business. Ethical or uneithical, disrespectful or respectful, if he makes money out of sex, then he's a brilliant business man.
At the end of the day, sex still sells. That's part of the superficial world we're living in right now. That's the obvious truth, I guess.
Yours truly,
Diyana Rahim
i hate it when they use this kind of sexuality to advertise the product.
ReplyDeleteAdvertising offers more than just low-grade, body-selling ideas.
ReplyDeleteWhat the guy is doing it not to sell a service but sex. Which shows that he doesn't even believe in what his company can provide.
One can never sell a product they don't even believe in.
End of the day, there's no 'long run' for his company coz he can't be selling sex forever, at least not legally.
I think there are other various ways to advertise a product successfully besides getting a naked model posing with it or anything which involves sex. I totally agree with joyce chiam - advertising is not just about selling a product; it sells the company's reputation as well. It's true that we are living in the 21st century and the society has generally begun to accept "creative advertising" as such. But face it, Asian countries, particularly Singapore, are especially conservative in nature. Thus, if such mode of advertising were to be used to sell a product in a local market, I don’t think it would hit it off as well as expected. True, such publicity stunt will still appeal to a certain number of people out there, but I believe it only forms the minority of the market. Not much of a good advertising method to use, eh, especially if it's used in the local context here?
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, it defeats the whole purpose of advertising – you are indirectly promoting sex instead of the product. Due to this, the product might be a hit in the short-run, but it will highly likely not survive in the long-run because people might get bored with such stunts. See what I mean? People buy the product prior to the stunt, not entirely due to the product. Geez.
In conclusion, while sex sells, it only survives in the short-run, especially in our local market here. It is not necessary to promote a product by using such publicity stunt. I’m sure there are other options available for better advertising, for a deeper impact to the market at large. One only needs to brainstorm harder.
Love,
Diana
Sex sells? Duh! And it'll sell like hotcakes!
ReplyDeleteBut it's Singapore we're talking about and we're pretty much still a conserverstive Asian country. I'm not for it or against it, but I must say a topless car wash here is surely interesting. But such a bold marketing idea might not get such a warm welcome here.
Then again keep in mind that, it is a business and it first and foremost seeks profit. I'll give Mr Chen props for getting it to the front page of the papers, good publicity stunt no?
Mr Chen is afterall a businessman and if he could turn sex into money, honestly that's all that matters, right?
Firstly, I would like to clarify something. This is just an event. Its the same as every event which wants to attract crowds, for example the Reagge Festival just down the road. Women in tight brightly coloured tees and hot pants giving out flyers promoting their event. The car wash is the same thing. Mr Chen is just the advertiser for it.
ReplyDeleteTrue, the "Sex-vertising" approach may not be feasible for long term plans, but because of the impact it caused, people are likely to remember the name of the company, or for the car-washing company, remember its' service/products. It's a great strategy for promoting one's company name, and the attention it gets, like the Newspaper story, helped advertise too.
So yes, sex sells. And eventually, more and more events like this will turn up, especially if this event is successful.
my two cents worth;
ReplyDeletebusinesses need advertisements to get publicity, but most importantly, generate income. that's what all good businesses should achieve. in this commercial world we live in nowadays, people (especially Singaporeans) are so money-minded that they'll do anything just to get more money, devise plans and ideas to draw in the crowd and get them to buy into their product. sex is not the best way to sell something, but its the fastest way, im pretty sure of that.
call it greed, but people just want to make money, and more money at the end of the day.
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ReplyDeleteLooking at it from Mr Chen's point of view, I'd have to say he's brilliant. He knows very well whats sells, and who's he selling it to.
ReplyDeleteUnethical or not, the objective of a businessmen is to maximise satisfaction/profits. And in this case, that was exactly what he achieved.
I rest my case.
First off, I like the general sense of, hmmm, nobility in your approach to this. I'm a man, not a young woman like yourself, and still find the idea of topless women washing my car quite cheap. Even worse, it's ripped off a certain socialite's commercial for burgers.
ReplyDeleteSecond, mentioning the actual URL for the FB group is just free advertising for Chen!
Finally, there should be --as you mentioned--sustainable advertisement mechanisms in place. I say should, not must, because it's a free-market system out there. What's good for a macho guy who sees women as purely sexual beings WOULDN'T work for another guy who thinks private parts should remain private and revealed only in privacy to a lifetime partner.
Does that make any sense to you?
Yes. I was shocked that people actually agree to do that. I think I read like a 15 year old agreed to be topless right???
ReplyDeleteIt is so crazy. Come on, when they say that it is an art, I am so sceptical. Come on, in today's society, i doubt nudity is a form of art. I bet this topless agenda grabs the attention of the perverted men. And there will be cases of molestation during the car-washing.
In today's society, media will always have a tendency to portray sexuality to advertise their products etc.
Love,
Joanna
Hello Dayana! :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting article. :) I have a different perception on this issue. No offence intended. From a business point of view, this strategy is brilliant. Mr Chen gets his customers, the models get paid. Yes, and they get paid a lot. Different people have different standard of morals, so as long as the models are of legal age, I have absolutely no problem with the Topless Car Wash. More so, I celebrate it.
Why? Because I think sexuality is beautiful. I do think it's a form of art that stimulates. Maybe they should have another carwash with naked male models to get female customers. Haha. I want to comment on these girls who are "selling themselves like that". I think that whatever they do with their body is up to them, it's their property. If they want to use their body to get money, then it's their choice.
I think that this is only an issue in Singapore because we're still very conservative about sex. Want to increase the no. of babies in Singapore? Promote sex! How to encourage married couples to have more babies? Introduce to them the idea of good sex! Haha. Talk about sex openly. Take the taboo off this subject.
Men are visual creatures. Give them the stimulation they need and all parties will win. The men are happy, the businessman gets customers, the girls get money. At the end of the day, it's a great business transaction.
Cheers,
Sarimah Rokim
transmittedthoughts.wordpress.com
Women shoudlnt degrade themsleves like this, which unfortunately we are seeing everywhere this days, for example, music video girls, like WTH? They have absolutely no respect for themselves, i cant imagine how they would even want to do something like that. Its like a less serious version of prostitution. Its not artistic, and is distasteful. Why do they think they need to be that way to impress people, whatever happened to intelligence and personality? anyway i dont like this so much that im not gonna say anymore, people should get better ideas.
ReplyDeleteWell, I suppose there will always be black sheep. No matter how much the woman rights people fight for woman rights and the equality of treatment for woman, these black sheep will be out there 'spoiling' the market. In a world that is so chaotic, filled with every kind of atrocities, I guess you can really find any type of people with really different mindsets around.
ReplyDeleteThese days, advertising has been so overused that organizers constantly need to find new and innovative ways to attract attention. One of them is, unfortunately, sex. Never fails to get attention, but we have to watch ourselves, or it might eat away at our morality.
ReplyDeletemmmmm a little late but the event turned out even more controversial than before, with underaged girls exposing more than need be, and with the end result being a complete bust (no pun intended). but that aside, sex does sell and it always will. He just did what was needed to survive.
ReplyDeleteSEX DEFINITELY SELL in this modern age.. but i think he is doing it wrongly..
ReplyDeletean idea for him.. he should hire hot GUYS too.
they should attract women too cause the DRIVE too! right? no?
aniwaes like i say.. ITS THE MODERN WORLD NOW, some GUYS want to see HOT GUYS TOO!! LOL..
what say me say you? haha
loves me!