Sex sells. That’s why advertisers use it. But they don’t always let you know when they’re using it. Sometimes they hide it so it’s working away at your subconscious like a devious little gnome whispering in your ear telling you to BUY SHIT.
Want proof? I’m glad you asked.
Take this coke can ad. Look closely and you’ll can see that advertisers deviously included not one, but two rather abstract but suggestive female figures in the graphics of the Coca Cola ice. Look at those icy curves!
Palmolive used the same tactic that Coke used. Yes, that woman looks pretty damn happy to be sitting under the shower and who wouldn’t be? She probably just got home from work and the water is all warm and soapy and shit. And she really, really wants you to buy a bottle of Palmolive.
But take a closer look at her arm. Looks kind of manly right? Your logical mind is wondering why that woman has a man’s arm. But your subconscious is like, “Daymmm … girl is getting busy with a Palmolive-lovin’ man in the shower!” And it makes sense with the ad line that says, “Who can resist the gentle touch of Palmolive?”
Ready to dive even deeper down this rabbit hole? Take a look at the cover for this Need for Speed Underground 2 video game jacket.
If you’ve got a healthy dose of imagination, an affinity for subtlety and way too much time, you might notice that the shape made by the lit-up windows in the background skyscrapers spell “sex.”
Not one to be left out, Pepsi has done some of this, too.
Check out this can from the summer of 1990. When you stack two cans on top of one another they spell out advertiser’s favorite three-letter word.
When Skittles released its new berry explosion (yikes), it’s unclear whether they meant the graphics to very obviously spell out “sex.” but it’s also hard to imagine how they could not see it.