Sex sells???

March 24, 2006 11:00 PM

Sex sellsNSFW NSFW NSFW!!! Not even safe for home use. This is porn. Pure and simple. 'Cept, it's also a clothing catalogue. Yes, this is an XXX "tab A in slot B" porno movie but with imbedded links to the clothes they've just removed. Get it? It's a clothing ad, but a porno movie. No, a porno movie that's also a clothing ad. It's also WAY slow to load, but when it's loaded, it's...well, it's porn that's also a clothing catalogue. (sort of SoaP, but Sex selling Clothes.) As someone else said, Abercrombie might want to look at this, and maybe Fredericks and VS. You too, if that sort of thing interests you, which it probably does. I'm sure I could load this with all sorts of cultural memes regarding the sexualization of advertising, but I'll let their fingers do the talking.
posted by johngumbo (59 comments total)

Calm down.
posted by delmoi at 11:07 PM on March 24, 2006

A lot of this extraneous information came from this MeTa, I suspect. No criticism here for trying to cover one's ass when posting content which will likely result in someone getting pissed.

FWIW, I think the link is interesting, and promotes discussion as to how much is too much and "sex sells" and such. I, for one, have never seen it done before it quite this way.

(When my porn career really takes off, I'm selling temporary tatoo space on my ass cheeks. Screw a clothing line.)
posted by rollbiz at 11:20 PM on March 24, 2006

Aww, man. No porn for us poor Macintosh users. Isn't it always the way...
posted by tkolar at 11:28 PM on March 24, 2006

Really? Are you sure it was OS and not browser?
posted by rollbiz at 11:30 PM on March 24, 2006

The site claimed it needed a certain ActiveX control. I guess that doesn't guarantee that it's Windows only, but I would consider it more than slightly indicative...
posted by tkolar at 11:32 PM on March 24, 2006

My bad, it actually just needed Flash 8. I'm now getting lots of yummy porn goodness.

Of course, being the person who I am, I'm more interested in how they're doing the location beacons for each peice of clothing. If it was done automatically using color (which seems possible, given the distinct colors of the clothing), then thats pretty damn sexy.

One of the holy grails of interactive TV has been for people to be able to buy anything that they see on a show immediately, by clicking on it.

This video is a pretty good example, and it obviously won't be the first time that porn leads the way in new technology.
posted by tkolar at 11:48 PM on March 24, 2006

I just wanted to order a comfy T-shirt.
posted by sourwookie at 12:03 AM on March 25, 2006

What was with the lacksadasical hand-job at the end of the Woman/Man vid? It's not a pool cue lady!
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:06 AM on March 25, 2006

Loaded twice, then went back to the main screen twice. Damn.

And thanks for wrecking the ending, Kevin.
posted by fenriq at 12:10 AM on March 25, 2006

Jesus. That Flash file is 21.6MB. And the server isn't the speediest. :P
posted by VirtualWolf at 12:12 AM on March 25, 2006

Fenriq: Get the .mov files for pure viral ad goodness.

And thanks for wrecking the ending, Kevin.

Like you don't know how it ends?
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 12:23 AM on March 25, 2006

hmm. it's quite well directed/edited. i wish more people would make porn of this kind. as for the clothing catalog angle, it's kind of nifty, and i think it's a logical marketing idea that can totally work. it's just current marketing taken to its logical extreme.
posted by edlundart at 12:26 AM on March 25, 2006

ramped up version of what is on the non longin side of Mefi currently
posted by edgeways at 12:56 AM on March 25, 2006

You don't have permission to access /medias/discover/women_women/Shai_women-women_catalog.zip on this server.

How dare permissions settings get in the way of me watching girl-girl action.

$ /bin/chmod 755 titties
posted by Mikey-San at 6:55 AM on March 25, 2006

I could totally see applications like this with mainstream clothing companies like Gap and Old Navy. The sites could play the commercials and when you click on an actor wearing something you like, you can click on it and see the details and order it. Or you can drag two+ of the actors on to a bed and watch them fuck
posted by birdherder at 6:58 AM on March 25, 2006

"I'll buy that for a dollar!"
posted by crunchland at 7:10 AM on March 25, 2006

This is more noteworthy for the click-order applications than the porn. How much harder would it be to make it so that when I mouseover a shirt, it gets selected?

Is that how you pronounce Shai (shy)? Some sort of company theme song?
posted by graventy at 7:24 AM on March 25, 2006

I also got that "You don't have permission to access /medias/discover/women_women/Shai_women-women_catalog.zip on this server." warning, but a reload on that 403 page worked wonders. I think they block their own domain as a referer :-)
posted by kika at 7:38 AM on March 25, 2006

Kevin, we all know how it comes out in the end. Hehehe.
posted by fenriq at 7:55 AM on March 25, 2006

Ugh. In the man-woman, I hate that woman's makeup. The porn is rather by-the-numbers, with quite a few editing tricks to make it look more exciting than it was. Hey, suggestion for the next time they do this: Get some actors who are able to act like they really like sex, instead of simply randomly speeding up the film speed?

And I didn't want ot buy the clothes. I wanted to buy the bed.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:10 AM on March 25, 2006

This catalog ... it vibrates?
posted by bhance at 8:23 AM on March 25, 2006

Putting clothing on is sooo last century. You know you now can put clothing in, do you? [nsfw, if you hadn't already guessed]
posted by kika at 8:39 AM on March 25, 2006

What's kind of funny about this is that if you're a man looking to buy men's clothes, you really should watch the man-man action. To have the most options, of course.
posted by papakwanz at 8:40 AM on March 25, 2006

you really should watch the man-man action.

I guess man-man are still in the closet trying out stuff
posted by elpapacito at 9:04 AM on March 25, 2006

papakwanz : "you really should watch the man-man action."

You're just trying to turn us gay! Stop that!
posted by graventy at 9:32 AM on March 25, 2006

Although, judging from the action in the other shots, it might turn people straight.
posted by graventy at 9:33 AM on March 25, 2006

Get some actors who are able to act like they really like sex, instead of simply randomly speeding up the film speed?

Do you watch a lot of porno flicks where people seem to be really enjoying the sex? I think a lot of people would subscribe to your newsletter if so.
posted by chrominance at 10:29 AM on March 25, 2006

Because porn tends to be bad is not an excuse for making bad porn. And you can read my newsletter here.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:35 AM on March 25, 2006

Would you think less of me if I confess to recognizing both of the women in the woman-woman action -- and could even give their noms de porn?
posted by Slothrup at 10:43 AM on March 25, 2006

I love this! Kills two birds with one stone.

And who knew Quicktime Interactive was so darn useful?
posted by fungible at 10:50 AM on March 25, 2006

Because porn tends to be bad is not an excuse for making bad porn.

I guess it's more that you wouldn't expect it from real porn, so why expect it from a marketing campaign?

And, uh, I didn't actually expect you to have a newsletter, so kudos to calling my bluff...
posted by chrominance at 10:50 AM on March 25, 2006

Zing.

I always figure advertising has a larger budget, so they should do things better.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:52 AM on March 25, 2006

Green spots = new hotness.
posted by Samizdata at 11:15 AM on March 25, 2006

It's not a pool cue lady!

Well, perhaps not for you.
posted by KirkJobSluder at 12:43 PM on March 25, 2006

As a militant, feminist lesbian I have this to say: How can I gets me a hot lesbian like that?
posted by generic230 at 12:44 PM on March 25, 2006

It's all about the Hamiltons, baby.

I mean, Ms. 230.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:47 PM on March 25, 2006

I guess I could buy something from the women/women video for my SO, but then I'd have to tell her where I found it.
posted by Skwirl at 1:01 PM on March 25, 2006

Do you watch a lot of porno flicks where people seem to be really enjoying the sex?

Um, yeah. What crap-ass shit are you watching?
posted by Cyrano at 1:02 PM on March 25, 2006

Oh, and:

Would you think less of me if I confess to recognizing both of the women in the woman-woman action -- and could even give their noms de porn?

No. I got the blonde right away. Took me about 30 seconds to ID the brunette.
posted by Cyrano at 1:10 PM on March 25, 2006

As a militant, feminist lesbian I have this to say: How can I gets me a hot lesbian like that?

I believe both ladies are from Eastern Europe. Bon voyage!
posted by Slothrup at 1:10 PM on March 25, 2006

Fucking brilliant!
posted by aladfar at 1:14 PM on March 25, 2006

Um, yeah. What crap-ass shit are you watching?

Oh come on. Unless it's amateur or made in the 70s, the vast majority of porn is mechanical at best, demeaning at worst.
posted by chrominance at 1:38 PM on March 25, 2006

Let me introduce you to Zazel. Although sometimes it's a little hard to find the sex in this picture, what with all the body painting, water-inhabiting Hindu gods, dildo boots, and devil women.
posted by Astro Zombie at 2:03 PM on March 25, 2006

Oh come on. Unless it's amateur or made in the 70s, the vast majority of porn is mechanical at best, demeaning at worst.

You have got to be kidding me. You're either hitting the wrong aggregator sites or not looking for more than ten seconds.
posted by Ryvar at 3:57 PM on March 25, 2006

Would you think less of me if I confess to recognizing both of the women in the woman-woman action -- and could even give their noms de porn?

No. I got the blonde right away. Took me about 30 seconds to ID the brunette.

The blonde in the g/g scene is Sophie Moon. Who's the brunette? How about the girl in the b/g?
posted by zorro astor at 5:02 PM on March 25, 2006

zorro astor, if you watch the movies, it'll tell you at the end right before it does all the rest of the credits.
posted by booksandlibretti at 5:21 PM on March 25, 2006

Thanks booksandlibretti. I skipped the ending because it took so long for the damned things to dl.
posted by zorro astor at 5:32 PM on March 25, 2006

Would you think less of me if I confess to recognizing both of the women in the woman-woman action -- and could even give their noms de porn?

Heheheh. No, because I can do the same. ;)
posted by VirtualWolf at 6:20 PM on March 25, 2006

I feel like a total prude, because I was actually a little flabbergasted that they went all the way to the moneyshot on the b/g...

Yes, I watched til the end. *cough*
posted by Emperor SnooKloze at 8:01 PM on March 25, 2006

If it was done automatically using color (which seems possible, given the distinct colors of the clothing)

Nah, I messed with it. They just did hot spots over the movie. If you freeze it and mess with where the areas are live, you can see they are square. Pretty basic flash, notable only becaues the amazing kick-ass FLV compression makes it okay to put videos in yer flash movie. In fact it looks like those little green dots are the top right or top left of the square button.

I'm actually suprised nobody's done this already. Think of the possibilities if you have a piece of clothing you've payed to be worn in a movie, and you (the company) can put that clip up on your site and roll over say, Gwyneth Paltrow to buy what she's wearing.

Pretty gross, but more or less inevitable.
posted by lumpenprole at 8:58 PM on March 25, 2006

I like the clothes.
posted by makonan at 10:08 PM on March 25, 2006

To find out about the clothes you have to roll the mouse over the green dots which *stops* the video action. Seems like bass-ackward UI design to me. Pretty soon the viewer learns that to let the thing run uninterrupted they should keep their mouse the hell away from the merchandise dots.
posted by fubar at 11:15 PM on March 25, 2006

Oh come on. Unless it's amateur or made in the 70s, the vast majority of porn is mechanical at best, demeaning at worst.

You have got to be kidding me. You're either hitting the wrong aggregator sites or not looking for more than ten seconds.

So, uh, which are the right aggregator sites?
posted by scrump at 11:45 PM on March 25, 2006

k.

I like the 21st century.
posted by blacklite at 11:55 PM on March 25, 2006

I find it absolutely amazing that this link only got 55 comments (my comment about the comments included).

And, it was a SLOW news weekend people!
posted by narebuc at 10:11 PM on March 26, 2006

OK. if it's comments you want, narebuc, Here are my 2 technical points:

1. Sorenson video 3? No wonder their site is so damn slow. Ever heard of H.264, people?

2. If the hot spots move too quickly for you, download the QuickTime version, and open in in QuickTime Player. Select "A/V" controls from the Window menu, and set the playback speed to 1/2. The hot spots also work in QuickTime! (wow, how'd they do that?) and the audio will play back without being an octave down, too.
posted by bugmuncher at 10:32 PM on March 26, 2006

wow. it is late. I meant to say "A/V Controls," not "A/V" controls...
posted by bugmuncher at 10:34 PM on March 26, 2006

The babe in the b/g flick is Oksana d'Harcourt. She's hawt.
posted by illiad at 8:24 AM on March 27, 2006

Heh. They seem to have completely buggered things up... the main Flash movies don't even work now. Looking at Safari's Activity window, you get the same 403 error as with trying to download the zips.
posted by VirtualWolf at 2:31 AM on March 28, 2006