Because bodice-ripping is so last-century, Harlequin struggles to make the grade as the ages of readers increase slowly.
In addition to reworking the hot-sex-for-lonely-girls formula for today's woman under Red Dress, they're also trying to reinterpret the face of today's man candy, launching another cattle call in desperate pursuit of a man who's neither Fabio nor gangly model.
But what do you feed a woman all hopped up on Sex and the City steroids? A dumb but loyal cook? A mascara-sporting emo rocker? A Silicon Valley hipster? A vegan cowboy?
Always up for a good time, French lingerie purveyor Sloggi has gone Smoggi, launching a guerrilla and online campaign in Belgium relating to the government's recent lowering of the national speed limit due to the level of smog in the air. Coolzor reports four lingerie-clad women stood by the road side holding signs that pointed people to Smoggi.com where a countdown to a mysterious something is occurring. We're told Belgian agency Brand Activation is behind the work.
We've always loved Ripley's Believe it or Not and this campaign for the show, hosted by sloppy seconds Superman Dean Cane, leaves us with a sense of validation. We're not the only freaks out there. We're not even the worst-looking. And that's nice. Work by TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, South Africa.
Is it safe to use the word "freaks" anymore? There's probably a PC variant that's escaping us right now, mainly because we don't want to come up with one out of worry we'll have to use it. If you can think of one, you deserve some 100 calorie cakes.
Word on the street is this ad came out of Chile and was rejected by Energizer, whose ads are best characterized by that mildly randy bunny.
We can't imagine why they'd turn down this one; we think it says something. We're just not sure what, because we can't tell if the man in the tub is dead or just disappointed.
