Several years ago, Patrick Sell, who has a history in marketing with stints at Doremus and Reuters, launched a site called I Do Nothing All Day. Aptly, the site contains nothing more than videos he takes while out and about in New York City. Of course, they aren’t just any videos, they’re videos of beautiful women walking down the sidewalk or in the park. Originally, Sell envisioned I Do Nothing All Day as a site where all kinds of New York City imagery would be captured and shared but as we all know, nothing attracts more attention than a beautiful woman walking down the sidewalk on a hot summer day.
Now, before you go and label Sell a perv, check out the site. It’s nicely done and he asks everyone permission before he films them. He’s not doing anything more salacious than you’d find in your average fashion magazine or on fashion show runways anywhere in the world. The work is just a simple appreciation of natural female beauty. Now that we have that clarified, Sell has expanded, launching Turning His Head, a site which sells women’s clothing featured in I Do Nothing All Day videos.
Sell is a business-minded guy who knows sex sells and isn’t afraid to capitalize on that fact. Mingling a sort of street art with online retail, Sell has managed to build a business using video as both a form of entertainment as well as a form of advertising that truly doesn’t feel like advertising.
Using Revver video and simple links, I Do Nothing All Day, which sees upwards of 500,000 page views each month, drives traffic to Turn His Head for those interested in purchasing items featured in the videos. On the site, along with the videos, you’ll find items such as the Playful Yellow Dress, the Iconic Blonde’s White Dress, the Body Clinging Tank Top, the Shimmering White Dress and more. All the items, which he acquires directly from wholesale distributors, are affordably priced between $14 and $22.
We think this style of selling is far more interesting than perusing an online catalog limited to simple images of clothing or static shots of models wearing the items. With I Do Nothing All Day and Turning His Head, we get to see the clothes in action worn by normal people just like you and me. OK, so maybe some of them are a bit more attractive than most but it’s far more interesting than anorexic supermodels flaunting styles most normal people would never buy.
One could argue this is simply one man’s quirky fantasy. Examined more closely, one would most certainly label it an intriguing business and video advertising model. Certainly, this wouldn’t work for all brands. After all, who’d want to watch videos of Heinz Ketchup? Oh wait, that’s a actual CGM campaign with all kins of shots of the iconic product. Still, you have to admit a ketchup bottle is far less interesting than a beautiful woman walking down the sidewalk modeling clothing you can actually afford.
Launched just a month ago, Turning His Head is doing well. Sell tells us he’s made a fair amount of sales and has plans to grow the business which, to date, has not received much promotion other than links from I Do Nothing All Day.
