Arousing public excitement
Chandra Kurt's columns on the bizarre sexualization of advertising are finally available in book form. Not a single eye remains dry, not a single voyeuristic urge goes unsatisfied—and hardly any brand is spared.
Chandra Kurt's columns on the bizarre sexualization of advertising are finally available in book form. No eye is left dry, no voyeurism unsatisfied - and hardly any brand is spared. If you believe Bob Garfield, the advertising industry is essentially an "artificial erection industry. And who wouldn't believe him, the biting, sometimes bizarre chief columnist of the US central organ Advertising Age? Chandra Kurt hasn't been dealing with the swamp blossoms of commercial communication for quite as long as Garfield, but he has obviously already come to the same conclusion as the American critic legend, namely that "sex sells".So far, so well known. So far, so familiar. We could safely store the eponymous collection of Kurt's glosses, which appeared between 1999 and 2003 in the Werbewoche section "Aufgefallen," in our drawer labeled "Nothing new in the West. If it weren't for this malicious mixture of provocation and precision, with which the renowned wine writer repeatedly gives even experienced readers surprising insights into boxer shorts, décolletés, dark rooms and the advertising psyche that comes out in them. In addition to the usual suspects (Pradagucciboss et al.), erotic exotics such as Ikea, BMW, Migros, and the canton of Thurgau also get their due.
The sexual practices and preferences of the communication society serve as a compass for Kurt's forays through the erogenous zones. Under the heading "Plastic Fantasy," for example, there is an all-but-virgin instruction manual - in the form of an open letter to the agency - for the "screw-on woman" from Virgin Cola. And in the "animal-friendly" section, the "orgasmic affinity between male and female" is taken for a ride with the help of a lick-happy male in a sadomaso outfit. Women's outfitter Emanuel Ungaro should actually be pleased with such free publicity, after all, even those who have the mockery don't have to worry about the attention, as we all know.
But apparently it doesn't. In any case, Ungaro, like half a dozen other candidates (or their agencies), turned tail when the publisher inquired about cover subjects for Kurt's little compendium. A fact that says nearly as much about the number one mimosa and neurosis industry as Kurt's smug cabinet of scurrilities.
That's why "Sex sells" is required reading for all greenhorns who want to try to get into the advertising business. And it's a must-read for all old hands who have wanted to get out of the business for a long time but have been looking in vain for the last good reason. This book provides 150 of them.
> Sex sells - Why people undress for advertising by Chandra Kurt. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 2004. 224 pages with 160 photos, 29.80 francs.
The sexual practices and preferences of the communication society serve as a compass for Kurt's forays through the erogenous zones. Under the heading "Plastic Fantasy," for example, there is an all-but-virgin instruction manual - in the form of an open letter to the agency - for the "screw-on woman" from Virgin Cola. And in the "animal-friendly" section, the "orgasmic affinity between male and female" is taken for a ride with the help of a lick-happy male in a sadomaso outfit. Women's outfitter Emanuel Ungaro should actually be pleased with such free publicity, after all, even those who have the mockery don't have to worry about the attention, as we all know.
But apparently it doesn't. In any case, Ungaro, like half a dozen other candidates (or their agencies), turned tail when the publisher inquired about cover subjects for Kurt's little compendium. A fact that says nearly as much about the number one mimosa and neurosis industry as Kurt's smug cabinet of scurrilities.
That's why "Sex sells" is required reading for all greenhorns who want to try to get into the advertising business. And it's a must-read for all old hands who have wanted to get out of the business for a long time but have been looking in vain for the last good reason. This book provides 150 of them.
> Sex sells - Why people undress for advertising by Chandra Kurt. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 2004. 224 pages with 160 photos, 29.80 francs.
Oliver Classen
