Villain porn
...and in case some of you haven't seen the new Jaguar ads with the British villains, go and have a look here. IT'S PURE PORN. Of course, I'm biased since Hiddles is one of them, but they're all great and it's all very stylish. Also make sure to watch the behind the scenes thing; that's really cool and the actors all make good points about why villains and specifically British villains are hot.
I was talking about the campaign with ushas42 the other day and we were nodding over it being pure elegance porn--the sort that appeals to women in particular. So it's not just that the Jag is a dick extension luxury product, but that they did the whole elegance porn thing with besuited, naughty guys in suits and in posh surroundings being smooth and funny and wicked. And did you notice it was sexy as hell without having a single scantily-clad lady in it? It's like it was porn for women, even if the main target audience was guys--but in its way, it worked for both because that's that exact elegant gentleman archetype that so often shows up in women's porn. And I kind of like that. For once it wasn't babes draped over the sportscar. A smart suit and a bit of elegance with a British accent--that's even more powerful, really. And I also love how it wasn't just the straightforward James Bond type--only Mark Strong came close to that more muscular "manly" hero type, but they also had the older daddy figure in Ben Kingsley and the young handsome rogue in the shape of Hiddles. Again, I was just laughing at how it's like they picked different hot gentleman types, as if it was tailored for female audiences (which I still doubt, but it's a great coincidence). The skinny slinky fellow, the dignified daddy and the bruiser were all there--like some gentleman porn equivalent of Charlie's Angels.
Oh god, I am indulging in feminist meta about a bunch of adverts. BUT IT'S TRUE. It's not just the male power fantasy thing that's going on in there, because--and I think this is where the villains, and their temptation is key--they're offering to share that power with you, and that makes it less exclusive. Heroes don't usually share that power; often the heroine gets swept up by theirs. But a villain is the sort who more often offers you an alliance, even if he's going to stab you in the back later, but at least you can have hell of a time (and lots of hot unfings) before he does. There's both the breaking of norms thing going on there and the being naughty thing and also the seduction and and and everything, so I'm really happy about that. It could have so easily been another purely testosterone-laden thing but put those few elegant/villainous/sexy twists on it and it becomes much more awesome.
I was talking about the campaign with ushas42 the other day and we were nodding over it being pure elegance porn--the sort that appeals to women in particular. So it's not just that the Jag is a dick extension luxury product, but that they did the whole elegance porn thing with besuited, naughty guys in suits and in posh surroundings being smooth and funny and wicked. And did you notice it was sexy as hell without having a single scantily-clad lady in it? It's like it was porn for women, even if the main target audience was guys--but in its way, it worked for both because that's that exact elegant gentleman archetype that so often shows up in women's porn. And I kind of like that. For once it wasn't babes draped over the sportscar. A smart suit and a bit of elegance with a British accent--that's even more powerful, really. And I also love how it wasn't just the straightforward James Bond type--only Mark Strong came close to that more muscular "manly" hero type, but they also had the older daddy figure in Ben Kingsley and the young handsome rogue in the shape of Hiddles. Again, I was just laughing at how it's like they picked different hot gentleman types, as if it was tailored for female audiences (which I still doubt, but it's a great coincidence). The skinny slinky fellow, the dignified daddy and the bruiser were all there--like some gentleman porn equivalent of Charlie's Angels.
Oh god, I am indulging in feminist meta about a bunch of adverts. BUT IT'S TRUE. It's not just the male power fantasy thing that's going on in there, because--and I think this is where the villains, and their temptation is key--they're offering to share that power with you, and that makes it less exclusive. Heroes don't usually share that power; often the heroine gets swept up by theirs. But a villain is the sort who more often offers you an alliance, even if he's going to stab you in the back later, but at least you can have hell of a time (and lots of hot unfings) before he does. There's both the breaking of norms thing going on there and the being naughty thing and also the seduction and and and everything, so I'm really happy about that. It could have so easily been another purely testosterone-laden thing but put those few elegant/villainous/sexy twists on it and it becomes much more awesome.