Take a look at the poster ad above (I’ll wait)… It’s brilliant! It shows lust, sex, passion and desire, and challenges you to do it all at Executive Fantasy Hotels.
You’ve seen the Executive Hotel by the airport, right? This ad says we are not a dingy, secretive hide out for promiscuity; but instead we are an elegant, sophisticated venue for the expression of passion and virility. Super! And this is a motel. Not a Ritz-Carlton. Not the kind of marketing you’d expect from a motel. But that’s not what makes the ad speak.
It’s not just the image with the man’s muscular arm and female fingers caressing it. Nor is it the typography or the selection of colors that make this ad outstanding. It’s the message and the media placement that deliver ad gold.
The media is a poster placed in the right place, the gym. That’s good, but what makes it remarkable is that the ad is placed at the entrance to the men’s bathroom. An ad completely targeted to guys, placed at a bottle-neck entry point that each male gym member will pass through. Is that all? No.
The message brings it home
The message speaks to the main reason men go to the gym, to look better so they can attract more females. Sure health, stamina and weight are important, but deep down most men lift weights, run like hamsters on treadmills and secretly compare muscles in the hopes that a better physique will get them more action in the sac.
What we have here, so brilliantly put together, is an ad that speaks directly to the target market of motel visitors. It says, “Want to test your “other” endurance, we have a just the place.”
When you combine targeted placement (the men’s bathroom at the gym) with the right message (come test your sexual prowess) you create an ad campaign that will pay. But the ad is missing something. What can it possibly be missing?
An appropriately discrete call to action like “text your ZIP CODE to 65047 for the nearest location”? A mobile call to action would turn great into perfect! An instant response text would send directions via GPS mobile map to the closest love suite. It could also include a phone number for on-the-go reservations and a link to Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” (OK, Marvin may be a bit much).
What do you think?