I saw this ad today in Southwest’s in-flight magazine. It’s for a bar in Las Vegas:
In case you can’t see it, it’s a picture of a woman in a bikini, wearing a penguin head.
I saw this and I thought, that’s weird, and then I thought, this picture didn’t just happen by accident. This was a conscious decision. This was an artistic choice. Someone at the ad agency had to say, “Let’s take a picture of a bikini model wearing a penguin head!”
And the client — a bar where everything is made of ice — had to say, “Yeah, that’s a great idea, because who wouldn’t want to hang out in really cold bar with a bikini model wearing a penguin head?”
And no one had to listen to the guy who said, “Guys, this is weird. We’re trying to convince people to see a bar where everything is made of ice! Shouldn’t we just show the bar?”
And everyone else had to say, “No! Bikini girls are a great way to sell things to guys, and it’s cold, so she’s wearing a penguin head! It’s a strong visual! It makes you stop turning the page and read the ad!”
Which is true. I read the ad then took a picture of it and blogged about it, but only because I think it’s weird, but, then, what do I know about advertising?
Their are missing Don Draper from MadMan to create the right ad for them.
Draper would have fired the person who pitched this.
How can we be sure it’s not a penguin model wearing a bikini girl suit?
It’s Vegas, so I guess it’s possible!
I’m with you, but I have to believe that this ad ticks all the boxes in Marketing 101.
1. It’s got a bikini clad woman
2. Penguins are the current hot cute animal (thanks to Happy Feet)
3. There that elusive combination of parallelism/irony that supposedly makes commercials memorable (i.e, ice bar=penguins who live in the Antarctic + bikini lady which doesn’t fit but always works in an ad).
The other question I have is why they call it the Minus 5 Ice Bar because if I remember my physics, ice doesn’t get any colder than 32 F or 0 C. But I may be wrong.
My question is, do they need to clear the dance floor every 20 minutes to bring in the Zamboni?
You’re talking about it and that’s the point. The ad worked.
Yeah, but it’s weird, right? We’re talking about it, but we don’t want to go there.
I don’t think we’re the targeted audience.
Who is the target audience for bikini models with penguin heads?
Well, my friend Nick, for one.
Young (or haven’t realized they aren’t young) men who don’t care what her face looks like and are going to be too drunk to tell, anyway. Offer them beer and a woman in a bikini and they will come. Especially if they think it’s the “cool” thing.
AD MAN: “Why do you say we’re objectifying women?”
ANY RATIONAL HUMAN: “Well, you asked her to wear a tiny bikini then covered her face with a penguin head.”
Somewhere there is some ice hole who is into this sort of thing.
I wondered if this might be a thing, but I’m afraid to Google it. Lord knows what’ll come up.
I’m speechless. What can one say about a bikini-clad woman wearing a penguin on her head? Advertising, it seems, has slipped to a new low.
Do you suppose it slipped on the ice?
This ad just ruined penguins for me. They used to be one of my favorite animals.
Really, this is what did it? I just assumed the thing that ruined penguins for you, as it did me, was “Happy Feet” (although “Surf’s Up” kind of redeemed them).