Has Sketcher's Crossed the Line? Sex Appeal Gone Too Far...

For anyone that watched the Super Bowl (and continued watching after the horrible version of the National Anthem by the Black Eyed Peas) then you most likely saw the commercials. If you got a chance to glue your eyes to the television during what some say is the time where televisions greatest commercials are aired, then you surely saw Kim Kardashian’s commercial for Sketchers Shape Ups. She is signed by Sketchers to be the “face” of their latest athletic shoe, Shape-Ups, and upholds her sex appeal so well. During this commercial Kim Kardashain took the sex-appeal aspect of marketing to an entirely new level.

After watching the commercial I actually forgot what it was about. I would have to say that the advertisement did not live up to its purpose as an ad for a product; it instead seemed more like something I would find on the late night version of Cinemax through Comcast. I was rather intrigued as to the extent that Sketchers went in terms of sex appeal vs. product placement. The entire Shape-Ups commercial is 31 seconds long, but the actual product being sold does not appear until 22 seconds into the 31 second clip; the rest of the commercial is filled with Kardashian’s sweaty body and sexual innuendos. You can view the commercial below. 

After watching the commercial (and shutting your dropped open mouth with your hand) you realize that 2/3+ of the commercial do not feature the product, but instead have the viewer seeing innuendos and “hot” messages that have nothing to do with the Sketcher’s product. After the opening scenes make you double check that you are not watching the Spice Channel, Kardashian goes as far as to break up with her trainer saying, “I don’t know how to say this … you’re amazing, the best I’ve ever had, but things aren’t working out  ... it’s not someone else, it’s something else.” Camera shots then proceed to follow her body up and down and not until second 26 that she says, “Bye-bye trainer, hello Shape-Ups.” 

This commercial is a blatant example of “sex sells” and, with nothing else to this ad except for the shoes and Kardashian’s sweaty body; it becomes questionable if it is even a subliminal message. I did not see where Sketchers tastefully used sex appeal to compliment their product and I found it was rather tacky. The company included the name and picture of their product only once and it was with 4 seconds left in the entire commercial. The shoe company, usually known for their fun and wholesome commercials, had targeted an entirely new market with their latest Super Bowl commercial. The shoe is targeted towards women and men (mostly women) who have a desire to get fit, but I think they lost the approval by many parents, and possible buyers, after the company aired this commercial suitable for the Spice Channel.

Below is an old Sketchers commercial which included wholesome, fun marketing of their products.

Does subliminal advertising have an effect on us as consumers? I believe so but I think companies have taken it a bit too far. In Sketcher’s case they used sex appeal as their foremost form of advertising and, as interesting as it was to watch, it was actually awkward for the viewers who saw it. The company definitely sparked attention since the phrase “Sketchers” typed in on YouTube brings up only the Kim Kardashian commercials, but I don’t think it was the attention that the company desired. Parents always viewed Sketchers as a family-friendly brand with wholesome products but their newest commercial showed different. I think in the end it will end up hurting their brand even if it was just a Super Bowl commercial.

Here is a key note for any company who uses sex appeal as their primary source of product marketing - if it makes me feel awkward watching it with my dad who is sitting on the other side of the room .. I am not going to buy your product and you should not be airing this commercial.

Blessings,
Tiffany