TBWA\London teamed up with renowned photographer/director Rankin (John Rankin Waddell) and several other directors — including Vicky Lawton, Trisha Ward and David Allain — to create “X” for London lingerie and sex toy retailer Coco de Mer.
In the agency’s own words, the spot, “immerses the viewer in the deepest desires of the erotic imagination, showing a roller-coaster ride of images, from seemingly banal everyday moments to evocative images of Coco de Mer lingerie and sex toys.” So what does that translate to exactly? Two and a half minutes of quick cuts of nudity, sexually suggestive images (some including Coco de Mer products), other more random images that make no sense whatsoever, and flashes of text. The result is somewhat disorienting, and possibly seizure inducing to susceptible viewers. In other words, it tries very hard to be edgy and arty, while mixing in some Coco de Mer products and the brand’s logo at the end. The spot will run online and in cinemas in the UK.
Rankin told Adweek “X” was “definitely the best thing that I have done in film. … It has layers of meaning, and to get that in advertising is rare,” adding, “Doing something like this is about creating an experience. We’re putting it on a different level. Putting it on a level with enjoying a film. People call it content marketing, but it’s just about making something people want to watch.”
TBWA\London’s Joseph Campbell, who, along with Rankin, “provided the creative vision for the film,” said, “The erotic doesn’t get the same overt attention as everything else on the cultural menu, so we created a film to surprise, excite and most importantly, encourage people to delve that little bit deeper into their fantasies—to reignite that connection.”