Kate Upton, one of the “it” models of the moment, appears in a sexy new teaser ad for Mercedes’ Super Bowl commercial, and some are criticizing it as tacky and tasteless. The ad starts with a slow pan of upward of a scantily-clad Upton and then the screen goes blank before the words appear: “Kate Upton washes the New Mercedes CLA — in Slow Motion.” Upton then appears again, suggestively blowing bubbles out of her hand, and then the camera shifts over and we see that she is actually supervising a bunch of awestruck men in football jerseys who are the ones actually washing the car as they gape at her — in slow motion. Brand expert and Forbes advertising blogger Dean Crutchfield told Yahoo! Shine that it’s a, quote, “very risky” move for a luxury brand like Mercedes. He said, To have an ad that would be perceived as crass? That would potentially have a negative impact. The other side of it, though, is it stands out. And you want to do that.”
- Do you think the ad is tacky and crass? Do you think instead that it’s clever and kind of funny?