Deadly Sin(s) in Advertising

Source

Setu Advertising

January 2012

India

This advertisement, by a company called Setu Advertising, uses lust to try to appeal to the viewers of the advertisement. They are trying to promote Krome's product (the couch and other furniture) by playing off people's desires.

The picture all black and white except for the red on the woman's clothing and the couch. The background around the woman and the couch is very dark and gloomy looking with a few silhouettes on the horizon.  There is a fence behind the couch and books strewn across the ground. the woman is also reading the book in a very strange and seductive looking position. The main text of the advertisement says, "Every piece has a story."

This advertisement uses lust because the author chose to only include the color red in the picture. Red tends to associated with sexual desire, and by making the product being advertised red it associates the couch with lust also. The woman's position and tight clothing makes the advertisement seem like it is targeting men and trying to make them feel lust for the woman and relate that to the experiences they could get from purchasing the couch. This is backed by the text of the advertisement that says, "Every piece has a story" because it is possibly suggesting that the couch could produce a lustful experience. The atmosphere creates an environment that can be compared to a post-apocalyptic world, which could suggest that experiences that the couch will produce will be private and without intrusion. The audience is probably meant to be comprised of  single, home owning men in India because it was released in India and is playing on the sexual desires of men who would have to own a home to put the couch in.