|
Women's sexy ads beat men's 'sophomoric' stuff By Del Jones, USA TODAY The women won again in Episode 2 of NBC's The Apprentice, which aired Thursday night. The reality show's star, co-producer and billionaire Donald Trump, fired a man for the second straight week, leaving eight women and six men to compete for the $250,000 executive job for a year with the Trump organization. USA TODAY's panel of CEOs, entrepreneurs and management experts watched the two teams fight, bicker and develop an advertising campaign for Marquis Jet, which rents corporate jets by the hour. Madison Avenue advertising executive Donny Deutsch advised the teams to "swing for the fences." But the men took a safe approach, deciding to target fliers ready to take a step beyond commercial to first class. The women, for the second week, turned to sex appeal. They photographed the jets as phallic symbols for the print campaign and used ad slogans alluding to the size of the fliers' manhood. The program focused heavily on infighting among team members, and TV viewers saw little of how the campaigns were put together or of the one-hour presentations to the Deutsch advertising agency. In an interview, Linda Sawyer, chief operating officer of the agency, says she did not agree with the women's tongue-in-cheek sexual approach but said they were more sophisticated and dynamic. The men were more reserved, straight and conservative. They approached the campaign strictly from a functional viewpoint and were "sophomoric" in their presentation, Sawyer says. Risk is essential in business, and thinking outside the box is often rewarded. But is it always the wisest course? After all, great football teams may gamble on occasion, but they rarely go for the two-point conversion and usually punt on fourth down. 
|
