Maybe it’s something in the air, or the water, but there are some very risqué trends in marketing at the moment. Yes, I know that “sex sells”, but surely there has to be some virtue in for subtlety as well?

Take these posters for TMF travel, a Belgian holiday firm similar to the infamous 18-30 holidays from the UK. I wouldn’t be surprised if these particularly buxom posters haven’t disappeared from the streets of Antwerp only to reappear on the bedroom walls of boys around the country. 

 
Adidas is another brand that’s feeling particularly frisky at the moment. Normally the Adidas Originals line celebrates its 80s roots with suitably retro-flavoured creative, although this latest spot is more retrograde than retro. Edgy hip-hop beats and nods to 80s street culture are out – half naked girl dancing provocatively in a pair of Adidas Originals jeans are in. So much for media innovation. 

To be fair, it isn’t always the brand that shocks. Diesel’s Be Stupid campaign last year caused a stir with its outrageous series of images celebrating the joys of stupidity. Pictures of a woman flashing her breasts at a CCTV camera or taking pictures with a camera shoved in her pants are racy enough – so I wasn’t really surprised to see Diesel offering knee-pads for girls (although presumably boys could use them as well...) to provide comfort when, er... kneeling. Surprisingly this naughtiest example of Diesel’s Be Stupid activity was from India, which I’d always assumed to be a country of conservative attitudes. I’m surprised there hasn’t been rioting outside the Diesel stores in Dehli. 

Diesel BJ knee pads from India