I know that, of all my articles, this one will attract the most readers. Why? Well, because of its title, of course. I am also realistic to know that this is the sentence where most readers will stop reading, knowing there isn't any sex nor naked images to be seen. Judging by the feedback I get, I have some regular readers, and I hope you at least are still with me.

Sex sells: the most popular search terms for any search engine will always include a liberal smuttering - er, smattering - of phrases from people with only one thing on their minds. Every other tv or webcast ad will have scenes that appeal to our most basic of instincts, not to mention many print ads, posters and billboards.

Sometimes the link between the product and the carnal subject matter of the ads can be tenuous, to say the least. What the marketing people are doing, of course, is trying to grab attention. Take posters along a the wall besides a subway escalator. There you are, travelling at 6 miles per hour past these invitations to spend your money....

1. Flirtatious, seductive torso shot with beckoning finger: "come to the show!"... (6 seconds attention)
2. A rotund middle aged man with a beer belly: "The best....." (1 second attention)
3. Two bikini clad girls: "call us today".....(and there you are - if you are male - walking backwards down the up escalator....2 minutes and still counting...)

Of course, there is no reason to get all worked up about this. For single ads and short campaigns, attention grabbing is essential. However, if you are running a long campaign or building or sustaining a brand, scantily clad women (or men) are not going to sustain it over the long haul, leaving the campaign limp and unfulfilled. No, as well as eye-catching images, you need substance. You need to get the real message across, before the attention span wanes. Sexual imagery is great in a short burst, but sooner or later you will want your audience to love your product, and not just have a brief affair with it.

Some may even go as far as to say that using titillating images and innuendo is a cheap trick, betraying a lack of imagination by the ad agency and marketing guys. Surely, this depends on how you weave the images into the message: if you are selling photocopiers, for example, having a tv ad with a half naked model standing by the machine, with the tag line: "Buy our photocopiers" is crude, gratuitous and tacky (and a rubbish tag line). However, having a naked couple in bed together with a photocopier and with the tag line: "Great reproduction" may be risqu