Wandering eyes

You can see it countless times each day, a man’s eyes following a beautiful woman walking down the street. Whether with their partner or on their own, they seem unable to help themselves, staring longingly as each stunner passes. Hence, whenever advertisers want to advertise to man, often a young, beautiful, voluptuous model is wheeled in to grab their attention and sell the product.

You could be forgiven for thinking therefore that the new ad from Mercator is another ad in that same vein then. Using a beautiful woman walking along a high street - wearing a short skirt of course - every man who passes stares as she goes by, regardless of the fact that they are all walking along with their partners. The ad isn’t for men though, it’s for women and the message is clear – don’t rely on men to provide you with financial stability, rely on yourself.

Being used to seeing women being objectified in order to sell to men, this ad makes a nice, fresh change. Whether it arouses annoyance or laughter in women as they begin to watch it, it is more than likely that it will grab their attention by the end, for the surprise factor of it being aimed at them, if for nothing else. And for the men watching it? I’d imagine they’ll get a bit of a surprise too when they realise the ad isn’t for them and perhaps will also feel a little bit of embarrassment that they are indeed so easily led by their desires.

I like the ad a lot, not only for its humorous execution, but also for its message. In an age where divorce is so prevalent, it would be foolish for women to ignore what it is saying. And perhaps being confronted so full-on with just how weak-willed their partners can be, they will find it hard not to act to secure their own future. What do you think?