Advertising - Pubes Sell

Have we really lost this much edge? Has society become so dull and lifeless that we rely on overtly strange advertising to spice things up? Take a look at this ad. (You might want to click it to get the full effect.) The man and I affectionately refer to it as the "Dolce & Pubana" ad. Notice the guy in the foreground. His couture jeans with their leather and stud embellishments... That's not strange. That's not out of the ordinary. Take a slow glance up his leg, work from his shiny shoe up the denim and leather pantleg, past the wallet chain... right to the pubes. Oh yeah, those are pubes.

The dude has his man-bush out there for all to see. I am not a prude. But, this seems weird to me. It just does. Now take a gander at the guy on the left side of the page. Same sultry you-know-you-want-to-lick-this expression. More importantly - matching pubes. His forest is not nearly as dense as the other guy's, but he's sporting some definite fur.

I totally understand the shirtless thing. They're young (well, except for the guy in the back who's just sort of looking out from behind the younger guys in a creepy pedophile-esque sort of way), they have nice bods, both men and women find them attractive. That's effective marketing. I get the rest of it, too - the ripped up jeans thing is hot, the wallet chains are tough and pseudo biker-ish, the mirrored room is a bit voyeuristic, and the hint of buttcrack you see reflected in the back wall is nice. But the pubes? The pubes I just don't get. Give me some tits & ass and I will buy your product. Give me hot, shirtless men and I will buy your product. Give me something that most people try to have less of and I'll just be reminded of those fun times when it gets stuck in my teeth - you know you've been there, c'mon.