Harlequin's New Ads

[Skanky Vamp]

from adweek

If you're an overworked office drone in need of steamy relief, romance publisher Harlequin reminds you that you can carry all the fantasies you need for just such an emergency ... in a conveniently purse-friendly book.

It might not be the most progressive ad, but it suits the product, and mixes in enough tongue-in-cheek humor to make for a fun little ride. The heroine gleefully ribs the clichéd tropes of the genre, especially the sexual tension—imagine pulling in and pushing away men so ripped they induce vertigo. It may be a little tacky, the ad tacitly acknowledges, but that doesn't mean it can't make for a good time.

A handful of print ads feature similar male leads, baring abs and striking seductive poses. Because sometimes, everyone needs a little pick-me-up—some more literally than others.

 

[Athena]

I have a feeling, in this case, that the advert may be better than the product(s) it's advertising?

 

[Skanky Vamp]

That is a distinct possibility. But I will say I was surprised with the people I know that read those books, so maybe there is more to them than meets the eye.

 

[Athena]

Well, if you want to investigate this further @Mr. Pole, be my guest 😀

 

[Taake]

That is a distinct possibility. But I will say I was surprised with the people I know that read those books, so maybe there is more to them than meets the eye.

I used to read those books. When I was waaaaaay, like waaay, to young to do so. They're pretty terrible and formulaic but I can see the appeal. I mean they're easy, they're a fantasy... they don't have to be awesomely written or unpredictable to be enjoyable.

 

[Blaze]

I read the title as Harlequins new abs. I see that I was not far off.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

I do like the ad - it suits the subject matter perfectly, setting out what they have and who they expect to buy it.

There was one company I was at where they thought they were doing so badly at writing business proposals that they brought in an English major from University of British Columbia (this was in about 1981). He said that he knew a few people who had written for Harlequin (which was based in Toronto at the time) and they made about $40,000 per book and could turn out five or six books a year. I asked him if he ever thought about doing that and he said that you have to actually live the kind of life that could create that. Nobody makes that kind of money now - there is a glut of writers in the market. I wondered if I could do it so I read one of my wife's Harlequin romances. I got to page 8 before I gave up. I have been paid for writing, but I just cannot bring myself to write where I don't respect the subject matter.