Fiat didn’t pioneer using sex to sell cars, but they’re redefining it. Since acquiring troubled carmaker Chrysler and re-entering the US market in 2009, the Italy-based company hasn’t been afraid to push boundaries with how it portrays women in ads. A pair of Super Bowl spots took the concept of equating men coveting cars with sexual desire and made it literal, flat out objectifying women as cars. In 2012, Fiat depicted devilishly sexy model Cartinel Menghia as a Fiat 500 Abarth scorning a passerby for ogling at it. For this year’s Super Bowl spot, it introduced a convertible in the 500 line as a “topless model.”
Fiat is taking that approach to the next level. For an upcoming ad in ESPN Magazine’s “Body Issue,” the carmaker enlisted nearly 50 people, including more than a dozen models, to create an image of a Fiat 500 made up entirely of mostly nude women.
This ad may have inspired Fiat (click to zoom)
In a promotional video for the spot, creators insisted that it’s not just the models in the image who are au naturel. The final image needed little post-production, with much of it achieved through expert body painting and precise positioning of the models.
As Adweek found, Fiat’s ad concept isn’t entirely original. A road safety print ad in Australia used the same idea. Not only did it have more of a noble aim but messaging that underlined why human bodies would be used to depict a car.
Fiat kind of scores in that area. It’s using the slogan “Made of pure muscle” for the ad, which helps nudge it away from seeing those bodies as just objects of desire. Plus the ad is intended for an ESPN Magazine issue that usually stands out for celebrating female athletes.
Source: Adweek
