Is Casio Aiming For The Sexter Market With Its Latest Phone?

from the serious-questions dept

Tue, Apr 14th 2009 4:33am — Carlo Longino

"Sexting," or kids taking nude or provocative photos of themselves and sending them around, is one of the moral panics du jour. While some people are working themselves into a lather over it, one can't help but wonder if Casio is trying to pitch its latest mobile handset to the teen sexter market with a couple of YouTube videos called "Sexy girl in the shower" and "Money shot." The videos have since been yanked, but the former touted the handset's waterproofing and 5-megapixel camera by showing -- no prizes for guessing -- a girl using it in the shower to talk and take a photo of herself. We won't get in to the content of the second ad, but suffice to say it's not something very many companies would be too comfortable with. Sure, showing somebody using a phone in the shower sounds like a great way to promote a waterproof handset, but given the sexting uproar, perhaps Casio's timing (and/or judgment) was a little off.

Filed Under: advertising, mistargeted, sexting

29 Comments

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killertim, 14 Apr 2009 @ 5:49am

Oh, these crazy Japanese
and their different culture.
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lulz, 14 Apr 2009 @ 5:56am

I wonder why the post was removed
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Paul, 14 Apr 2009 @ 5:57am

videos
Shower: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=604_1239504574

Couldn't find the money shot one.
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Ima Fish, 14 Apr 2009 @ 6:01am

Casio makes phones? Really? Can you play Trio's Da Da Da on them? That'd be cool.
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some old guy, 14 Apr 2009 @ 6:04am

viral advertising
viral advertising is viral

"pulled" commercials are incredibly popular amongst those that have surplus of expendable cash.

This was genius marketing.
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Ryan, 14 Apr 2009 @ 6:12am

or
Or we could get over the whole "kids are using ____ for sexual stuff" scare posts and just realize that teens have sex. Deal with it, accept it, and educate them to be smart and safe about it.

Nah, that won't ever happen. Ban cell phones for anyone under 18. Quick congress, get on it.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Apr 2009 @ 6:13am

Re: viral advertising
Not if you can't find the videos afterwards. You have to wait for them to go viral before getting them pulled.
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Pastor Harold, 14 Apr 2009 @ 6:14am

Damn you all to HELL!!!
Casio is going DOWN for this one. As the bible clearly states, the naked human body is the created property of the great noodely one, The Flying Spaghetti Monster. As such, it can only be given to those that have earned the right by sticking phallic appendages into one another and sort of gyrating around a bit while making funny faces for his angry amusement. Casio is promoting the unlicensed sharing of naked bodies in infinitely replicatable digital form, hence Casio is going down. Literally. Into the bowls of hell. With that kid from Webster and Gary Busey's dignity...
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known coward, 14 Apr 2009 @ 6:18am

you write this article
like naked women taking pictures of themselves in the showers is a bad thing. On the contrary, this sort of behaviour should be encouraged to help make the world, a cleaner and happier place, one shower at a time.
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Apr 2009 @ 6:59am

Not Just Kids
Shouldn't we clarify that it's not just kids sending these kinds of photos, but adults too? It's just not illegal for one adult to send it to another.
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Chronno S. Trigger, 14 Apr 2009 @ 7:16am

Why were they pulled?
It was a vid of an adult taking pictures of herself in the shower. Why was it pulled from youtube? It didn't show any nudity and I've seen much worse on that vary site.

This seems like standard advertising, like a shampoo commercial where the users seem to get off on it. Sex sells.

And that linked to article, the informationweek one, says this post has been removed.
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Bobby McDoogle, 14 Apr 2009 @ 7:17am

Jesus also receives these text messages
Why doesn't anyone realize all of these dirty messages also go to Jesus. Do you think that just because you use your phone to send a dirty message that Jesus doesn't know what you have done? He knows, and it is a sin. This makes me sick.
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Chronno S. Trigger, 14 Apr 2009 @ 7:21am

Re: Jesus also receives these text messages
So Jesus hacked into my cell phone and is not only looking at me nude but is stealing my copyrighted material? Shouldn't this be more of a moral outrage than sexting?
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lulz, 14 Apr 2009 @ 7:31am

Re: Jesus also receives these text messages
Go back to WBC headquarters you nut fundamentalist.
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Valkor, 14 Apr 2009 @ 7:58am

Re: Re: Jesus also receives these text messages
Have you ever heard the term "flamebait"? Congrats, you just took it.
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TheStuipdOne, 14 Apr 2009 @ 8:03am

I don't think jesus really cares ...
about teenagers sexting. After all the best modern day estimates of his mother's age when he was born is 14.

Does that make God a pedophile??
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Pastor Harold, 14 Apr 2009 @ 8:19am

Re: I don't think jesus really cares ...
Don't you mean pastaphile?
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Apr 2009 @ 8:32am

Re: or
kids are using CARs for sexual stuff

Quick dissemble all motor cars teens cold have sex in them
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Apr 2009 @ 8:44am

Isnt this good?
Casio recognized what thier users want from thier devices and they are providing it . . . this is good capitalism correct?
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Apr 2009 @ 8:52am

Re: Not Just Kids
Exactly! This is discrimation against adults who like to sext! >:@
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MediaEmpyre, 14 Apr 2009 @ 9:02am

God is all knowing, all seeing. The alpha and the omega. Everything that ever was, everything that is, and everything that ever will be.
So God knew someday there would be sexting. He took the time to write some rules down.....None of them say anything about sex or sexting! Hmmmmmmmmmmm............
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Yakko Warner, 14 Apr 2009 @ 9:10am

Timing off?
If "no publicity is bad publicity", sounds like their timing was right on.
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Nichols Overstreet (profile), 14 Apr 2009 @ 9:30am

Silly Americans is more like it
Heh, silly Americans and are silly up-tight culture.
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Gatewood Green, 14 Apr 2009 @ 2:36pm

Only teens?
I have seen adults (young and older) do this. I was not aware there was an upper age limit to qualify as sexting. Granted the term is only familiar to a large audience due to the teen angle in the news as of late.
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Bosna Hersek Havayollari, 15 Apr 2009 @ 7:32am

Bosna Hersek Havayollari
I love those silly americans
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The Right One!, 15 Apr 2009 @ 11:00am

Hey guys, it seems like you guys do not care about those publicity of the nudity or sexting over the web or phone...so does that mean you guys are ok (comfortable) with your Wife, children or parents (if you guys dont have one now maybe later in the future) to do the same? Dam man, that crap is wrong!
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Apr 2009 @ 11:06am

Re:
what is so bad about the human body that it must be hidden?
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Apr 2009 @ 9:18pm

Re: Re:
Don't you know? WE MUST PROTECT THE CHILDREN OMGZ
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