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

from the serious-questions dept

"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.
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Filed Under: advertising, mistargeted, sexting


Reader Comments

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  1. identicon
    killertim, 14 Apr 2009 @ 5:49am

    Oh, these crazy Japanese

    and their different culture.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    lulz, 14 Apr 2009 @ 5:56am

    I wonder why the post was removed

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Paul, 14 Apr 2009 @ 5:57am

    videos

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

    Couldn't find the money shot one.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    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...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    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?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    lulz, 14 Apr 2009 @ 7:31am

    Re: Jesus also receives these text messages

    Go back to WBC headquarters you nut fundamentalist.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. identicon
    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??

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. identicon
    Pastor Harold, 14 Apr 2009 @ 8:19am

    Re: I don't think jesus really cares ...

    Don't you mean pastaphile?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. identicon
    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

    link to this | view in thread ]

  19. identicon
    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?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  20. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 14 Apr 2009 @ 8:52am

    Re: Not Just Kids

    Exactly! This is discrimation against adults who like to sext! >:@

    link to this | view in thread ]

  21. identicon
    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............

    link to this | view in thread ]

  22. identicon
    Yakko Warner, 14 Apr 2009 @ 9:10am

    Timing off?

    If "no publicity is bad publicity", sounds like their timing was right on.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  23. icon
    Nichols Overstreet (profile), 14 Apr 2009 @ 9:30am

    Silly Americans is more like it

    Heh, silly Americans and are silly up-tight culture.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  24. identicon
    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.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  25. identicon
    Bosna Hersek Havayollari, 15 Apr 2009 @ 7:32am

    Bosna Hersek Havayollari

    I love those silly americans

    link to this | view in thread ]

  26. identicon
    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!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  27. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 Apr 2009 @ 11:06am

    Re:

    what is so bad about the human body that it must be hidden?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  28. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 Apr 2009 @ 9:18pm

    Re: Re:

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

    link to this | view in thread ]

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