YOU don’t have to be a genius to know that sexuality is one of the most powerful tools of marketing and advertising. In other words, sex sells.
Interestingly, marketing or advertising gurus who are entrusted with ‘selling’ the most sexless product will usually resort to sex to get their product moving. The idea that the sexual imagery projected in the advertisement or marketing campaign typically has absolutely no connection with the product is a not a new one. I’ve seen garden blowers, AK-47 machine guns, chewing gum, car tyres, and the list goes on, promoted or marketed by some alluring woman, styled to grab a man’s interest immediately.
Now, the table has been turned and good-looking young men with great bodies are being pushed out in front of a camera to spark interest in what is already a great product.
That product is golf and the target is women.
The PGA of Australia is resorting to the “sex sells” ploy to ultimately get more non-golfers, especially women, interested in the game, whether it is playing or spectating. The PGA recruited six of its male members to appear in a high-fashion-style photo shoot as part of a campaign called Pro Golf Exposed, which is designed to shatter the traditional image of golf as a game only for older gentlemen.
While most of the images are just of young guys dressed in brand label garb looking moody down the camera lens, the PGA has certainly played the sex card with the image, seen here, of touring pro James McLean. With a six pack that very few golfers could possibly relate to, McLean might find the female component of his galleries swell when he plays tournaments next summer. And that will bring a mighty big smile to the face of the relatively new PGA chief executive officer, Brian Thorburn.
“This new campaign is quite revolutionary for the PGA and I’m sure the final result will appeal to the female demographic,” Thorburn says.
“The idea behind the campaign is to break down some of the traditional stereotypes surrounding golf and PGA members that can be prohibitive to new people taking up the game. I think this campaign will achieve this and encourage more women to pick up a club, get a lesson or even watch the golf on TV this summer.”
PGA member and Tour pro Daniel Beckmann, 23, is one of Australia’s rising stars, who features in the campaign alongside McLean and another Tour player, Michael Curtain. There is also PGA club pro Steve Lipovas and trainee professionals Byron Reynolds and Quinton Howe.
Beckmann said he was happy to be involved with the project and hopes the image of golf will eventually change.
“Those who play golf know that the common stereotypes about the sport are incorrect and I hope through this campaign non-golfers will see that there are plenty of young people enjoying and excelling in golf,” Beckmann said.
Beckmann is 100 percent right when he says there are scores of young golfers, men and women, in Australia.
But I’m not sold on the idea that this ‘beefcake’ strategy will hit its intended mark. I have no doubt the number of women at events could certainly rise. Perhaps even the number of females who book lessons with their local PGA professional might increase – right alongside the number of boyfriends/husbands who tag along to make sure it is all above board.
These are certainly the positives the PGA will be expecting. But will this then translate into more young people playing the game? Personally, I don’t think so.
For one, with the exception of a few images in the campaign there is nothing that links these handsome men to golf. One is posing with a club, another with a glove.
Then there is the sultry image of McLean seen here. This could go on the cover of any fitness magazine in the world. I thought about running it on our June cover but smarter heads prevailed simply because there is no link between this image and golf.
What product is this image selling? Its certainly not golf. Keen golf observers will know this is James McLean, the former US college golf champion. The non-golfer who catches a glimpse of this image or the others in the campaign might just mistake them for male models in a fashion ad for cardigans or jeans.
To see more, you can visit www.pga.org.au/progolfexposed