Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 13, 1992 TAG: 9201110165
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BEN BEAGLE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
VCR AD LEAVES BEN SPELLBOUND
I just found out that American merchandising has taken a strange turn, as we say here in the newsroom sometimes.I'd like to be able to say that I found this out by using persistent, tough-minded reporting techniques.
Actually, I found this out in a New York Times story an editor left in my mailbox.
But, back to our strange turn, which is that some companies have been making videocasettes that are distributed in magazines.
This practice so far has included Estee Lauder, a big name in the perfume business, as well as a popular clue on crossword puzzles.
The Estee Lauder people put a videotape pushing a perfume called "Spellbound" in an issue of Elle magazine, which I don't read a whole lot.
The New York Times, usually everybody's model for discretion, simply said the tape had "stark images of a man and woman intermingled with crashing waves." The Times ran a picture showing a young lady and young man with their eyes closed and looking pretty ecstatic, if you know what I mean.
Relax, Myrtle. All you can see is their heads, for Pete's sake.
A spokeman for Estee Lauder mentioned that the tape comes with a blotter with "Spellbound" on it, and a potential customer can smell "at the same time she is enjoying the fantasy and romance of the commercial."
Fantasy and romance, huh?
I want to say here that an inquisitive mind, dedicated always to the Truth, has led me to observe a lot of print perfume and cologne ads and, to be frank, a lot of people in them get very nearly naked.
And these people, I'm shocked to report, are of the opposite sex.
You may think I'm am being an alarmist again, but don't come whining to me when some deodorant soap company sends you a videotape that has people of the opposite sex . . .
I'm sorry, I can't go on here for two reasons:
(A) I'm embarrassed, and (B) writing about stuff like that is a good way to lose your job when George Bush isn't doing anything about the recession.
I hope it doesn't come to that. I hope the videotapes you get will show fully clothed, wholesome and wide-eyed people happily using leaf shredders that you'll never be able to afford.
You ought to know, however, that I'm not very good at hoping, and I think you'll just have to look out for yourselves.
Goodness knows, for example, what kind of videotape they might put in Playboy.
In the meantime, if you subscribe to Elle magazine, I hope you'll keep it to yourself.