Continue reading Sex(y) Sells: Abercrombie Bringing Back Controversial Catalog

Sex(y) Sells: Abercrombie Bringing Back Controversial Catalog originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Sex.com Sale Stalled by Involuntary Bankruptcy Filing

Sex.com Sale Stalled by Involuntary Bankruptcy Filing originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tired of the prudes over at Apple (AAPL), who keep a tight leash on filth in iTunes? Well, it seems like the folks at Google (GOOG) are keeping an open mind. Even though its Android Market isn't playing in the adult space, Google isn't preventing adult-only content from getting on its devices, while Apple has made it a point to keep its iPhones and iPods clean from the start.

The latest entrant into the Android experience is a company called MiKandi (say it, "my candy"), which provides mobile access to the hot stuff you can enjoy on a screen of any size. MiKandi has no connection to Google other than the use of its technology.

Continue reading Android gets a red light district

Android gets a red light district originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Where do you tweet? When? More important, what's normal? Are you some kind of freak?

A recent Gadgetology study by Retrovo.com, a consumer electronics shopping site, seeks to ascertain where the line in the sand is in regards to social media use (and overuse). If you're 35 or younger, regular use of sites such as Twitter and Facebook is common (big shock, right?). It looks to Retrovo like a new addiction may be taking root.

Continue reading Do you tweet after sex?

Do you tweet after sex? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Craigslist 'Erotic Services' ads will change

Craigslist 'Erotic Services' ads will change originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 May 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Condom sales on the rise

Condom sales on the rise originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading 'Sexy' a four-letter word for Victoria's Secret chief

'Sexy' a four-letter word for Victoria's Secret chief originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Feb 2008 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Which sex invests better? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 06 Feb 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Britney Spears

Britney Spears in Playboy, Vanessa Hudgens nude: How naked stars earn money -- even when they're not originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Sep 2007 18:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last week on BloggingStocks, I wrote about Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: PLA)'s foray into social networking, and wondered whether it would help the company to launch itself out of the doldrums.

Michael Schneider of www.barrelomoney.com left a comment to let me know that he thinks the company is already launching itself out of the doldrums:

Playboy, in our view has already started a substantial turnaround that has set the company of the right course. they have added many new sources of revenue and have strengthened the brand. Recent results are telling as many print media companies are floundering and competitors like New frontier turned in weak results.

But the stock isn't showing evidence of this turnaround -- which is good. If the company really is turning itself around, the stock could present an opportunity for investors.

Now we have the latest evidence of Playboy moving in a new direction: It's opening a store in London, establishing a presence that has been missing there for the past 25 years. Playboy is also looking at opening a casino in London.

There's been a lot of evidence lately that Playboy is at least trying to reinvent itself and become relevant again. If you think it has a chance, you may want to look at buying the stock.

Playboy (PLA) returns to London -- Is the stock making a comeback too? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The New York Times (permalink) describes a Trojan condoms commercial that was rejected by both CBS and Fox:

IN a commercial for Trojan condoms that has its premiere tonight, women in a bar are surrounded by anthropomorphized, cellphone-toting pigs. One shuffles to the men's room, where, after procuring a condom from a vending machine, he is transformed into a head-turner in his 20s. When he returns to the bar, a fetching blond who had been indifferent now smiles at him invitingly.

Interesting. In a letter to Trojan, Fox wrote that "Contraceptive advertising must stress health-related uses rather than the prevention of pregnancy."

Here's what I don't understand: Isn't anyone who uses a condom for health-related issues also interested in pregnancy prevention. Is the line of thinking really "Gee. I'd like to get pregnant with this guy I don't really know, but he could have STDs." And while people can have all kinds of reasons for using condoms, even in a committed relationship, isn't the purpose of condoms for health-related issues relevant mostly for casual encounters? I guess I don't understand the distinction that FOX is making.

Maybe I'm just perplexed because this sense of traditional morality is coming from the network that wanted to run a special on how O.J. Simpson would have killed his wife and her friend, if he did.

The bizarre rules of condom advertising originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to USA Today, amateur pornographers armed with little more than a webcam and a computer are giving the major players in the adult entertainment industry, like New Frontier Media (NASDAQ: NOOF) and Playboy (NYSE: PLA) a run for their money.

Sales and rentals of adult DVDs have plummeted in recent years, and now sites like PornoTube.com and YouPorn.com (such clever names ... not) are allowing consumers to download user-generated content to their computers, and even cell phones ... for free in most cases.

While the big porn companies have been pretty quick to move onto the internet, replacing DVD sales, you have to wonder how much user-generated content will hurt their sales. Is Playboy delivering a product that much better than some of the amateurs on PornoTube? I wouldn't know because I'm a good boy.

Shares of Playboy and New Frontier have performed poorly over the past few years, and you have to wonder: How much does branding really matter in an industry that is now flooded with free content?

The market doesn't appear to be giving Playboy a lot of credit for the brand it's been building for the past 54 years: The stocks trades with a market cap of $365 million, which is about 1 times sales. If the brand does still have value, it could be ripe for a buyout -- but only if that's what Hef wants.

Amateurs upstaging pros in pornography originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Express Stores, Limited not as sexy as Victoria's Secret ... and soap originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 May 2007 17:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, recently accused of running a prostitution ring serving Washington's elite, is upset about her stocks. After the government froze her assets, Reuters reports that she pleaded with a federal judge to let her sell her 5,000 shares of Dolby Laboratories Inc. (NYSE: DLB), citing valuation concerns: "I believe it's reached its peak. I don't want it to waste away."

This is another reason to avoid high-turnover investing and stick with index funds for the long-term: If you are indicted on charges of running a ring of call-girls, the government could freeze your assets and not allow you to continue trading actively.

Another thing sex has in common with investing: Most people think they can be above average but the vast majority will have to settle for average or below-average performance -- no matter how much they spend on products that will supposedly enhance their performance.

Accused madam frets over stock pick -- Lessons for investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 May 2007 11:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In December, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) fired its advertising chief, Julie Roehm, for having an inappropriate affair, accepting gifts from suppliers, and extending business trips to spend more time with Sean Womack, a married Wal-Mart VP, at the company's expense. Now, this is exciting stuff.

Ms. Roehm sued the company for wrongful termination and the company counter-sued [subscription required] her for "using company-paid travel to conduct a torrid affair with a junior executive, of accepting meals and liquor from companies competing for its business, and pursuing a job with one bidder, Interpublic Group of Cos.' DraftFCB."

According to one email (released by Mr. Womack's wife!), Womack wrote, "I feel the need to be inside of your head if I cannot be near you." Ms. Roehm replied, "I think about us together all the time." Eek. She was an advertising executive. You'd think she could have come up with something more creative. Perhaps this explains Wal-Mart's inability to attract the more upscale demographic that Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) is successfully reaching.

Sex, bribes, and lawsuits in Wal-Mart land originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Mar 2007 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There's a hot topic getting a lot of attention over on Autoblog so I thought I would mention it here. It would seem that The Girls of Geneva have created quite a stir over there and the readers are eating it up. It comes as no surprise that auto manufacturers, when displaying their wares, continue to use the most basic of human instincts -- our sexual drive -- to draw attention to their merchandise. Still, a few folks with clouded reasoning find the practice distasteful. I, for one, have always deemed it to be intelligent marketing practice.

The association between transportation and sexual satisfaction is as old as the wheel itself. In fact, it's older, but that's beyond the scope of my current mention. The concept encompasses two specific human drives. One is the desire to get somewhere and the other is the desire to "get some." Would it be confusing then, to anyone, that the two concepts would be agelessly coupled in joint appeal? Get somewhere and get some -- its truth has sent hungering souls crisscrossing the planet. Who in their right mind would deny it as the most powerful of marketing ploys?

Of course, the exploitation of human beings for any purpose is dubious when accomplished without their consent, but if Lacey and Bambi and Tawny should choose to make their livings pointing at cars while wearing filmy dresses, who am I to say that they're doing anything wrong?

Continue reading The Geneva Auto Show: Sex still sells, you got a problem with that?

The Geneva Auto Show: Sex still sells, you got a problem with that? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Mar 2007 14:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Airline industry crackdown: on stewardesses having sex? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Feb 2007 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Honda manual too sexy for your car originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Can coffee get any hotter? Seattle spins "sexpresso" originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Julie Roehm too 'sexy' for Wal-Mart; proves Bentonville still honors Sam's values

Julie Roehm too 'sexy' for Wal-Mart; proves Bentonville still honors Sam's values originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 08 Dec 2006 16:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.