“Water Porn”

An article titled “Water Porn” was written this morning by author Thomas M. Kostigen of the Huffington Post. The author addresses his use of “alarming images and bold examples” to seduce his audiences, as demonstrated by the title of his post.

Image by San Francisco Water Power Sewer

Kostigen isn’t the only one attempting to use provocative language to entice his viewers. In 2014, San Fransisco Water Power Sewer launched their campaign “Water Conservation is Smart and Sexy“. The campaign featured their messages on various mediums such as commercials and billboards and used sexual innuendos to pull their viewers in.

 

This article is relevant to our research as we test different types of messaging strategies for the most efficient results. Although this approach may seem extreme to some, Kostigen writes, “We need to get people to tune in even if we have to resort to verbal and visual acrobats to do it.”