Learning from les lecons d Aubade

The pictures I have inserted are examples from the advertising campaign I have selected. They are taken from the French lingerie brand, Aubade.

The advertising media that was used is print. The pictures are shot by Hervé Lewis. They are in Black and White and of faceless beautifully proportioned women wearing Aubade underwear.

The tone of the message is in my opinion playful, provocative and seductive at the same time. I find that the association of seductive classy pictures with slightly tongue-in-cheek lessons keeps the viewers hooked to the campaign as they wait for the next ad to come out in order to discover the next seduction lesson.

The Advertising aims to make both men and women feel that they are buying something special luxurious and seductive. The Black and White shots give the pictures a classy feel and help position Aubade as a luxury lingerie brand. The advertising also seeks to achieve a sort of brand loyalty and spark the constant interest from its customers. This is achieved through the consecutive lessons given, as the viewer waits for the next advert to come out in order to find out what the next seduction lesson is.


The advertising is seeking to achieve a sort of intimacy with women by teaching them how to seduce men. The lessons are intended to draw women together by sharing tips on how to charm a man, but are risqué enough to appeal to men. In addition, there are sort of catchy puns that link the image to the lesson that target both men and women. For example the Lesson Number 52 depicts a model's curvy back in a laced-up corset and says "Strengthen the ties." Hence, women are entranced by the advertisement as they identify to the faceless model and want to try out the seduction lessons on their husband/boyfriend. Whereas men are seduced by the pictured female curves embellished by the brand’s products and they want their wife/girlfriend to be like the woman on the picture. “To charm her man, a woman must buy Aubade lingerie. To obtain a woman as sexy as the model in the ad, a man must buy her Aubade underwear.”as states Emilie Boyer King in April 26, 2004 issue of brandchannel.com

There has been a social conflict around this advertisement campaign. Feminist have argued that the campaign portrayed women as “a sexual object deprived of any identity” due to the fact that the women in the photographs were faceless and only their bodies were photographed.

When asked to state my favourite advertisement campaign I cannot refrain but to continuously cite the Aubade Seduction Lessons campaign. It is in my opinion one of the most successful and tasteful lingerie advertisement yet. The photographs have caused accidents on the French highways, talk about an impact! I may favour this campaign because I cannot think of any way it could have been more successful as every variable (colour, mystery model, quirky lines) seems to have its purpose…


Having a faceless model associated to catchy seduction lessons creates mystery and intrigue. Intrigue is what keeps people interested, which in my opinion is the key to successful advertising.