DirecTV wants YOU to upgrade!

To what, though, I'm not sure. Their recent ad "Upgrade" features pop star/actress Beyonce in two particularly compromising positions. In the ad, Beyonce is trying to convince cable customers to upgrade to DirecTV for their HD package, but the theme of the ad doesn't say that. In one shot, Beyonce is sprawled out on a bed of gold, practically bathing herself in the luxuries while making sensualized face expressions. In another, she actually has a gold necklace in her teeth that says "Upgrade" that is a peculiar length across her lips. After asking a few people for confirmation, the necklace appears to be similarly shaped to a particular male appendage.
So what is the ad asking you to upgrade? Obviously your cable service, but are they using Beyonce as an upgrade to the current spouse you have? Her tone in the ad follows the brown sugar stereotype we have talked about, and she suggestively moves and poses throughout the ad. It's very disappointing to see DirecTV go this route; they tried a similar campaign with Jessica Simpson last year that confused customers on what DirecTV actually offered* (see below blog entry). Their other ads have also been very confusing, using popular stars to convey their benefits, but they use wording that constantly confuses customers.
Companies need to be more responsible in their messages, especially how graphic they are. When you use a strong graphic, but also HAVE to convey a message that consumers need to know about, you have to be sure the message is getting across.

*=The Jessica Simpson ad said DirecTV used HD broadcasts in 1080i, which was arguably no different from the 720p that everyone else was currently using. Customers were tricked into thinking that 1080i equaled 1080p, which is a better resolution. Many televsion companies have caught on, and actually display on their TV's that they offer "Full HD 1080", which is still only 1080i, but consumers believe the TV's are top of the line when they aren't.