Sex sells, especially if you saw this headline via your RSS feed and opted to click on in. Hello Nurse! Been thinking about a recent post from Agency Tart in which she explained that fashion advertising is an aspirational market. True true – few women are a size 2 and few men have 6 packs – but this is what we see – people whom we aspire to be or to be with. But now the lingerie line Agent Provocateur has taken a different course by casting Maggie Gyllenhaal for their fall campaign.

In this perilously thin world, Mags does not fit the model of a size 2 lingerie gal. Serena Rees of Agent Provocateur said: “Maggie is not an obvious sex symbol. She is interesting looking, confident and beautiful in a way that is non-threatening, which makes her appealing to men and women alike.” That, and she is known for her whips & chains role in “Secretary”. And it is this hot kink that drives the new campaign. So Provocateur becomes the naughty cousin of Victoria and Frederick. One whom many shoppers secretly may want to be, or to be with. And AP corners mindshare and a unique space in the lingerie drawer. Well played, AP, well played.