"sexy" news and stories

Sex sells. Usually, it sells things like beer, various liquors and - of course - fatty fast food hamburger, but some Seattle area businesses are using it to sell something else entirely: coffee. Espresso joints with names like Natté Latté, Moka Girls Espresso, Cowgirls Espresso, The Sweet Spot and Bikini Espresso have decided to spice up their images with sexy outfits and flirtatious female baristas to try and attract business away from competitors.

At Cowgirls Espresso in Tukwila, WA, for example, barista Candice Law (pictured) says that she and the other baristas dress to different themes for different days. "Everybody's excited to see you," she said, as evidenced by the look on this customer's face on seeing his coffee served by a girl in a corset and thigh-high boots. At other establishments, "hot-pink hot pants and tight white tank tops," lingerie and "fetish" outfits are just part of the dress code.

Dubbed "sexpresso," the combination of sexy outfits and coffee is a relatively new concept and seems to be gaining in popularity as commutes get longer and consumers are more likely to take factors other than simple convenience into account when looking for coffee in the morning. As one (satisfied) customer said "If I'm going to pay $4 for a cup of coffee, I'm not going to get served by a guy." The employees - just about all women - seem to like it, too, citing the friendly customers and huge tips as great incentives.

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When a well-established brand looks to reinvent themselves to appeal to a new group of consumers, usually a younger and hipper group, they automatically go for something a little offbeat. Class is not usually a consideration in this type of marketing strategy, which makes it seem like an odd choice for the new campaign for Perrier, a sparkling water that has long been associated with good taste.

In an effort to bring in younger drinkers, Perrier is trying to make its water "sexier", "flirtier", "riskier", "sassier", etc. than before. Bottles of the water will be accompanied by contortionists ("crazier") in LA nightclubs and beach umbrellas ("sunnier") in Miami. They are hoping that their $10 million marketing campaign will turn the water into a trend again.

The problem with such a campaign is that it risks the brand's long-term identity in favor of some short-term effervescence. Even if the campaign works and the water becomes a trendy item, it is only a matter of time before the trend fades out, which could leave the brand a little flatter than before.

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The second episode of Top Chef ran Wednesday night on Bravo. The bulk of the episode took place inside a fetish shop in San Francisco, since the main challenge involved making a sexy dessert. It was interesting to see some of the contestants cutting loose among the latex-clad party goers - one of which was RuPaul - while others were clearly out of their comfort zone. But as usual, there were two challenges on which the contestants were judged.

The first, quick challenge for immunity, dealt with presentation and the chefs were asked to make a fruit plate in 30 minutes. Elizabeth Faulkner of San Francisco's Citizen Cake served as the judge for this challenge. Some of the chefs really didn't seem to understand that not only were they making a fruit plate, but that they were competing against other people, so originality was important. Half of the chefs had garnished their plates with pineapple tops, which Ms. Faulkner didn't like, and the majority of the other plates looked very similar. She criticized some plates for looking like they were part of a buffet. The three top plates were Cynthia's, which was minimalist and used papaya seeds as a garnish, Harold's, which showcased his knife skills, and Stephen's, which used fruit and herb combinations served in espresso cups. Stephen won purely on originality; his presentation was gorgeous.