Advertising: The Unlikeliest Product

In marketing, the key to growth is anticipating, even creating, demand for new products—and some of them surpass yesterday's wildest fantasies. Four-color, full-page advertisements for one such item have been appearing in Mademoiselle, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and other publications. An unclothed, deadpan model looks out from under the slyly provocative headline: "Relax. And Enjoy the Revolution." The product is Cupid's Quiver, a $3.50 package of twelve sachets of liquid douche concentrate that is offered in two floral scents (orange blossom and jasmine), as well as two flavor scents (raspberry and champagne). The...