Companies Strip Down To Boost Up

Employees coming to work at onebestway marketing and design company back in April didn’t spend too much time choosing their outfits – for one special Friday, everyone showed up for work “au natural”. In an effort to boost office morale, the English company participated in Naked Friday, thought up by business psychologist David Taylor. Taylor asked all employees of the company to drop trou for one day to help the office get “up close and personal.” Yeah, because I’d definitely be more at ease in the office with my ta-tas hanging out. In preparation for the big strip down, employees were asked to photocopy a body part and sketch a naked model to calm their worries. Fortunately, the employees’ Full Monty was a success – morale is up and the company has two new clients. Their not-so-casual Friday was filmed and will be shown on Virgin 1 next Thursday. [The Sun]

Businesses baring it all is part of a new trend as companies get creative with their sales tactics to boost low morale and profits caused by the economic slow-down. Even though sex sells some companies think just being naked is enough. 

• Nike runners got “super natural” in their recent ad for the Nike Free running shoe. Set in fictitious Bear Butte Running Camp runners demonstrate the free feeling you get wearing the shoe by training in the buff with only fuzzy censors blurring out their bits. The two minute ad is slightly informative, but all around funny. [Nike Running]
• I always have a great time playing around with the organic products at Lush, searching for the soap that doesn’t smell like bad potpourri, but customers looking for green cosmetics last August really got the natural experience. To promote their “naked” bath products sold without plastic containers, Lush employees also got environmentally friendly by peeling off their own artificial coverings – clothing. [NY Mag]
• Air New Zealand has “nothing to hide” – no hidden fees and, well no clothes. To boost flight sales the airline got down to the “bare essentials” with their TV ad and safety video featuring actual Air New Zealand employees helping passengers naked, covered in body paint done to look like uniforms. While The Frisky already posted the airline’s alternative sales “incentive,” I can’t get enough of their cute accents. [Huffington Post]