万圣节“性感披萨”服背后的病毒营销经

    今年，互联网上涌现出了数千款短小性感的万圣节服装，其中一款艳压群芳。它登上过《每日秀》（The Daily Show）、《今日秀》（Today）和大大小小的博客，它就是“性感披萨”服装 —— 一款用丝网印刷技术印上食物馅料、带壳状硬垫肩的紧身服装，可以说是对女性在万圣节期间自我客体化的滑稽模仿，也可以说是女性们最完美的化身。该款服装出自Yandy.com之手，它同时还销售“性感胡萝卜”和“性感食人鲸”等服装。想知道这些奇特的万圣节服装的设计者吗？他就是35岁的亚利桑那州毕业生查德•霍斯特曼。

    霍斯特曼表示，网站的目标客户是“对自己有信心、想要独一无二的服装、希望在人群中脱颖而出的女孩。”根据公司的产品，霍斯特曼对信心的定义是，敢于穿模仿玉米须的超短紧身服装。霍斯特曼说：“我们的服装就是要滑稽有趣，天马行空。人们需要明白这一点。”

    2005年，霍斯特曼曾为一家《财富》500强公司（Fortune 500）担任互联网营销顾问。在业余时间，他成立了好几个电子商务网站。其中一家出售香烟，一家出售胡椒喷雾，还有一家出售女式贴身内衣。最后一家大获成功，他甚至说服自己的哥哥伊凡，辞去了波音公司（Boeing）供应链经理的工作，加入他的初创公司。对于创办一家内衣网站的动机，霍斯特曼的解释是：“要知道，作为男人，我们并不喜欢到维多利亚的秘密（Victoria's Secret）（去买礼物）。”最初，他的目标是男性——可结果这个平台深受广大女性的喜爱，于是兄弟二人便顺水推舟，做起了女性内衣销售。

    他们当初并没有预料到Yandy会推出“性感服装”。公司第一个万圣节期间，供应商提供的节日服装并不多。于是，霍斯特曼瞄准了这个市场。他说：“时机恰到好处。”他解释称，层出不穷的亚利桑那州立大学聚会让他认识到这个市场的存在。Yandy的服装业务仅占他公司销售额的26%，但霍斯特曼还是在2010年推出了公司自己的产品。他补充说：“完全是水到渠成，因为我打小就非常喜欢万圣节。”

    当时，Yandy推出了三件套动物服装（性感狐狸、性感熊猫和性感北极熊）。每套的价格约为150美元，其中包括绒毛的裙子、护腿和人造皮毛的帽子。霍斯特曼说：“我们对此感到非常自豪。我们就是这样开始的。”

    受到文化趋势的启发，也得益于霍斯特曼自身的天赋，Yandy目前推出了更多风格的服装。麦莉•塞勒斯在音乐录影带大奖（VMA）上的表演让霍斯特曼深受启发，推出了今年最畅销的服装之一：性感比基尼和配套的泡沫手指。目前，Yandy正在借助纪录片《黑鱼》（Blackfish）的东风，销售它性感食人鲸系列服装。Yandy去年的畅销服装是性感大鸟服装，灵感或许源自米特•罗姆尼对公共广播公司（PBS）的攻击。（性感快餐系列难道是影射美国的肥胖问题？）

    霍斯特曼的设计灵感有时候并不符合逻辑——他声称自己设计性感杀人鲸的原因是“许多女孩喜欢去海洋馆，而且她们都爱看食人鲸表演。”而且，他从来不听别人的反馈。Yandy的营销总监萨拉•张伯伦并不喜欢性感披萨的创意。对此，霍斯特曼提到这款服装在《每日秀》上的首次亮相：“乔恩•斯图尔特喜欢性感披萨服装。只要女孩意识到男孩子们喜欢这些服装，她们就会改变主意。”霍斯特曼的创意总是故意夸大。他的目的是帮助客户赢得服装比赛，同时也希望能够刺激大众市场。“我们证明我们有能力生产这些服装，让它们像病毒一样传播，在网络上赢得关注。”

    很多人喜欢霍斯特曼的创意，也有人为万圣节被加入了性的特征感到愤怒。他也意识到自己的服装并不适合所有人，但他认为，性感披萨并不像“传说中那么性感”。毕竟，他的公司也提供长款服装。此外，除了2,300种传统尺寸服装外，Yandy还提供270款加大码服装。公司创始人的目的是希望公司提供的服装“让用户看起来漂亮，自我感觉良好。”这就是性感玉米/汉堡/食人鲸/胡萝卜服装的出发点。

    随着Yandy的销量持续增加，公司的产品线也在不断增多。它计划保留一个仅供电子商务使用的平台，还计划扩建它30,000平方英尺的仓库。除非消费者在万圣节之夜不再渴望短小性感的服装，否则，Yandy会继续为饥渴的女性消费者奉上“性感披萨”大餐。（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓 

    Amid the thousands of skimpy Halloween ensembles cluttering the Internet this year, one shone brighter than the rest. Featured on The Daily Show, Today, and countless blogs, the Sexy Pizza costume – skin tight with screen-printed pie toppings and padded crust shoulders – is either a sharp parody of women's ritual Halloween-time self-objectification, or its perfect embodiment. The costume comes by way of Yandy.com, which also sells Sexy Carrot and Sexy Killer Whale costumes. The progenitor of this eccentric trick-or-treat eye-candy? 35-year-old Arizona State grad Chad Horstman.

    The site targets "a certain type of girl with a lot of confidence who wants something unique and stands out from the crowd," he says. Based on the company's offerings, Horstman defines confidence as the desire to wear skimpy outfits that mimic ears of corn. "Our costumes are meant to be funny and ridiculous. People need to see that," says Horstman.

    In 2005, Horstman was working as an Internet marketing consultant for Fortune 500 companies. In his spare time, he launched several ecommerce sites. One sold cigars, one sold pepper spray, and one sold lingerie. The lingerie platform took off, and he convinced his brother Evan to quit his job as a supply-chain manager at Boeing and join the start-up. "As a guy, you know, we don't really like to go to Victoria's Secret [to buy gifts]," says Horstman, explaining why he created an intimates site. Initially, he was targeting men – but the platform attracted women instead, and the brothers went with it.

    They didn't foresee Yandy's foray into "sexy costumes." During the company's first Halloween, its suppliers were selling scanty holiday outfits. Horstman decided to carry them. "It was perfect timing," he says, explaining that frequenting ASU parties taught him that this market existed. Yandy's costume business only accounts for 26% of its sales, but that didn't stop Horstman from launching his own line in 2010. "It's fitting because I've always been into Halloween since I was kid," he adds.

    That year, Yandy introduced a trio of animal costumes (Sexy Fox, Sexy Panda, and Sexy Polar Bear) to the world. Costing upwards of $150, the full sets include fluffy dresses and leg warmers topped with faux fur hoods. "We were really proud of those, " says Horstman. "That's what kind of launched it for us."

    Yandy's line now offers a wide range of styles inspired by cultural trends and Horstman's personal genius. Miley Cyrus's VMA performance inspired one of this year's bestsellers: a nude bikini set sold with a matching foam finger. Yandy is marketing its Sexy Killer Whale parallel to the Blackfish documentary. Last year, one of Yandy's hits was its Sexy Big Bird getup, a nod to Mitt Romney's attack on PBS. (Perhaps the Sexy Fast Food collection is referencing America's obesity struggle?)

    The seeds of Horstman's designs are sometimes illogical—he says he created the Sexy Killer Whale costume because "a lot of girls love going to Sea World and they love Shamu" – and he doesn't always listen to feedback. Sarah Chamberlain, Yandy's director of marketing, hated the Sexy Pizza idea. "Jon Stewart loved the Sexy Pizza costume," Horstman affirms, referring to the costume's debut on The Daily Show. "Once girls realize guys will love the costume, they change their mind." Horstman's creations are purposely over-the-top. His aim is to help his customers win costume contests, while also stirring some grassroots marketing. "We've demonstrated an ability to produce these costumes and get them to go viral and get attention online."

    While plenty of people laugh with Horstman, others are offended by the way his company sexualizes Halloween. He realizes his costumes aren't for everyone, but adds that the sexy pizza isn't "really that sexy." After all, it offers its wearer full coverage. Yandy also carries 270 plus-sized costume styles, on top of its 2,300 traditionally-sized offerings. The founder's main goal is to provide "costumes that make you look good and feel good about yourself." And that is what Sexy Corn/Hamburger/Killer Whale/Carrot outfits do.

    As Yandy's sales continue to increase, so does its inventory. The company plans to remain an ecommerce-only platform and is about to outgrow its 30,000 square foot warehouse. Until consumers no longer crave skimpy outfits for Halloween night, Yandy will continue dishing out Sexy Pizza to its hungry, female buyers.