Eva Mendes Is About to Get Naked in Times Square

I’ll let you guys in on a little advertising secret I’ve learned in my years reporting on fashion: Sex sells! Unless, of course, every major television network refuses to air your ad because it’s deemed way too racy for prime time, as was the case with Calvin Klein’s Secret Obsession fragrance campaign, starring Eva Mendes. So they’re taking to Times Square instead.

Eva happens to be one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in person, and is usually dressed to kill in Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, or Dior. But in this case, she’s wearing absolutely nothing (except, I presume, Secret Obsession), and will be unveiled in the middle of New York’s Times Square this afternoon, just in time for fashion week. In the banned TV spots, she’s mostly covering her naughty bits, except for a brief, oh wait, what could this be…a nipple? The exposure lasts less than a second but there it is. And apparently that was enough to make the networks send Calvin Klein back to the editing room for a slightly more modest version—though the original will still air abroad. (Check out the video here):

It’s not Calvin’s first foray into pushing the sexual envelope. A 15-year-old Brooke Shields proclaimed “nothing” came between her and her Calvins in 1979, while a 1995 campaign featured young models in rather suggestive poses and also stirred the fashion pot. In fact, the company is proud of the ban, with Ms. Mendes admitting, “I love it. That means the ads are totally Calvin, totally provocative and a little controversial.” What do you think? Too risqué for the small screen? Too bawdy for broad daylight in NYC?