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Becks Strips for H&M's Super Bowl Ad

by Sarah Hedgecock

And you thought underwear ads didn't get saucier than Victoria's Secret commercials. For H&M's much-hyped Super Bowl spot, the company brought back David Beckham for what may be the sexiest (and most voyeuristic, and maybe a little bit objectifying) ad ever to air on primetime network television. The selling point? The spot had Becks strip down to nothing – at viewers' behest.

Yep, the retailer is appealing to Super Bowl viewers' libidos by touting a hot person as a sex object. (Apparently, such an advertising technique isn't just for Go Daddy anymore.) The underwear spot itself is like any other, showing the former soccer star doing everyday athletic activities while sporting the company's Bodywear undies. (The premise: Beckham gets accidentally locked out of, you guessed it, an H&M underwear modeling shoot. To get back into the studio, he has to leap buildings, run across yards, and even fashion an improvised zipline, all clad in form-fitting boxer-briefs.) But it's how the company drummed up publicity for the spot that makes it interesting.

Rather than releasing an advance preview of the full Super Bowl ad or simply touting the presence of Beckham's abs, H&M turned to viewers like you. The company released two brief previews of the spot, one ending with Beckham safe back in the studio and the other ending with Beckham safe back in the studio with not a shred of clothing left on him. Fans were asked to vote with the tags #covered or #uncovered to determine which ending was used in the full spot. We don't think you'll be surprised how that turned out:

Click here to check out more of Super Bowl XLVIII's best and worst ads.