MARKETING MIX: Want some lewd SMS? Viz is happy to oblige for 25p

Marketing 19-Sep-02

Bastion of obscenity Viz is all set to publish a compendium of contrived colloquialisms for all manner of lewd and crude terms. Roger's Profanisaurus will be available to readers of the magazine on October 11.

In the meantime, Viz's publisher, I Feel Good (IFG), and wireless marketing agency Flytxt have teamed up to launch a profane SMS service.

Examples clearly illustrate the tone: Butter your cheeks is defined as a verb meaning to fart and follow through.

Custard cousin is a term that describes the relationship between two people that have 'shared the same slice of pie'. (So Bryan Ferry and Mick Jagger; Liam Gallagher, Ally McCoist and Jim Kerr for example).

Lastly, Tuber is an acronym for a term that a doctor might write in his notes on a good-looking female patient. It stands for Totally Unnecessary Breast Examination Required.

Users of the service will receive a text message every Monday morning and Friday afternoon. They can also send their comments to the magazine's editor. Each message costs 25p. For a service that provides men with two pearls of juvenilia a week, that's presumably value for money.