Effective advertising...is it?

I forgot to mention yesterday's sight on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. On my way back from picking up some lunch, I saw a small crowd by a large truck parked on the roadside. The truck's bed was flat and fully enclosed with glass, somewhat like the PopeMobile, except much larger. Inside was a simulated tropical scene, and sufficiently large that three young women in bikinis and a shirtless man were able to gyrate to music.

They were advertising Mexico, the country. There was a slogan painted along the top of the glass, but I didn't stay and thus saw it only briefly as I walked by. Something like "Our heat makes for endless summers." The crowd consisted of a couple of dozen men and a few women, all varying ages and ethnicities. They maintained a respectful distance, or at least they did during the few moments it took me to walk by.

I question the advertising's effectiveness on the crowd, especially the men, who as you all can probably surmise were thinking about something other than calling their travel agent. With how they ogled the women (who were certainly attractive), you'd have thought they had never before seen a partially clad woman in their lives. Though I had the time, I saw no real point to stay and watch, and I'm not exactly jaded by feminine curves. Nor can I say that the scene made me want to go to Mexico any more than before.

On the other hand, this I would think is more effective advertising, because if the products interest you, they're right there to purchase. I'm curious to see how traffic accident statistics for that stretch of road are in, say, a few months.