The device in question is Exilim Mobile camera phone. Specifically released for the Verizon Wireless network, the device's most prominent new feature is its resistance to water.
To promote the Exilim, Casio produced two YouTube videos, which have been removed, that showed a sexy nude woman using the phone in the shower. Titled simply, "Sexy lady in shower," the video by all accounts seemed to be a piece of stealth marketing by Casio to showcase the device's abilities in the most titillating way possible.
Tech pundits around the web criticized the video's naked sexuality.
"This is definitely one of the stranger official product announcements we've seen in a while," Sascha Segan wrote for PCMag.com. "In a YouTube video filmed like amateur soft porn, Casio seems to be announcing the new Exilim Mobile camera phone for Verizon Wireless."
The second video bears the title "Money Shot," and also features the device in a slightly blue scenario. InformationWeek's Eric Zeman also offered a dubious perspective on the new campaign.
"Underground campaigns to launch new products are nothing new. Neither is using sex to sell," he said. "But these Casio videos take things a bit further than I've seen any phone maker go. What's even odder is that Casio is outing the phone at all before it is announced by Verizon Wireless. Verizon is noted for its strict control on device announcements. In these videos, Verizon's carrier logo is briefly visible. Casio is bravely forging new ground here. Who knows if it will pay off for them."
