What should we make of a model that strips for Facebook likes?

Using Facebook likes to make a billboard’s beard is one thing, but using them to make a model strip? Well that’s a whole new kettle of social media fish.

The Dutch division of clothing brand Stüssy is trying to get Facebook users to like its photos with the promise of an incentive. That incentive comes in the form of an item of clothing coming off the model as the likes for it increase.

It’s not yet clear how far Stüssy is willing to take the campaign (I wonder how many of you just can’t wait to find out). If goes all the way, so to speak, then it would probably find itself in violation of the social network’s policies on nudity.

According to TheNextWeb, however, the campaign may not even have to go that far. Facebook’s promotional guidelines forbid people from using Facebook features, such as the “Like” button “as a voting mechanism for a promotion.”

The guideline itself refers to a “promotion (such as competition or sweepstake)”. Stüssy’s campaign doesn’t really fit the bill for either of those things. The only thing anyone’s voting for, or winning for that matter, is the chance to see a model in an undetermined degree of undress.

Whether or not the page gets past Facebook’s monitoring systems, it’s bound to get people visiting the page while it stays up. As Amsterdam Ad Blog points out:

What’s smart about it is that once you’ve liked the stripper, you’ll be inclined to come back and see what her status is. On top of that you’ll see a whole bunch of Stüssy clothes; she thus actually becomes a catwalk stripper.

The blog’s glowing praise actually conceals the biggest problem with the campaign. The model suddenly becomes a stripper. Models are glamorous, live jet-setting lifestyles, engage in ramp-offs, and get embroiled in plots to kill world leaders (Zoolander was pretty accurate in that respect). Strippers wear clear plastic heels, have daddy issues and are “doing this to get through college”.

Whether Stüssy has an award-winner or a publicity nightmare on its hands here remains to be seen. Then again, it is the Amsterdam branch pulling this stunt.