The Woman Who Stopped Traffic
In 1994, a 21-year-old Czech supermodel posed in a black push-up bra for a billboard campaign. The resulting image became one of the most iconic advertisements in history — and changed how lingerie was marketed forever.
"Hello Boys"
The campaign was simple: Eva Herzigová looking down at her own cleavage in a black Wonderbra, with two words in bold type: "Hello Boys."
The creative team at TBWA London, led by adman Trevor Beattie, had created something that transcended advertising. The billboards appeared across the UK and became an instant cultural phenomenon:
- Rumored to have caused car accidents as male drivers were distracted by roadside billboards
- Generated $50 million in free publicity for a $25 million product line
- Sara Lee's chairman noted that "the Wonderbra got more space in the New York Times than the Federal Reserve"
- Voted the #1 most iconic outdoor advertisement of the last five decades by the Outdoor Media Centre
- The poster now hangs in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London
Beyond the Billboard
Herzigová herself went on to become one of the most successful supermodels of the 1990s, working with every major fashion house and appearing on hundreds of magazine covers. But she has always been honest about the Wonderbra's impact: "The campaign changed my career overnight. Before it, I was a model. After it, I was a phenomenon."
What It Meant
The "Hello Boys" campaign was the last great moment of aspirational, glamorous lingerie advertising before the industry shifted toward inclusivity and body positivity. It represented the peak of a specific era: lingerie as spectacle, beauty as performance, desire as commerce.
Whether you see it as empowering or objectifying — and reasonable people disagree — its place in advertising history is secure.
The "Hello Boys" poster: now in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.