Written by FRANK STACY
When 21Sextury first joined what would eventually become Adult Time’s “family” of products, back in 2015 when our parent company Gamma Entertainment acquired the brand, it was admittedly a little bit like the proverbial red-headed stepkid of the litter. You see, our specialty at the time was (and to some extent still is) marketing American-shot content, to American customers, starring American pornstars. We assumed that we could carry over that expertise to the European market just as easily, but we quickly discovered that audiences who enjoy Euro content had subtle but important differences in their preferences compared to our usual clientele. The learning lessons we had built up over the years by running several successful porn sites wouldn’t necessarily translate, and our early attempts to produce the kind of content we were typically known for underperformed compared to the site’s other content.
We needed a new approach, but one thing was for certain – we had no intention of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. 21Sextury had developed a vibrant and loyal fanbase since it burst onto the scene in 2003, thanks to its exquisitely glamorous aesthetic and its association with the top stars from Europe such as Aletta Ocean, Sandy Fantasy, and Blue Angel being linked with the brand. It had become an international powerhouse over the years, offering a tantalizing blend of exceptional beauty, visually stunning production, daily updates, and exclusive content. We wanted to help bolster its global recognition and appeal, but before we could make any meaningful improvements to the customer experience, we had to improve our understanding first.
And so we decided, if we wanted to do 21Sextury any justice as its new owners, we would need to familiarize ourselves with all the nuances and subtleties that make the genre beloved by so many. Today, we wanted to share some of our takeaways of what is special and unique to the Euro porn experience, for anybody who may not yet be aware of its many charms. Perhaps, like us, you’ll come to appreciate everything that these babes from abroad have to offer!
Wham, Glam, Thank You Ma’am
Our best successes within the U.S. porn market were typically with actresses who had a certain “girl-next-door” look to her – naturally beautiful, casually dressed women that you could easily relate to as someone you might bump into in the street at any moment. These kinds of fantasies of meeting the perfect “everyday” woman were both prevalent and popular in our other brands such as Girlsway and Fantasy Massage. And, for some series (such as 21Naturals) this was true too, but we also found that a lot of the most successful releases across the 21Sextury networks were aesthetically quite different. These episodes showcased glamorous bombshell beauties clad in tight cocktail dresses, chic pantyhose, intricate lingerie, glistening jewelry, and killer high heels. Their bold red lips and smokey eyes smoldered towards the camera, beckoning each viewer to undress her with their eyes. We quickly pivoted to using this kind of imagery to represent the network, choosing ultra-glam photos and videos for all of our branding and promo designs. Visually, it was not just striking but also very different from our other products too, allowing 21Sextury to stand out amongst all our other series and sites.
Toe-tally Obsessed
Foot fetish content is generally among the more polarizing and misunderstood types of content we see in the market. It’s certainly not for everyone, and it generally elicits a love-it-or-hate-it reaction from audiences (with American audiences strongly leaning towards the “hate-it” side!) But we’ve observed a much higher following for foot fetish content in Europe – or perhaps more accurate to say, Euro porn seems to attract more foot fetishists to its genre. We haven’t quite been able to pinpoint why – perhaps it’s cultural differences in what different parts of the world find attractive, or the fact that Euro porn is often more body-worship focused than its U.S. counterpart. Perhaps it’s the aforementioned stockings and heels sucking us in with their focus on highlighting the sexiness of legs and feet, or it could even be a chicken-&-egg situation where early European directors and porn studios had a love of feet themselves, which garnered a dedicated audience for it in Euro content. Perhaps there is no sole reason (foot pun intended), but a mix of many. Either way, we were pleasantly surprised upon discovering that network series such as Footsie Babes and 21FootArt were some of the top-selling sites when we acquired them!
Story Cums Second
One of our biggest “rude awakening” moments was upon finding out that all of our tricks-of-the-trade when it came to story-driven porn – our claim to fame – were practically useless! But it’s true – we released several experimental episodes shortly after taking over creative control that we expected were going to be huge hits, but flopped. Themes that were working extremely well for us elsewhere – such as step-sister seductions, naughty catholic schoolgirls, twisted therapy sessions, and more – just didn’t seem to reach the same levels of popularity with 21Sextury’s audiences. A mix of practical constraints (such as language barriers amongst cast & crew, and our aim to appeal to a global audience who might not all speak fluent english) combined with seemingly different trends in Euro porn (possibly owing to cultural differences or less relatability towards certain fantasies) to have us rethink our approach for producing 21Sextury content. In the end we found what worked best was telling a story that could be understood at a glance through context cues – location, wardrobe, body language, sex acts – and less through dialogue or lengthy intros. Many of our top-performing releases have been office, gym, massage, slumber party, caught cheating, and similar themes because of their easy to grasp, universally appealing scenarios.
Star-Gazing
It goes without saying that you can’t make Euro porn without Euro pornstars. Our networking connections within the U.S. production circuit and handy rolodexes of star-power names that trend well in our other brands wouldn’t do us much good here. It took us some time to get more acquainted with the who’s-who of talent abroad, but luckily we had lots of ways to gather insights into top performers. We leveraged our own data from past and present updates, pornstar profile visits, and search activity within the network, as well as other findings such as trending tube site results and “best-of” blog articles, to compile a thorough and ever-evolving list of the cream of the crop. From the 2010s mainstays like Foxy Di, Gina Gerson, Sybil, and Henessy, to more recent 2020s up-and-comers like Alexa Flexy, Veronica Leal, Alyssa Bounty, and Lia Lin, we have made it our business to become well-versed in all the heavy hitters and intriguing ingenues that grace European productions.
Anal About Anal
We aren’t so sure if this is a Euro porn thing or just a 21Sextury thing, but the network’s members sure do LOVE anal! In pretty much every series that 21Sextury holds under its umbrella, and across every metric you can count, anal scenes consistently outperformed non-anal scenes on average… and the difference wasn’t even close. And so, as we’ve made various product changes over the years since acquiring the brand, we’ve always made sure to keep anal sex at the forefront of our content decisions, knowing that it’s the backbone of 21Sextury’s lasting appeal.
Euro In For A Treat
These differences and others that define Euro content may seem minor, but you can definitely feel and sense the unique identity – dare I even say the soul – pour from the screen when watching porn produced abroad. If you’ve never given Euro porn a fair chance, or perhaps wrote it off too soon after one or two bad experiences, I encourage you to consider dipping your toes into the refreshing waters of 21Sextury, JoyMii, or any of our licensed partner series that hail from another part of this wide world. You might just find yourself falling in love with what’s long since surpassed European fandom and has grown into a global phenomenon!
Watch a full 21Sextury scene for free here!
