In the news today, we find out that the Sex and So Much More show, a sort of home-and-garden event with implied nudity, attracted only about 11,000 people a couple weeks ago. That's less than a quarter of the expected 60,000 turnout.

Part of the disappointing showing is probably due to the fact that the early buzz (including a couple news articles) was that this show was the one thing a sex convention should never be: boring.

But the real problem was that the show was marketed exactly wrong for this audience.

It isn't that Minnesotans aren't interested in sex. We are. And for about half the year, there isn't much else to do.

But we don't like to talk about it.

In fact, some of us suspect that anyone who wants to talk about sex must not be doing much of it.

So the promoters of this show (which, by the way, was aimed at couples and not the frat-boy crowd) didn't understand that if you want to bring a sex convention to Minneapolis, you can't call it a sex convention.

Otherwise, you get exchanges like this all over the city:

HE: "How'd you like to go to that sex convention tonight?"

SHE: "I can think of a better way to spend the time."

If you want to do a sex convention in this market, you have to be a little more circumspect. Instead of using the word "sex," try something a little softer like "intimacy." The word "intimacy" is gentler, more romantic, but still implies a pretty good workout. Just look at the difference:

Sex and So Much More <--- Leaves nothing to the imagination. A little sleazy, even.

Intimacy and So Much More <--- That sounds pretty hot, and I don't mind asking my honey if she wants to go to the "intimacy" convention.

"Romance" is also a good word to try, or "relationships" or "love" or any of a dozen others.