Simply put, sex in advertising is the use of sexually provocative and erotic content in the form of imagery, sounds, suggestions, and subliminal messages to generate interest in a specific product, service, or brand (1). 

Commonly today, advertisements containing overtly sexual material, or subtle sexual innuendos, objectify beautiful women (and increasingly, handsome men) to lure viewers, readers, and listeners to support the brand that is being advertised.

As human beings, we are programmed to respond to particular primal urges.  Food is one. Sex is certainly another. Therefore, we are wired to respond to sexual imagery. That’s why advertisers have been using it for more than 100 years. It has a kind of shock value that both repulses and intrigues consumers, usually simultaneously (2).  And they respond to it.

It goes without saying that the industry abuses sex in advertisement. What used to be “subtle,” like this Absolute print ad (pay close attention to those ice cubes…)

is now pretty hard to miss, and I think you’d agree. Check out this Singapore Burger King ad that was printed back in 2009. 

And that was four years ago. Advertisers today are taking sexual content to new highs, and while public outrage does occasionally ensue, (like it did when this Sheetz billboard ad was debuted) 

people still respond positively enough for companies to become repeat offenders when using this tactic (2).  That’s because in 1885, W. Dukes and Sons, a popular facial soap manufacturer of the time, had such great success with featuring “erotic” images of popular female celebrities on the soap’s packaging (1).

The tie between soap and sex is slim at best, but it worked for them, and now it works for every brand who can successfully pull it off. Advertisers of alcohol, fashion, perfume/cologne, and cars create particularly strong links from their products and services to sex, but flipping through the latest issue of Cosmopolitan, driving down the highway, or channel surfing on a Sunday afternoon, one is sure to witness sex in all kinds of advertisements.

It is undeniable that sex in advertising has become a phenomenon in our world today. Consumers love it. They expect it. But it also has its negative effects on society. Because advertisements feature women with flawless skin, stick-thin bodies, curves in the “right places,” and perfect hair, society has created a new definition of beauty. This 

has not only helped the sales of businesses, but has also hurt the self images of women worldwide. Suicide rates in young women are skyrocketing these days, and this is one of the contributing factors (3). The pressure to be perfect is too much for some of them to handle. Dove has created the “Campaign for Real Beauty” in response,

but ads like these aren’t enough to save everyone. Sex sells, but it can also hurt those who are exposed to the advertisements.

Sex in advertisement is not by any means going away, or becoming any less subtle. Follow me as I examine sexuality in advertisement - both the overt sexual content and the sexual subtleties - in both print and commercial forms. 

Sex sells. Let’s figure out why.

- KCA 

Sources:

1. Advertising.com

2. Examiner.com

3. Letra.org

Generally speaking, advertisements that use sex are targeted towards young adults.  Young people are generally the expected consumers, and since sex tends to offend older generations and is inappropriate for kids, young adults are the ones who are targeted and usually won over.  ”Young adults,” however, is not a specific enough demographic to target, and in order to successfully narrowcast, advertisers must take it a step further and target “young adults” of each sex.

Sex is used most often in advertisement to appeal to men.  Men and women both have equally strong sexual desires, but it tends to be easier to reach men through the use of sex in advertising, and that is why so many companies do it.  Advertising must do its job quickly; it doesn’t have time or space to explain itself.  Therefore, advertisers really have to find or create some kind of tie between their products and sex.  Studies show that men have minimal criteria to become sexually intrigued, and that using young and healthy women in advertisements has proved to be successful (1).  To reach men, mass communicators target their instinctive, rather than intellectual views, and imply that if they purchase their product, they will simultaneously get desirable women (2).

It is a bit more difficult to reach women this way, not because women don’t also have an instinctive sexual reaction, but because they are intellectually affected by it. Yes, if an advertiser throws an attractive, shirtless man with washboard abs into the picture, it will play a role, but women are generally and instinctively more interested in the long-run, rather than the short term (2).  There simply is not enough time in an advertisement to make this distinction though, and that is why sex is rarely used to appeal to women.  Advertising cannot take advantage of the innate sexual desire in women in the same way that it can in men because it is meant to sell a product now, not in the future (1).

Again, that isn’t to say that sex isn’t used to appeal to women and that it can’t be successful.  It’s just a lot more difficult to create a connection.

Sources:

1. You and Me, Babe: Sex and Advertising

2. Marketing and Semiotics

The beautiful thing about broadcasting is that it can be used to reach out to mass audiences, and in some cases, the entire general public.  Unfortunately for businesses that choose to incorporate sex into their advertising schemes, this strategy isn’t so beautiful and simply will not work. Businesses have to be very careful when advertising with sexual content.  Too much could endanger a company’s reputation, while too little could go completely unnoticed.  That’s why these businesses have to narrow their audiences down to specific demographics in order to best appeal to a particular target audience.  This strategy is the opposite of broadcasting: narrowcasting.

By using the strategy of narrowcasting, mass communicators can reach the people for whom their advertisement is intended through specific venues (1).  For instance, if a condom advertisement is banned from television, it could instead be used solely as an internet advertisement. Using cookies and browser data, Web services can feature advertisers like Trojan and Durex based on educated guesses as to which internet users will be the most interested in their products (2).  Since social media is such a tremendous phenomenon among young adults, advertisers can reach out to prospective consumers through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube ads, to name a few (2).  Advertisers know that young adult males use the internet to communicate with each other, so they are using the internet to communicate with them, and it’s working.  They have to stay on top of technology and carefully research the best ways to reach specific, predetermined demographics through appropriate content and venues, but it can be accomplished (3).

Sources:

1. Communication in Interpersonal Relationships (151-152)

2. Quinn, Michael J. Ethics for the Information Age. Boston: Pearson/Addison-Wesley, 2005. 245-246. Print.

Massey, Kimberly. “NARROWCASTING.” MBC. The Museum of Broadcast Communications, 2013. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.

So we know that sexuality sells in the advertising and marketing world, but why, as humans, are we drawn to products that use it?

Sex is a human primitive instinct. Therefore, from a marketing standpoint, sexuality can have biological, emotional, and physical effects on the viewer, causing them to develop closer bonds with the brands that use this tactic.  This makes the brands more recognizable and memorable.  With the already risque nature of sexual advertisement, it then becomes easy to incorporate a humorous edge to ads, which further generates interest (1).

Businesses have found that sex in advertising works by “word of mouth.” Controversial ads are the ones that we remember (1).  The shock value that is associated with sexual advertisements can be offensive to some viewers, but regardless, everyone talks about such advertisements, and word of the advertisements and the businesses involved spreads. It also helps that sexual advertisements have the ability to overpower the majority of ads because again, they are the ones that are most memorable and recognizable to consumers. Audiences generally spend more time viewing and contemplating this kind of advertisement than any other kind (1).

Here’s an example: Heineken’s 2000 “It’s All About the Beer” Campaign. During this campaign, Heineken shot a commercial featuring an attractive woman pouring beer. A nervous man who is clearly interested in the woman responds by pouring his beer too quickly, and foam overflows all over his table, and himself. The sexual content in this advertisement is implied, yet pretty direct, if you ask me. The sexual reference in this commercial alone proved to be successful.  Heineken sales rose 13% that year (2).  If we apply this commercial to the psychological perspective I described above, the viewers, intrigued by the sexual innuendo and subtle humor and influenced by their own primal instincts, want to develop a closer bond with Heineken by purchasing their products.  Voila. It’s all about reaching the minds of the consumers.

Sources:

1. SlideShare

2. Sex Appeals in Media

Just for fun, here are some ads that apparently use sexual subliminal messages. Do you think they are intentional or not?

Images from:

Top Ten Best Subliminal Ads Ever Made

Whether it’s on a billboard on the side of a busy highway or in the middle of a magazine, sex has proven time and time again to be successful in print advertisements.  Unlike video advertisements on television and the internet, there are no time constraints; viewers can take in and contemplate print ads for as long as they want.  They contain the same shock value as video ads, but can be viewed for a limitless amount of time, which makes the brand more memorable and recognizable.

Another reason for success in print advertisement is that print ads can be manipulated to better appeal to the target audience.  Photo manipulation is a big no-no in journalism, but is totally acceptable in advertising because companies have to do whatever they can to get consumers to support them, even if it means misleading them.  Here is a famous example of why photo manipulation can’t be used in journalism:

Both magazines used the same picture, but Time edited the photo to make O.J. look guilty.  Lots of controversy ensued after Time did this because journalism is supposed to tell the truth, not mislead people or try to sway their opinions.

This Skyy vodka ad, however, which is obviously edited to remove flaws and “perfect” the models, isn’t meant to portray truth. It is meant to sell a product by way of seduction.

Here’s one of many examples out there that portray the wonders that a little Photoshop can do to a picture.  On top of the airbrushing and loads of makeup already applied to models before a photoshoot, post-production photo editing software can be used to smooth out cellulite, remove blemishes, wrinkles, and other flaws, whiten teeth, and even erase extra weight! Photo manipulation not only helps businesses to sell their products, but also creates false images of “perfection” for viewers and consumers. According to a 2004 market study, only 4% of women consider themselves “beautiful,” and that’s the result of society pounding its perception of beauty into their heads.  Yes, airbrushed babes in bikinis help to sell products, but they are inadvertently hurting our young adult female population at the same time (1).  Up to 20% of girls 10-29 are suffering from depression, and one tenth of teenage girls have attempted suicide (1).  This is all sad, and I’m sure that societal expectations and cultural trends are at least responsible in part, but the most convincing statistic that I’ve come across is that at least one fourth of all U.S. teenagers suffer from self-mutilation, eating disorders, or significant depression and/or suicidal behavior (1). The pressure to live up to the standards society creates based on the models and celebrities featured in ads is damaging their self-images. Using sex in print ads certainly does sell, but it can also have its negative effects.  Some organizations are working to ban the use of airbrushed photography in advertisements because of the false images of reality that they portray, (2) but for now, get used to flipping open a magazine to find a glowing, stick-thin, scantily clad celebrity seductively staring your way.

So there you have it, both the positives and negatives of sex in print.  It is impressionable and memorable with no time constraints, but may be responsible for heightened depression and suicide rates among young women due to the false perfection it portrays.  Regardless, it reaches its targeted demographics and succeeds in promoting companies.

Sources:

1. Under Pressure: Are Teen Girls Facing too Much? 

2. How CGI Technology Took the Truth and Fun Out of Advertising

I found this to be really interesting. This is a Wonderbra billboard ad that was raised near the London Waterloo station in 2010.

This is the first one that was publicly displayed in London in 1994.  These ads are responsible for dozens of traffic accidents, according to the Institute of Advanced Motorists, (2) and no wonder! The shock value that is sure to ensue from these advertisements would undoubtedly distract drivers.  

I spent my recent spring break in Florida, and there was a Ripley’s Believe it or Not located near my hotel.  As a tourist attraction, they built a replica of the famous statue of David outside the building near the road.  So we had David, standing stark naked with a sling in his hand right outside a busy highway…hmm. According to a tourist pamphlet that I read, there were so many accidents in the area right near the statue that bushes had to be planted around it so only David’s curly head could be seen poking out.

I wonder then, how Wonderbra is okay with continuing to display these risque, distracting billboard ads on busy London highways when they know that they are endangering people in doing so.   I could not find anything about drivers filing injury claims against Wonderbra, but I wish I could.  I can’t imagine that Wonderbra hasn’t been sued for placing provocative billboard ads in distracting places while well aware that they are diverting drivers’ full attention from the road.  A study has shown that when we drive, our eyes are on roadside signs up to 50% of the time (1).  That is really unsettling, especially when we have so many distractions driving, as it is!  I’m not sure I think that sexual billboard ads should be allowed.

Sources:

1. Billboards Contributing to Car Accidents

2. Raising the Bra

So now that we’ve covered the different types of advertising that use sex as a selling point and the strategies mass communicators use to get into the minds of the consumers, I leave you with this goofy cartoon, for now.

We’ve always know that sex sells, but hopefully now you’ll have a better understanding of how.

I’m going to leave this blog open-ended, meaning that my research will be on-going. I may be able to use the information I have gained through my research in the future, and I have enjoyed conducting it, so there will be more updates in the future, even after the project is turned in.

If anyone has any questions about my research, or about the topic in general, click on the “ask” link at the top of the page, or visit my contact page. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have!

Bon voyage!

Before I started to actually construct this blog, I did a lot of reading and documentary watching to educate myself on the topic. If you are interested in the topic, this is a list of resources that helped me to figure out where to start.

The individual sources that I used are listed in each blog post, either in the form of a link or an MLA citation.

Resources

Conger, Jay. The Necessary Art of Persuasion. Harvard Business Review, 2008. Print.

Cunningham, Todd, Mark Miller, and David Sirulnick. “Getting Close: How to Really Get Close to Teen’s Lives: MTV’s “Ethnology Study.”” Frontline PBS. PBS, 1995. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.

Gage, John. Color And Meaning, Art, Science, And Symbolism. Berkely and Los Angeles: Univ of California Pr, 2000. Print.

Massey, Kimberly. “NARROWCASTING.” MBC. The Museum of Broadcast Communications, 2013. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.

Sargeant, Adrian, and Douglas C. West. Direct and Interactive Marketing. Oxford [England: Oxford UP, 2001. Print.

Waterman, David. “‘Narrowcasting’ and ‘Broadcasting’ on Nonbroadcast Media: A Program Choice Model.”Communication Research (Newbury Park, California), February 1993.

Vane, Edwin T., and Lynn S. Gross. Programming for TV, Radio, and Cable. Boston, Massachusetts: Focal Press, 1994.