Sex In Advertising

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Advertisements appear everywhere. Marketers know what catches eyes and what does not. Whether we know it or not, advertisements influence us in our everyday lives. On the highway, billboards flash by so often it is hard to take them all in. As I sit in the car, I typically watch the scenery pass by me in a blur, but giant ads on billboards never fail to catch my eye. Quite often, the billboards feature ads for alcohol, bars or casinos. Typically, the ads include a few bold words, a location, and women in clothes that leave little to the imagination. In my opinion, these billboards draw attention to them because of the fact that the ads can be so inappropriate. I want to read what the board says and attempt to reason with why such a racy photo …show more content…
Sex in marketing can be used subliminally. Many advertisements will include sexual images or words in the background of seemingly innocent advertisements. Others will showcase a beautiful, possibly less than fully dressed woman and then tie in the product being advertised without taking attention away from the focal point of the ad. Many alcohol companies, for example, will include sexual sayings or images of women in their advertisements. In using ads like the ones described, companies hope to increase their sales. Attractive traits make ads harder to forget, so when one goes to the store the drink they will most likely choose the drink they saw in the racy ad a month ago over the ad they overlooked in the newspaper that morning. Lastly, sexual ads appeal to a variety of people no matter their age, gender, or race. Attraction to sexual imagery is human instinct so we are naturally lured towards it (Suggett). Although these aspects show that sexual advertisements can create a positive effect on selling products, a number of negative effects also …show more content…
First, inaccurate stereotypes still exist in ads. A swiffer ad featured Rosie the Riveter as a sexy housewife with a mop in hand. This ad shows that women can only look pretty and mop the floors. Next, ads can over-sexualize men and women creating the idea that we are objects instead of human beings. To elaborate, advertisements typically include and attractive man or woman. When a consumer looks at an ad of an attractive man or woman they see a visually pleasing photo. Men enjoy photos of beautiful women over photos of average women and the same applies to women. Not often will one think about the actual person that poses for the pictures used, the thought going through their mind will typically include approval of the ad or a look at the product to remember the name. It is almost as if the models are part of the product sold, not simply there to showcase the product. Finally, the men and women in sexualized ads creates a new idea of what beauty looks like. Normal people are less beautiful in today's society due to the models in advertisements and photography. Industries use photoshop to perfect their models and create a more pleasing image. The problem comes into play when normal people try to look like photoshopped models. this new idea of beauty causes people to try to change themselves for society. By doing so, disorders such as anorexia and bulimia make themselves known. Attempting to look
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