Sex And Advertiments Essay Research Paper Sex

Sex And Advertiments Essay, Research Paper

Sex in AdvertisingDescription of this essay : Sex in AdvertisingTHE EFFECTIVENESS OF SEXUAL PORTRAYALS IN ADVERTISING. Advertisers use sexuality in the form of nudity, sexual im-agery and innuendo as an advertising tool for a wide variety of pro-ducts. Products ranging from personal care to industrial machinery. The use of sexual ap-peal in advertising comes from the widely held belief that sexual portray-als are effective in calling attention to the advertise-ment itself. Adver-tisers believe that sexual imagery in advertisement creates interest for the advertised product and motivates consumers to buy it. Concern whether sexual portrayals and innuendo in advertising is effective has been around for many years. Indeed, research evidence shows that men and women both like to look at adver-tisements that show attractive models, and that both prefer models of the opposite sex(1). The presence of sexual appeals in advertising is very pervasive in the United States and, in fact, in much of the world. Contempo-rary con-sumption is often promoted in terms of fulfilling erotic fantasies and appetites. However, the use of such appeals is con-stantly con-test-ed in terms of ethics and morality, much of sexual norms and mores in general have been contested throughout both Amer-i-can and world history (6). The issue of sexuality in advertising is what is called a “soft issue,” based in complex subjective and social-ly/culturally con-structed roots and values. Sexual appeals used in ads are of many types and consist of a variety of elements. They often are grounded in visual elements, such as attractive models, and may portray vary-ing degrees of nudity and suggestiveness. However, such appeals may also include suggestive verbal elements, as well as other elements, such as sugges-tive music and even smells in “scent strip” advertis-ing. Consideration of these elements is important because they may determine whether peo-ple think the sexual appeal is ethical or un-ethical. For example, though ads that simply use attractive, sexy models are themselves prob-lematic to some people, the consensus seems to be that such ads are acceptable. Many if not most people, however, would probably oppose nudity in gen-eral advertising. Hence in relating sexual appeals to ethical concerns, we must consider not only sexual appeals in general but also the spe-cif-ic forms of those ap peals. This research gives some justification to the use of decorative models of both sexes. On the other hand, extremely sexual stimuli, such as nude models, or models in extremely stimulating poses, have been shown to be ineffective selling techniques for both men and wom-en(2). The research indicates that a model perceived as sexy and at-tractive may enhance communications effectiveness if that model is perceived as appropriate to the product situation. However, extremely seductive, partially clad, and nude models are as likely to create unfavorable as favorable effects. There will be strong differences in evaluation of such models. The sexier the advertis-ing message, the more risky it becomes in terms of communications effectiveness. There-fore, communi-cation effectiveness will be en-hanced if advertisers use models who are attractive and sexy, but avoid using overly seductive, nude or partially clad models. To give an example of a risky advertis-ing I will use the campaign of Vauxhall Motors Ltd.’s Corsa advertis-ing. The advertising campaign behind Vauxhall’s latest big volume baby is billed as a giant leap forward for the car industry. But what is the reality behind the high-octane hype. Robert Dwek investigates, “It’s non-car advertis-ing for a non-car audience.” Chris Lacey, mar-keting director at Vauxhall for the past six months, is waxing lyrical about the launch of the new Corsa, which replaced the Nova in April. They say there are no bad cars anymore, just bad car marketers. Str-eam-lined, rein-forced, warranted, airbagged, stuffed with electronic and security equipment – the biggest problem facing cars today is convinc-ing con-sumers that hey still have that one essential ingredient: per-sonali-ty. To build up this personality even more Vauxhall decided to use “non-car advertising” philosophy, to opt for the wacky, off-beat, tongue-in-check campaign titled “Corsa: the new supermodel” which perhaps was not as innovative as he imagines. In the ads are the five very sexy supermodels featured – Naomi Campbell, Christie Turl-ington, Linda Evan-gelista, Tatjana Patitz and Kate Moss, who are all should catch the eye of the consumer. But the campaign seems to be attracting the wrong sort of attention – some people just aren’t getting a joke. Judging by the level of complaints about alleged sexism and “aggressive sexuali-ty”‘ and graffitied calls to “stop degrading women” appearing on many of the posters around London, some consumers consider this a rath-er clumsy attempt at subtlety. One of the TV ads, featuring Ms. Camp-bell in “bondage gear”, has been moved to after the 9 PM watershed, follow-ing pressure from an-ti-pornography campaigners (7). This is an example how risky can a sexy advertisement might be. After employing such an advertisement the sales of Vauxhall’s cars fell dramatically from 70,00 units sold in 1990 to 45,000 units in 1992. Some of the reasons why advertisers employ sexual strategies are to gain product-category and brand attention, recognition, re-call, favor-abl