Essay on Sexuality in Advertising

People are so used to seeing ads that they have become immune to them, so advertisers blatantly use sex to sell their products. Most people, immune to ads, won’t even think about the deeper meaning behind an ad. They will notice the product, but because the product is in a sexual situation, they will associate that featured product with sex. The problem with this advertising is that it, more often than not, uses women in compromising situations where the man has power over the woman. Some of these ads she presents as evidence are extremely violent and aggressive. One ad she mentions is three guys blatantly attacking a woman and it’s advertising women’s jeans. I agree with Kilbourne when she states, “Male violence is subtly encouraged by ads that

If you were somewhat hip during the last few years, then you have seen an American Apparel ad. Most, if not all, American Apparel ads feature borderline nude women in extremely exposing poses. For example, one controversial ad is a full body picture of a skinny young woman wearing nothing but American Apparel socks. This theme of hypersexualizing women is very common in advertisements, and especially for products targeted toward men, such as cologne and beer. Many of these ads feature stereotypically attractive and hyper-fit women in little to no clothing bending over in suggestive ways have

The use of sex in advertising as mentioned earlier is said to have boasted a lot company’s revenues, but it also has its negative side which has caused a lot of problems in societies around the world. The idea of using sex in advertising is a very smart way that advertisers use to gain attention of consumers, but it has it's negative effects like depicting women as sex objects, forcing sexual innuendos on children, causing body dissatisfaction among youths even adults and it also attracts negative backlash on the companies that use it. It can attract the wrong kind of attention and sometimes it won't lead to the company becoming a bigger and better brand.

There’s a common saying that “sex sells”, which turns out to be true according to pop culture. However, it’s not just a sexual appeal that is shown, it’s also a fantasy of sexual abuse. “Sex in advertising is the use of sexually provocative or erotic imagery that is designed to arouse a certain group of people” (Suggett). Advertisers are manipulating the human desires to make their products sell. It’s products that sell, are products that can capture anyone’s attention. One of the most helpful approaches is sex of course, which can capture anyone’s attention. The downside of using sexual imagery in advertisements is that it is generally going to come across sexism. In American popular culture, advertisers continue to grab our attention to their brand through sexual abuse; making it seem like a normality in our society.

in men’s magazines. While conventional advertising practice increasingly depends upon the aphorism that “sex sells,” conventional mass communications research approaches to advertising containing sexual imagery have assumed that such images do affect audiences and such images portray inaccurate truths to audiences. This thesis, however, makes no claims about audience interpretations or media effects. Instead this thesis looks closely at the visual rhetoric of sexualized images of women used in fashion advertising in men’s magazines to ask how sexualized imagery of women functions rhetorically as part of a branding message presumably designed to sell a product.

“Sex sells” became Jefferie’s favorite subject and likewise to many others. Racy advertisments had media, religious groups, and loads of angry parents on edge. The belief that those ads were promoting teenage sex brought unbelievable amounts of conflict to Abercrombie’s

The Influence of Marketing Strategies “Whether on the television, radio or city bus, consumers face a barrage of advertisements throughout the day” (Kossman, 2013). Most people might believe they are not fazed by the advertisements surrounding them. Some may be right, but many have no idea how influential and persuasive billboards, posters, and commercials can be. Hollister and American Eagle Outfitters are two clothing brands with different marketing strategies that greatly influence the market they belong to. The different marketing strategies are unique, one uses a sexual appeal to draw in consumers and the other uses self-expression and the sense of belonging.

No longer is the land of advertisement showing only beautiful women in the media, but now handsome men are also dominating the scene. Yet as Glind says, “despite the apparent similarities, there are in fact profound differences in the ways in which men’s and women’s bodies are represented sexually, (160). Although both groups are now being sexualised in the media there are differences in the way they are coached to perform and the overall impression leads to a acute presentation of masculinity and femininity. In this essay I would like to explore the sexualization on men in the media and how it regards certain races and characteristics as attractive and how it influences the ideals of an attractive body.

In John Berger’s Ways of Seeing he offers the idea that “to be a woman has been to be born...into the keeping of men.” He illustrates on page 46, that women are born to satisfy men, at least in terms of art for most European painters. He empathizes this point by pointing at nude portraits and oil paintings. I decided to analyze my own choice of advertisement to compare his theory in the modern world. I chose an American Apparel advertisement; the company has a history of invoking reactions from the public. The advertisement does not require much analysis to cause offense to the general viewer. American Apparel crosses the line in more ways than one. However, the advertisement I chose was rather tame in comparison to many others I considered.

Not only are there advertisements, there are restaurants promoting sexual advertising. For example, Hardee’s Hooters and Twin Peaks use females in provocative ways and forms of advertising. Both Hooters and Twin Peaks use short shorts and right tank tops to emphasize the sexual representation of women in their restaurant. However, just like magazines Hooters and Twin Peaks represents a certain image for teenage girls to look like the workers at the restaurant in order to get attention from men. While Hardee’s use models in small skimpy bikinis to promote their burgers.

Why is it that when we flip through a magazine or when the TV screen changes to an advertisement do we not question the provocative, sexualized images that seem to consistently be paired with promoting a product? Why has this become the image society associates with beauty? Young women, and especially women with disabilities, encounter great stress and pressure to look, act, and dress a specific way based on sexualized images in which they are subject to through the media, especially media outlets like clothing advertisements featured for the store American Apparel. These advertisements display women in sexually suggestive poses, wearing small, tight, and sometimes opaque articles of clothing. Images like these are what Rosalind Gill describes

Although both ads are selling fragrances,one is promoting a product for men and other is a promotion for women. Chane is “Coco Mademoiselle” promotes sexyness and being sexually glamorous, while Tommy’s Hilfiger’s Bold is advertising manliness and athleticism. The intention of each Ad is seen through its color, model’s persona, and through facial expressions.

We are all familiar with the extent of sexual advertisements today. Advertisements can be overly erotic and push the threshold to being pornography. Carls Jr. is well known for their sexual advertisements that purposely expose a half dressed women eating a giant cheeseburger. There have been several advertisements of this nature throughout the last decade, but this type of sexual campaigning began with Paris Hilton’s ad for the Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger. The ad only showed the burger for about three seconds while the remaining twenty-seven seconds was a video of Paris Hilton amorously washing a car in a bathing suit. This advertisement can attract both men and women. Although the majority of women will not be as aroused by the advertisements as men, it will still capture their attention and causes a woman to subconsciously believe “I will look like her if I eat this burger!” Some denim brands such as Abercrombie and Fitch and Calvin Klein have some of the sexiest advertisements out there. Considering these are meant to be clothing brands, their models certainly do not wear a lot of clothing. A billboard ad in New York for Calvin Klein jeans displayed one woman being dominated by three men. Despite the amount of controversy, Calvin Klein still remains one of the top brands today (Early Sexuality in Advertising). Sexual advertisements have proven to be successful and the proceeding result has lead to a marketing industry dominated by sex.

The use of sex in advertising may create unrealistic ideals for men regarding women, however, it is a powerful tool for selling products. Through the years advertisers have shown through their advertisements that sex does sell products. Especially when selling to the male viewers. Sex is the second strongest of the psychological appeals, right behind self-preservation, and its strength is biological and instinctive, the genetic imperative of reproduction (Taflinger). Sexual desire is an instinctive reaction in animals, and a person?s perception of a suitable mate is the basis (Taflinger). That perception is usually a set of criteria that the opposite sex must meet, and those that meet and exceed those criteria will provide the chance for

1. Using the example of a bank, give examples of information systems for each of the four levels of scope shown in Figure 7-1. Describe three workgroup information systems that are likely to duplicate data. Explain how the characteristics of information systems in Figure 7-1 relate to your examples.