Chang, Chun-Tuan, and Chien-Hun Tseng
2013 Can sex sell bread?. International Journal of Advertising 32(4):559-585.
The authors conducted research relating to the ‘sex sells’ mentality by looking at the value of explicit versus implicit advertising when it comes to non-sexual related products. The results showed that people are more likely to respond to implicit messages with non-sexual products, and explicit was more effective for a sexually related product. The study also analyzed the differences in responses between high sensation seekers and low sensation-participants. The study is related to my research through its analysis of sexualized products versus non-sexualized. In my case, I will apply this to brands: Does the brand use implicit advertising because it is non-sexual? Is the brand offering a sexual product and increased its explicit advertising, or did explicit content decrease over time?
Fogliasso, Christine E., and Esther Muthoni Thuo
2013 How Changing Social Values are Reflected in Advertising for Consumer
Products. Insights to a Changing World Journal 2013(1):28-40.
The authors’ main discussion in this article is focused around the idea that the most effective advertising is ‘customer centric’ rather than ‘product centric.’ This mentality puts the power to shape society within the hands of the people, and urges advertisers to stay current with modern values, beliefs, and trends in order to effectively sell a product. This journal relates to my research in the idea that the author stresses that the power to change media lies with the people. How much explicit content for the did the brand use on its establishment date versus today, and was it morally offensive? Based on this article, if I come across a...
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... be interesting since this study is thirty years old.
Unwin, Stephen
1974 How Culture Affects Advertising Expression and Communication Style. Journal of Advertising 3(2):24-27.
The author observes how society influences advertising within the article. He demonstrates this by comparing advertising across American and British cultures. Unwin makes the point that the advertisements that are developed are really a reflection of society today, to include its problems, beliefs, values, trends, and behaviors. He notes that even though we mold the medium, we must also adapt to it. This discussion is applicable to my research because of the idea that society is the driving force in adding sexuality in advertisements. If my research shows a change in brand advertising over time, this could be the result of a change in societal values, according to Unwin’s argument.
In a consumer-driven society, advertisements invade the minds of every person who owns any piece of technology that can connect to the internet. Killbourne observes that “sex in advertising is pornographic because it dehumanizes and objectifies people, especially women,” (271). Advertising takes the societal ideology of women and stereotypes most kids grow up learning and play on the nerves of everyone trying to evoke a reaction out of potential customers, one that results in them buying products. Another point made
Advertisements are all over the place. Whether they are on TV, radio, or in a magazine, there is no way that you can escape them. They all have their target audience who they have specifically designed the ad for. And of course they are selling their product. This is a multi billion dollar industry and the advertiser’s study all the ways that they can attract the person’s attention. One way that is used the most and is in some ways very controversial is use of sex to sell products. For me to analyze this advertisement I used the rhetorical triangle, as well as ethos, pathos, and logos.
“Selling sex is illegal, but using it to promote economic growth is not.” (Sexualization and Sexploitation of Women in the Media; Rosery Films) What actually happened to our culture, people wondered? Has advertising gone too far? And are we being corrupted by sex? According Sex in advertising: Perspectives on the Erotic Appeal, in 2005, approximately one-fifth of all advertising used overt sexual content to sell its product. Society’s interest with sex and the advertising designer’s acceptance of it as an effective tool have served each other for the course of the twentieth century. And has always been separated on the extents to which sexuality can and should be used to sell. Advertising has become the single largest source of visual imagery in our social society. No matter where we look, we see advertisements trying to sell us things. Provocative advertising has been characterized as a deliberate attempt to gain attention through shock. (De Pelsmacker & Van Den Bergh, 1996) In 2007, The American Psychological Association sent out a press release to the media stressing the harmful effects of sexualizing our youth: “The proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandisin...
In this selection by author, Jean Kilbourne the constant escalation in the media advertisements is displayed. She begins the text by explaining the vast blanket that sexualized ads now cover. Kilbourne states that this incredibly out-of-control practice “dehumanizes and objectifies people” (456). She presents the idea that these dangerous ads are so commonplace that it creates a toxic environment in which we base our judgements on staged, indecent ads.
I chose sex in advertising for my research topic because I do not know about it well, even though a lot of sexual images and texts in advertisements. When I was a little kid, I often surprised by ads with sexy woman. Even now, I sometimes have my eyes glued to such kinds of advertising. I wonder that there are some physiological reasons why people pay attention to sex images. Also, learning about sex in advertising is useful for my career because I want to work for an advertising company in the future. I infer that sex sells has both good and bad aspects and I can use it effectively by learning it accurately. If I use it effectively, we can make much money. However, we also take a risk by using sex in ads because some extreme images may give a bad reputation on products and company. Also, I care about the danger of sex in advertising, too. If I were a parent, I do not want my children to see some ads because they are too excessive for children. By researching this topic, I hope I can learn what is harmful for young people. I think sex sells have both good and bad effects on commercial and ethical aspects. Now, I have three questions about sex in advertising. First, I want to know when and how it has been used. I think there should be many famous advertisements with sexual images. Next, I would like to learn about how effective it is. I infer that there are both positive and negative effects in the advertising. Lastly, I want to know how boys and girls react to the advertisement. Some ads focus on to get male customers and others target on female. I also want to know how reaction relates to purchasing. Some people may not change their purchasing behavior even though they notice the ads and are ...
Many advertisement have found the key part into selling a product is through "sex" because they know sex will sell. Susan Bordo, a philosopher, write an essay piece on how the male bodies are presented as objects of pleasure and exchange of commerce. Usually, it would be women who are presented as objects of pleasure, but in this particular essay the script is flipped. Susan Bordo focus on how women react to men in the media, how men was seen in sexy advertisements and how homosexuality had an influence on it. These advertisement images are brought to life by brand names like Calvin Klein, Gucci, and Versace. In Susan Bordo's "Beauty (re)discovers the male body" she uses rhetorical strategies persuasively to argue that the male bodies are being exposed and objectified in a similar way to the female body. Susan Bordo, a philosopher, the Otis A. Singletary Chair of Humanities at the University of Kentucky. Bordo has background training in the study of culture, including popular culture and its representation of the body. Bordo intended audience was a broad group of people. Her audience would consist of people of any gender who are aware of advertisement selling products through sex. No, Bordo does not show proper audience awareness. The readers are prone to use context clues and the information to paint a clear picture of who is Bordo audience. As recently mention, Bordo's purpose for writing is present her argument about the exposure and objectification of the male body as opposed to the female body in the media. In Bordo essay, she introduces her ethos through personal stories, her own opinion, and data polls. Bordo credibility is well equipped throughout her essay, and writing on subject she shows passion towards. Bordo acknowled...
In a rising economic marketplace, advertising industries convey to consumers the idealistic values of wants and needs of a product that appeals to people. In most cases, the characterization of women in local ads portrays negative and sexual acts. A particular advertisement that contributes to the delusion of women is the Body Language Sportswear ad. Through basic discriminatory messages that often get hold of the individual’s attention. The advertising company entertains, persuades and influences people as well as sending subliminal communication. This advertisement convinces audiences by promoting essential mixtures of visual depictions of images, unrealistic body perceptions that affect young adolescents. This creates a relationship between the subject and the object. The connection between both constructs identity. In addition, the economic, social, and cultural components tie with it. So essentially people define themselves through the products they value the most. The purpose of this advertising is to promote products in which people are unconsciously affected by their emotions. Generally this can impact a person’s psychological way of thinking. This can result in a loss of self-esteem which can show from their personality trait. These advertising businesses are very controlling. In other words, even the littlest products they commodify play a significant role in an individual’s needs. The advertisement subtly promotes female stereotypical image based on objectification, and a growing demand in consumption, accompanied by the publicized merchandise to sell and influence viewers.
(1990) researched mainly about the effectiveness of distinct sexual appeals in advertisements, furthermore, the verbal information of different levels. Besides knowing the impact by using the traditional effectiveness measure examination, the research also comprised the cognitive respond measure to comprehend the process of both sexual and non-sexual appeals in advertisements better. The research hypothesized that the use of the sexual illustration in the advertisement would detract the ability of the receiver than non- sexual appeal (Baker, 1961), which has been expected. In addition, it is predicted that the utility of sexual illustration would get a result of positive attitude, which would also have a higher purchase intention. The result of the examination showed that the receiver would pay more attention on the advertisement execution than the content of the message while be given the explicit sexual advertisement (Severn et al., 1990). The brand name recall result seemed to be more functional in the ad information level than the sexual explicitness of the
Sex is everywhere in our society. It is on TV, magazines, radio, billboards, and basically anywhere you look today. People cannot get away from sex in advertising because so many companies use it. Sex appeals are used in advertising all the time, and people love to look at it because 'Sometimes people listen better with their eyes' (Steel 137). Sex in advertising is an effective technique that is used today. It helps companies successfully sell their product in our market. Of course it has to be directed at the right audience, and sold at the right places in order for it to work.
The documentary Killing Us Softly 4 discusses and examines the role of women in advertisements and the effects of the ads throughout history. The film begins by inspecting a variety of old ads. The speaker, Jean Kilbourne, then discusses and dissects each ad describing the messages of the advertisements and the subliminal meanings they evoke. The commercials from the past and now differ in some respects but they still suggest the same messages. These messages include but are not limited to the following: women are sexual objects, physical appearance is everything, and women are naturally inferior then men. Kilbourne discusses that because individuals are surrounded by media and advertisements everywhere they go, that these messages become real attitudes and mindsets in men and women. Women believe they must achieve a level of beauty similar to models they see in magazines and television commercials. On the other hand, men expect real women to have the same characteristics and look as beautiful as the women pictured in ads. However, even though women may diet and exercise, the reality...
The portrayals of men in advertising began shifting towards a focus on sexual appeal in the 1980s, which is around the same that women in advertising were making this shift as well. According to Amy-Chinn, advertisements from 1985 conveyed the message that “men no longer just looked, they were also to be looked at” as seen in advertisements with men who were stripped down to their briefs (2). Additionally, advertisements like these were influencing society to view the male body “as an objectified commodity” (Mager and Helgeson 240). This shows how advertisements made an impact on societal views towards gender roles by portraying men as sex objects, similarly to women. By showcasing men and women in little clothing and provocative poses, advertisements influenced society to perceive men and women with more sexual
Davis argued that one of the biggest influences on the modification of female genitalia is the idea of female beautification. This belief is highly influenced by advertising industries. While in the past, they focused on the importance of tummy tucks and liposuction, they have now placed an emphasis on the size of female genitalia, specifically, their labia. By using magazines and websites, this industry portrays pictures of other women’s genitalia, causing women to desire other female’s bodies. Not only does the advertising industry focus on the size of genitalia, but they also reference genitalia as a means of hygiene. Advertising companies have produced websites that make fun of women due to the scent of their genitalia. Additionally, Davis
To sum up, it is often said that advertising is shaping women gender identity, and some have been argued that the statement is true, because of the higher amount of sexual references of women that advertisement show and the damages that occur on women’s personality and the public negative opinions of those women. As well, the negative effects that those kinds of advertisements cause to young generations and make them feel like they should simulate such things and are proud of what they are doing because famous actors are posting their pictures that way. Others deem this case as a personal freedom and absolutely unrelated to shaping women gender identity. On the contrast, they believe that, those sorts of advertisements are seriously teaching women how to stay healthy and be attractive, so they might have self-satisfaction after all.
Advertising in American culture has taken on the very interesting character of representing our culture as a whole. Take this Calvin Klein ad for example. It shows the sexualization of not only the Calvin Klein clothing, but the female gender overall. It displays the socially constructed body, or the ideal body for women and girls in America. Using celebrities in the upper class to sell clothing, this advertisement makes owning a product an indication of your class in the American class system. In addition to this, feminism, and how that impacts potential consumer’s perception of the product, is also implicated. Advertisements are powerful things that can convey specific messages without using words or printed text, and can be conveyed in the split-second that it takes to see the image. In this way, the public underestimates how much they are influenced by what they see on television, in magazines, or online.
The average American is exposed to hundreds of advertisements per day. Advertisements targeted toward females have an enormous effect on women's thoughts, attitudes, perceptions, and actions. Most of the time, women don't even realize these advertisements are formulating self-image issues. These ideals surround them daily and they become naturalized to the ads. Advertising creates an entire worldview persuading women to emulate the images they see all around them. In order to create a market for their products, companies constantly prey upon women's self esteem, to feel like they aren't good enough just the way they are. This makes women constantly feel stressed out about their appearance (Moore). Advertising has a negative effect on women's body image, health, and self-esteem.