Is the Use of Sexual Imagery in Ad Campaigns Unethical?

1754 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Communication research and gender advertising

Is The Use of Sexual Imagery in Ad Campaigns Unethical?

People will soon realize that they're being manipulated by advertising companies due to sexual imagery. Even though a person may buy a product due to sexual imagery, it defeats the purpose of selling the product if the product is not any good. Also, companies will only gain temporary customers if sex is their only strategy for advertising Not only will the consumers feel cheated and utilized, it will take a much greater attempt on the part of the advertisers to regain the customer’s trust. Therefore, using sexual imagery in advertising is unethical because it distracts the consumer from the original issue in which it is for them to buy something.

Merchandise that is usually associated with sex appeal include designer clothing, alcohol, and fragrances. They appear to feature sexual imagery that is very explicit. For example, Axe body spray is a prime example of a brand that claims to provide sex-related benefits. Usually these commercials feature a guy, typically between the ages of 18-26, using this Axe Body Spray then automatically achieving a higher social status and becoming a “chick magnet.” (Chacko). Billboards and print ads that display sexual encounters are more likely to not only catch your attention, but are more memorable (Chacko). Even though these advertisements are degrading, the media makes it acceptable. As the culture changes in our society so does the social perspective and social norms. (Chacko). Advertisements that include sexual aspects are further engaging and entertaining especially when they present a “fantasy element” (Chacko). Sexuality is a fundamental characteristic of people that influences their thoughts and behaviors. This includes attention, ...

... middle of paper ...

...them a bad image.

Works Cited

Calleros, Miranda. "Sex Advertising and It's Effect on Women." Sex Advertising and It's Effect on Women - Mbmymcmb13. Mbmymcmb13, n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2014.

Chacko, Rebecca. "The Mystery of Sex in Advertising | Commonplace." The Mystery of Sex in Advertising. Commonplace, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.

Ivan. "Does Sex in Advertising Sells?" Creativebits™. Creativebits, 20 Aug. 2009. Web. 10 Apr.

2014.

Princess, Piñata. "Sex Sells; Yet Another Commentary." Looking for Prince Charming. Wordpress, 27 Nov. 2010. Web. 01 May 2014.

Taflinger, PhD, Richard F. "You and Me, Babe: Sex and Advertising." Public.wsu.edu. 28 May 1996. Taking ADvantage. 28 Apr. 2014.

Unknown. "Hello." : Sex Appeal: An Effective Tool for Advertising. Chandiraj.blogspot.com, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.

Unknown. "Sexual Objectification." Wikipedia. 28 Apr. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Jean Killbourne Two Ways A Woman Can Get Hurt Summary

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    This thought has been held on for far too long. 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.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • An Argument to Complete “No Logo”

    1176 Words  | 3 Pages

    Advertising (marketing) in America is long past its zenith. There may have been a time when people actually paid attention to all of the flash, the glitz, and the hype, but most consumers (especially those in Generation X) are savvy and somewhat skeptical. The public is less impressed and views these types of marketing attempts as desperate, and even pathetic. Marlboro Friday (977) may stand out as a monumental day in the minds of advertisers, but there is another moment that stands out in the minds of consumers; the night a woman disrobed during half-time show at the Super Bowl. It was as if time stood still as a nation witnessed advertising shorn of its pretense. This one event exposed the true state of marketing in America. It seems every attempt to hoodwink and capture the attention of the population has already been tried; there is nowhere new to go. Stooping to nudity to try and capture the attention of the public confirms what the consumer already knows; it doesn’t matter how firms try and “clothe” their products; underneath they are all the same.

    Read More

  • The Book Sex Sells!

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    Advertisers use whatever they can to attract the reader. From a sexual appealing look to a word. One of the most helpful approaches is sex of course which can capture anyone's attention. The ad for Opium perfume depicts a young brunet that has nicely shaped body and wears nothing but golden slippers, necklace and bracelet. Model is laying down seeming like she is enjoying herself and maybe experiencing orgasm. Again in Dolce & Gabbana ad, we see man and woman having passionate foreplay; with one hand he is pulling her bra strap down while with other touching her breast … and she is taking her panties off. In this ad, the naked female body and idea of sex is used to get the image of their product into the reader's memory. "Newsweek…wrote: The strategy is that, while the consumer studies the picture, the designer's name melts into the brain. And a big part of the message that was melting in was sexual." (Streitmatter, pp. 123) Anyhow, both ads use sexual attention to grab reader's attention. This is exactly what Calvin Klein had intended he wanted to "make sure, first and foremost, that anyone who was thumbing through the pages of a magazine would stop and look at the ads.

    Read More

  • Media Advertising - Societal Conformity and Advertisement of Cigarettes

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    Other aspects strengthen the advertisement design's sexual appeal. The foreground woman's strapless swimming suit, highlighted in red, is the most notable example. Her chest prominently resides above horizontal boxes in both th...

    Read More

  • Changes of Women’s Roles in Advertising from 1900’s and 1920’s

    1300 Words  | 3 Pages

    Advertising, whether criticized or celebrated, is undeniably a strong force in American society. Portrayals and images of women have long been used to sell in published advertisements. However, how they have been used has changed enormously over the decades. Women have fought to find a lasting and prominent position in their society. Only in the span of twenty years, between the 1900’s and 1920’s, did the roles of women change dramatically here in the United States.

    Read More

  • Advertising Analysis

    1327 Words  | 3 Pages

    The makers of this commercial intended the audience to be teenagers and young adults. The values used were sex appeal (of one of the...

    Read More

  • Formation of Imagined Communities

    1927 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cebrzynski, G. (2000, March 13). Sex or sexy? The difference is that one sells, and the other

    Read More

  • Sex in Advertising

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sex in advertising has been around for many years now. Ever since the Maidenform fantasy over twenty years ago. Here is a great example of sex in advertising. It showed women in their Maidenform bras and had different schemes to each one. Maidenform were showing that if they wore this bra and look sexy they could be successful in their jobs and get out of the house. Basically these ads made women feel sexy, and more confident about their bodies. Quit being just a housewife, which many of them were back then. It was now ?The Maidenform Women. You never know where she?ll turn up? (Moog 109). The Maidenform bra ads symbolized the exciting but frustrating longings of the past (Moog 109). Of course this brought some controversy, but when you are dealing with sex appeal in your ads it?s kind of an automatic. That was then, what about now?

    Read More

  • The Effect of Advertising on Women's Body Image

    1387 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Objectification of Women in Advertisements

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    The objectification of women is a huge issue in society and is often led by advertising. However, many men still believe that the adverts depicting women in a sexual and often passive posture are not very offensive, but rather very funny or sexy. However, how would they feel if it were their daughter or sister being advertised throughout the world as a sexual object? The Tiger Beer advertisement shown in the appendix is a clear example of the objectification of women in advertising. The Tiger Beer advert was made to appeal to men from the age of 20 to 60.

    Read More

  • Essay On Gender Roles In Advertising

    2223 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • The Impact Of Sexualization And Objectification Of Women

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    Steele’s Constructing Sex, the Sexual, and the Erotic- 'Doing It’: The Social Construction of S-E-X, which covers the social construction and perception of sex, sexuality, pleasure, and gender. In the text Steele mentions that very often in this society, penial penetration and male pleasure and climax are commonly seen as indicator of having had sex (Steele). The focus on male pleasure above females is not only relevant to the physical act of sex, but also the perception of gender and the way media targets their audience. More often than not, the typical objects of male pleasure (females) are taken and added into media and advertising to appeal to male pleasure even in ads that the products are targeted away from men. For example, underwear made for females often features an ‘attractive’ female seductively showing off the garments, effective for targeting straight males. Even in commercials for products for either gender like burgers or sunscreen, still use an objectified women as their selling point. Another point that Steele looks at in the text is the idea of consent, Steele states that “The dangers inherent in contemporary constructions of S-E-X… is about the pleasure of the actor” which can cause the dismissal of the object of desire as irrelevant (Steele). This idea of the focus being solely on the actor is problematic as it can easily perpetuate rape culture, and is a large part of the RadioShack ad.

    Read More

  • Misleading Advertisements Analysis

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lundstrom, William J., and Donald Sciglimpaglia. "Sex Role Portrayals in Advertising."Journal of Marketing 41.3 (1977): 72

    Read More

  • Television Advertising

    1032 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are a lots and lots of advertises that contains a bit of exaggeration, sex and a message to make the consumer feel an association going on by using or buying that product. For example, Coors light beer commercial contains a lot of stuff that might get people to feel an association going on if he or she drinks that Coors light beer. On one of the Coors light beer commercial, there's a commercial that shows couple of young man and woman drinking Coors light beer and playing volleyball up on the Rocky mountains. A lot of people especially the people around their 20's would be convinced that if he or she drinks Coors light beer, then they could enjoy the coolness of being young and active. Since the commercial contains both sex, it would refer to the people aroun...

    Read More

More about Is the Use of Sexual Imagery in Ad Campaigns Unethical?

Open Document