Summary: Sexual Innuendo In Advertising

Sexual innuendo in advertising is more than common in most magazines and commercials the average person views. It is nothing new in our culture nor is it always directly offensive. Some ads though take it to a whole different level and degrade women in many aspects. Consistently placing women bare and exposed in advertisements is demeaning and places the gender in lower standards by society’s eye. BMW used car ad displays a young, beautiful, and bare girl on the cover of their ad. Right next to it in a obvious part that catches the eye there is a caption that says “You know you’re not the first”. The ad is comparing a woman to a used car as if they have any correlation. Not only is the comparison present but the ad also indirectly implies that

the woman has had more than one “first” with men. How does one know from a picture what a woman has or has not done with her life? They do not, but the way the woman is presented it is presumed that she has been “used”. The car industries more than likely assume that these ads are going to be viewed as harmless and will be a benefit to them with no effect on the rest of society.

This is usually false however as a result of the way the it is perceived in the majorities eye. When women were just entering the work force and contributing to society more they were not taken seriously because of the way the media and advertisements make them seem (Mimi 2011). It is still a challenge in certain sectors of society for women to do the things they desire without being scrutinized or being placed into false categories because of their gender. Another problem that arises concerning these advertisements is that the model’s “beauty” is the only acceptable form of beauty in our society. It is common for a person, usually a man, who will see an ad and expect that from women in reality. It makes it seem as if there is one type of beauty our culture wants and desires. Even though that is not true it a contribution to the problem we have in society concerning body image. These advertisements create a lot of false thoughts and assumptions about women. Women are not put on earth to be at a mans disposable but they also come in various different forms of

beauty.
Even though the concept “sex sells” has been around in our country for years now it does not necessarily mean it needs to be this extreme. It is one thing to show an intimate couple or a model in more lavish clothes than normal to sell a product but when it gets to the point were it is demeaning and directly offensive to some viewers is unnecessary. Advertisements usually do need a grabbing point to help sell the product and inevitably sex and violence are two that are popular but have damaging effects on the readers. Even though some people can argue that advertisements are to not be taken seriously and are not hurting anybody directly has a point. Viewers should not take an advertisements seriously from a monopolistic company that craves every dollar they can get. The viewers are not being directly harmed by the advertisement but it does have the tendency to shape societies ideologies to be harmful to others. The indirect damage it does soon accumulates and has more negative effects than anticipated. Advertisements are everywhere in the world, bus stops, magazines, buildings, billboards, television, phone applications, and much more. This means that everyone of all ages can see these ads. Younger children might see an ad on the street that is over sexualized and then from that moment on think that it is normal and what is expected from the person of that gender, race, or appearance displayed. We teach society the stereotypes and double standards at such a young age that is a hard cycle to break (Dharmesh 4). The media and increasing use of technology has only escalated this as well.Creating extra sexism and sexualizing everything in our culture has lead to controversy, low expectations, and double standards in our society that we would be better off without.
More companies need to step up and distinguish what is an is not ethical when it comes to advertising.

Showing a bare woman with the caption “You know you’re not the first” is generally not an ethical thing; the message it sends can effect young readers minds and also disrespect women. Advertising has been using the concept sex sells for over a hundred years and will inevitably continue to do for many years to come, but that does not mean we can do something to stop the degrading results it has evolved to. Industries should keep their advertisements slightly more conservative or release it to a small private audience to see if there is any serious controversy surrounding it. If our society could be able to make small changes like this then the car industry will no longer demean women and they will be able to be taken more seriously in the years to

come.