What is Sex in Advertising?

Sex in Advertising is the use of sexual or erotic imagery (also called "sex appeal") in advertising to draw interest to a particular product, for purpose of sale. A feature of sex in advertising is that the imagery used, such as that of a pretty woman, typically has no connection to the product being advertised. The purpose of the imagery is to attract the attention of the potential customer or user. The type of imagery that may be used is very broad, and would include nudity, cheesecake, and beefcake, even if it is often only suggestively sexual.

The Concept of Sex in Advertising
Sex in advertising builds on the premise that people are curious about sexuality and that experience in marketing has been that sexuality sells products. From a marketing point of view, sexuality can have biological, emotional/physical or spiritual aspects. The biological aspect of sexuality refers to the reproductive mechanism as well as the basic biological drive that exists in all species, which is hormonally controlled. The emotional or physical aspect of sexuality refers to the bond that exists between individuals, and is expressed through profound feelings or physical manifestations of emotions of love, trust, and caring. There is also a spiritual aspect of sexuality of an individual or as a connection with others. Advertisers may and do use the various aspects of sexuality in advertisements.
When sexuality is used in advertising, certain values and attitudes towards sex are necessarily 'sold' along with a product. In advertising terms, this is called "the concept". The message may be "that innocence is sexy" (as used by Calvin Klein when it uses young people in provocative poses), or that link pain and violence with sexiness and glamour (as used by Versace), or that women enjoy being dominated, or that women come with a product (eg in the advertisement for Budweiser Beer), or that the use of a certain product is naughty but legal, or that use of a certain product will make the user more attractive to the opposite sex, and many other messages.
Historically, advertising has used women in erotic roles more often than men. However, in recent years young men have increasingly been used in a similar manner, though women continue to be depicted in sexualized roles disproportionately.
When couples are used in an advertisement, the sex-roles played by each also sends out messages. The interaction of the couple may send out a message of relative dominance and power, and may stereotype the roles of one or both partners. Usually the message would be very subtle, and sometimes advertisements attract interest by changing stereotypical roles
As stated by Richmond and Hartman (1982), "Every media consumer is alert to 'sex in advertising.' Its pervasive use and misuse are constantly before us, and typically elicit strong criticism". As one can see, the use of sex in advertising has been happening for several decades and the reason for it?--It works. Advertisements that are sexy in nature tend to be remembered more often than advertisements that are not. The question to ask, though, is how ethical is it to use sexual appeals in advertisements? This research paper will discuss whether or not sex sells, when and where sexual appeals are used in advertising, who is the primary focus in the ads, and the ethical dilemma of using sexual appeals in advertising.
The purpose of this topic is to see whether or not it is ethical to use sexual appeals in advertising? The topic also examines
•Does Sex Sell
•When and where is it being used in advertising,
This topic is important to its readers because it not only focuses on the use of sexual appeals in advertising but it also looks at how ethical it is to do so. Advertising draws people in and coaxes them into buying things based on how the ads make them feel. It is not always fair to assume that everyone knows what the advertisers are doing.

Does Sex Sell?
"Does sex sell?" Actually, sex does not sell, but sexiness does. Using sex appeals in advertising is a good way to target certain market segments but not all. What is identified as sexual appeals in advertising? Where and when should sex be used in advertising? Does the use of sexual appeals lead to an advantage for brand remembrance? These questions will be the next topics of discussion for this paper.
The use of sexual appeals in advertising has been happening for decades. Sex is everywhere. There are several different distinctions as to what is being categorized as sex appeal. A study conducted by Ramirez and Reichert (2000) revealed four characteristics of sexy ads: (1) physical features of models, (2) behavior/movement, (3) intimacy between models, and (4) contextual features such as camera effects.
Ramirez and Reichert (2000) sought to find what people consider sexy in advertising. The most common referent was physical features (66%), followed by a model's movements and verbal and nonverbal communication (39%), contextual features (26%), and proxemics (15%) .They made an important note that what people referred to as sexy differed gender to gender. The study showed that females responded more to context than males did at 35% to 20%. It also showed that 28% of the females responded to proxemics or references to physical distance or relative interaction between models compared to 6% of the males.

When And Where Should Sex Be Used in Advertising?
The above mentioned will discuss the usefulness of sexual appeals in advertising, but not from the ethical stand point. Sexual appeals only work in some advertisements. Many studies have been conducted regarding this subject.
Jones, Stanaland, and Gelb (1998) conducted an experiment to see how men and women responded to beefcake and cheesecake ads. A beefcake ad is an ad that has a sexy male model as the center of the ad. A cheesecake ad is an ad that has a sexy female model as the center of the ad. The study found that women had higher recognition scores for the ad showing a nonsexy male model than for the beefcake ad, and men had higher recall scores for the ad showing a nonsexy female than for the cheesecake ad. The study also found that women had lower recognition scores than men for the beefcake ad, and women viewing the cheesecake ad had higher recognition scores than women viewing the beefcake ad. Also, men had lower recall than women for the cheesecake ad. They concluded their study with the statement, "The nonsexy ads seemed to do the most good with the least harm".
It is important to evaluate the audience who will be viewing the ads before invoking a sexual appeal into the ad. A recent study conducted by Whipple and McManamon (2002) found that there is not an industry-wide conspiracy that advertisers use men as voiceovers in ads. Rather, individual advertisers and agencies make decisions about specific products and ad executions. For instance, a spokesperson and an announcer's sex can affect advertising evaluations for a gender-specific product but not for non- gender imaged products.
"Advertising research reveals that sexual appeals are attention getting, arousing, affect inducing, and memorable" But, although studies have demonstrated that sexual appeals attract attention to the ad, they do so typically without a corresponding advantage for brand information processing. Although using sexual appeals in brand advertisements has not proven to be as effective as needed, using them in social marketing may be beneficial. "From a social marketing perspective, sexual appeals may be beneficial for the simple reason that they are attention-getting and potentially motivating desirable message characteristics in a saturated media environment".
The use of overt sexual appeals in print advertising has increased considerably in contemporary advertising practice. According to an article by Henthorne and LaTour (1994), today it is common for a reader of any age to pick up a general-interest consumer magazine and find an advertisement featuring provocatively posed and attired models for many consumer products . During the past decade, the use of sexual appeals in print advertisement has become commonplace. Among the most memorable companies, which base their advertisement on sexual appeals, is Calvin Klein. Their ads usually feature a nude couple in a somewhat provocative position. Also, many of the print advertisements for Calvin Klein jeans are just as suggestive and memorable Ads of this type are designed to elicit what the originators hope is a vicarious experience of sensuality.
In the 2000's, the use of sexual appeal in advertising continues to be a very controversial topic. A 1994 study done by Henthorne and LaTour revealed that an ad which contains a strong overt sexual appeal results in a significantly less favorable attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intention than an ad that contains little or no sexual appeal . For example, a very controversial AXE subway ad in Mexico has an arrow pointing up the shiny miniskirt of a woman driving a convertible sports car. Another ad shows a man with his arm around a woman with the arrow pointing down the front of her low-cut shirt. Next to the arrows is the statement: "To get what you want" (Ordonez, 2003). In this case, strong overt sexual appeal is being used in order to place brand remembrance on AXE. As a result, the brand also has been labeled as a company which is involved in strong overt sexual advertising. Although the use of highly sexual print ads is viewed more negatively, the attitude of women is significantly more negative than that of their male counterpart. As the morals and ethics of society change over time, what is considered appropriate and acceptable by society must also change. Therefore it is necessary to re-evaluate the assumptions on which strategic decisions are based when it comes to print advertising. Advertisers need to look at potential social issues and consequences at stake when considering an advertisement based on sexual appeal.
Ethical issues involving sexual appeal in commercials are more controversial than those involving print advertising due to the high number of viewers that see commercials. Sexual appeals in commercials have many types and consist of a variety of elements. They often involve visual elements such as attractive models, and they may portray varying degrees of nudity and suggestiveness. Although commercials often use visual elements for sexuality, appeals may also include verbal elements and music. A study conducted by Severn, Belch, and Belch (1990) found that the use of sexual advertising appeals detracts from the receivers' processing of message content. The use of sexual appeals in the study seemed to detract from the processing and retention of message arguments. However, it did appear that the recipients would focus their attention more on the execution elements of ads using this type of appeal. With the use of sexual appeals in commercials being both controversial and productive in remembering a product, there is a fine line that advertisers should follow to keep the controversy to a minimum. According to Gould (1994), advertisers can attempt to accommodate the seemingly conflicting concerns of the public by following four guidelines: (1) targeting commercials as carefully as possible to avoid unnecessary conflict and to minimize the viewing of sexual appeals by people who might be disconcerted by them, (2) heightening their own awareness of the impact of their sexual appeals on the public at large as well as on their target market, (3) testing the effects of their commercials, not only on their target, but also on other members of the public who might see their commercials, and (4) considering the effects of their commercials in prompting individuals, whether in their target or not, to take actions that have negative consequences . Regardless of the guidelines, it is difficult for both managerial and governmental policy makers to know how to approach this sensitive ethical dilemma because of the variety of ethical and moral standards of today's public. In any market, advertising and promotions are partly an educated guessing game. You are bound to have unexpected hits and disappointing flops. At home or abroad, the old saying almost always proves true: "It pays to advertise".

Sex in Advertising

What Concerns Have Been Raised About Media Sex?
Sex has been at the center of many forms of public entertainment for many centuries. Sexual themes have featured prominently in fiction, whether played out on the screen, stage, or page. Ancient Greek comedies were frequently laced with sex. Literary classics such as Chaucer's Canterbury Tules and Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew were filled with sexual double entendres and overtly sexual themes. The blending of sexual titillation with violence, a subject of contemporary concern, was also witnessed in Roman times with the introduction of women to gladiatorial contests. Scantily at tired with their breasts naked, such women fought with wild boars and with each other in armed combat or from chariots (Guttmann, 1991; Juvenal, 1958; Robert, 1971).
In recent history, sex has been one of the major themes covered by the contemporary mass media, including books, magazines, newspapers, film, video, and television. Popular dramatic narratives frequently center on relationships between characters that, as often as not, involve sexual interact tions—no matter how mild these might be. Sex is also the stuff of news. Sexual scandals involving politicians, media celebrities, and other public figures are featured virtually every week in tabloid newspapers, with such stories regularly spilling over into editorials and other media commentaries
or into comedians' jokes. Accounts of the sexual lives of ordinary people and sex advice columns also represent prominent aspects of glossy magazines targeted at various sexually active age groups