Carson Cherry-Sex in Advertising

            Marketing and advertising is a multi-billion dollar industry every year. The goal in these fields is to catch your eye and make you want to go out and buy their product or approve of their idea. People who create advertisements for marketing purposes use many different techniques but one of the most effective is through the presentation of sex. When some people think about sex in advertising they see it as a modern thing; not something that would be occurring over a hundred years ago. It is said that one of the first known advertisements to use sex came in 1871; this was an advertisement for the pearl tobacco brand ^I. This advertisement encompassed a naked woman on the front in the hopes that it would catch the eyes of men. Other companies during this time saw that this type of advertising actually worked and started to follow suite. Sex was still being used through the beginning of the 1900’s with soap advertisements. One of the most prominent in this time was an ivory soap advertisement that had naked sailors washing and rinsing each other off ^II.

http://ifactory.ca/does-sex-in-advertising-sell/

            Even though sex was in advertising in past history I would say that we see more of it now. A study was completed at the University of Georgia on how much sex really plays its part in advertisement. According to the article sex is seen the most in hygiene, beauty, clothing, travel, and entertainment advertisement’s ^III. The article also says that using sex when advertising things such as banking and utility services is not effective; sex use during advertising is catered toward things that are low-risk impulse purchases ^III. I totally agree with the data in the article. Just look at the transformation in the Hardees commercials over the past year or so. They went from a modest conservative burger advertisement to a commercial with beautiful half clothed women that are sure to catch the eye of anyone. We go to the movies and have to set through 30 minutes previews of movies that seem to be full of sex scenes, we walk by the magazine racks in the grocery store and you can’t help but glimpse at the half naked women on the covers, we walk through the mall and see advertisements to our left and right that contain some sort sex appeal.

http://www.memphisflyer.com/HungryMemphis/archives/2012
/08/27/hardees-racy-ad-for-the-memphis-bbq-thickburger

            

           Sex in advertising is all around us and it will continue to be there because it works. I don’t see sex in advertising as a bad thing, it’s just something that we have to be mature about and come to a realization that it is there to grab out attention. This blog was very interesting to write and yes I do love the Hardees commercials but they have still yet to convince me to stop in and get one of those massive burgers.

^IBeigelman, . The California Aggie, "Column: Why sex sells." Last modified February 09, 2012. Accessed February 26, 2014.

^IIBenjamin, . My Big Campus, "Sex Will Always Sell!." Accessed February 26, 2014.

^IIISorrow, . University of Georgia, "Magazine trends study finds increase in advertisements using sex." Last modified June 05, 2012. Accessed February 26, 2014.