The Impact of Sexual Objectification in Advertisements on Women Consumers - Thesis Example

The paper "The Impact of Sexual Objectification in Advertisements on Women Consumers" is a good example of a marketing thesis. Marketers usually target women from various demographics because they are major consumers. It is usually the women who hold the purse strings giving them the spending power hence it is important to study the factors in their decision-making process as well as how some marketing strategies affect them both intellectually, emotionally, socially, morally and spiritually.

With the overwhelming ads that bombard them every day from all sources: print, television, online advertising, social media, outdoor advertising, traditional advertising, etc., it is interesting to know the impact of some marketing ploys especially those that create the perception that women are objectified.Advertisers have used sexually provoking themes in their campaigns thinking that it is what the viewing public wants. Social scientists and advertising researchers contend that such themes reflect the prevailing values in society (Pollay, 1986).

For example, it can be understood as “social statements” about widely held beliefs among their target audience (Pease, 1980). Soley and Reid (1988) claim that advertising mirrors how society views sexual attitudes and portrays them in the ads. Mittal & Lassar (2000) then connect that if this were true, then it would imply that the increasing sexual tolerance of the target audience would push advertising to be more sexually laden. However, in the study of LaTour and Henthorpe (1994), they found that stronger sexual content in advertising made the advertisement more objectionable.

This study is interested in contemporary women still hold the view that ads containing female objectification are still offensive or if they find them empowering. Research QuestionSince it is women models who are usually used in ads with sexual content, what could be the impact of such sexually suggestive ads on women especially those that objectify them? Do they derive empowerment from such, which would encourage them to patronize the product, or do they feel offended and not use the product?

Do they really pay attention to the underlying message of such objectification or do the ads really work to make them buy the product because of the perception that it will really make them attractive? It would be interesting to explore the insights of women on these things.