Sex in Advertising - Research Paper Example

Sex in Advertising Advertisements directly point to the changing values and ideologies in society. As a new social phenomenon, companies today give exceeding emphasis to media and mass marketing. The result of this development is that even human beings have become commodities for marketing. Advertisers apply several methods in this regard, and the sole objective of marketing strategies is to manipulate people into consuming maximum commodities. In order to achieve this objective advertising industry has been utilizing sex as its marketing medium, and this trend symbolises the massive structural transformations taking place across the globe today. The advertisement industry prefers to portray females as objects of enjoyment and appeal. It seems that females in the last two decades have become well-used to the needs of the advertising industry and have decided to explore the possibility. The advertisers have been reminding the society that female body is valuable, and something that must be revealed. All beauty products in the market are accompanied by almost fully naked female bodies. Famous brands and celebrities also contribute to this sex-oriented marketing system and get benefits in return. In order to draw consumer attention, the performers in ads dress provocatively, exhibit incongruously seductive, and behave in a flirtatious manner. A look into such ads reveals that the definition of beauty has changed from time to time. It is easy to understand this difference if one compares a beautiful woman of the present day with the portrait of a beautiful woman of the 16th century. Undoubtedly, the concept of fashion is set and redefined by the advertising media from time to time. According to Aaslestad, fashion embodies new social values and emerges as the primary area of contradiction between tradition and change (283). This is very evident in the changes that took place in the dressing of celebrities, namely women, appeared in ads. There is a visible change in the styles of both men and women today, and this change is attributed to the new philosophical and social ideals cherished by the advertising industry. Sex has been highlighted as the prime concern in ads. For instance, new style often incorporates the concept of ease, comfort, infatuation, and freedom. Advertising has declined boundaries between the dress code of men and women. There was a time when women were widely criticised if they revealed shoulders or ankles. However, today it is common for women to expose their bare bosom and shoulders not only in ads but also in real life. As Steele points out, over centuries, females were forced to use corsets in the name of social status, self-discipline, youth, and beauty. However, today female body parts including breasts and shoulders are revealed in the new style of corsets, and this change is the contribution of culture industry (75-76). With regard to advertising industry, free sex is most visibly endorsed as a justifiable way of life. In other words, sex becomes a commercial art for which money is the prime concern. Many believe that the world today offers scope for choosing one’s own identity from a wide pool of choices. On the flip side, the current trend only promotes a different society that violates all long-held ethical codes. Studies reveal the fact that the common tendency in advertisements is to present females as who are born to exhibit nudity. As per studies, there is a dramatic increase in the number of advertisements showing nudity after the year 1990. In addition, the degree of nudity too has gone upwards. Consumers usually go through various stages before they purchase a product/service for their end use, and this purchase decision is influenced by various elements including psychology, sociology, and economics. Modern businesses regardless of the industry, research on consumer behaviour to determine the best way to promote their brands. In fact, this is not often a single or independent effort, but a coordinated effort of a huge network. Leiss, Kline and Jhally point out the significance of ‘iconic representation’, ‘persuasive images’, and ‘affective opinion’ in advertising (244). This way advertising media can make people believe that they require certain additional elements in life in order to look or perform better. Sex plays a significant role in this activity of manipulation. The way female models look into the camera has to be taken into consideration. Earlier, females in ads avoided direct gaze into the camera, thus revealing a still strong feeling of submissiveness. However, presently females look directly into the camera and the stare is far more aggressive and bold than it was ever before. In addition, it has become rather common for females in ads to wear dresses very similar to that of males and maintain an alluring gaze directly aimed at the viewer. It has been a common advertisement trick to show females caressing their body. The caressed object is usually considered something valuable or precious. Reebok’s advertisement “Reetone” was a very controversial advertisement appeared in the print and visual media. In this ad, three girls are exhibiting their toned thighs and are wearing Reebok shoes. At the right bottom it exhibits the company’s name. Evidently, the company has used an interactive picture to enhance item recognition. Here brand name and sex are juxtaposed. Evidently, as Kellner and Harms comments, Reebok’s advertisement campaigns “incorporate postmodern imagery and cynicism to sell shoes” (“Toward a Critical.”). The advertisement of Axe Essence body spray can be taken as another example. In this advertisement, the sidewalk where a couple walks displays mannequins of females in lingerie. The upper half of the man walks along with his partner when the lower half waits and watches the mannequin. The first message it conveys is that females’ sex appeal increases when they are in lingerie. Secondly, males are always attracted to other women. The main message is rather hidden, which says that the males who use Axe Essence body spray will gain confidence and remain contented. In this context, it is relevant to quote from Anderson and Taylor; advertisements make people addict to ‘unnecessary things and new habits’ (551). Admittedly, the advertisers also do not want to hide the fallacy implied in the ads. People despite such realities are familiar with false notions as well. This tactics workout when many of the promoters enjoy monopoly in the respective industry. To illustrate, a firm that enjoys monopoly is little hesitant to claim that the advertisements and campaigns are nothing other than promotional tactics. They do not want to convince the consumers that all the information they pass through ads are true and reliable. Their sole objective is to imprint the image or caption of their brand in the minds of people, and for that purpose they know sex is the best medium. In total, sex-based advertising has grown to be a global enterprise devoted to the marketing of all sorts of products/services. Today, it encompasses design, manufacturing, marketing, advertising, and promotion of all types of accessories. Sex is the field in which modern advertising industry as a phenomenon employs its full potential. Its growth is highly associated with culture industry which manipulates people into consuming even unnecessary things. Female nudity is displayed irrationally in every piece of ad no matter if women ever use such products or services. Obviously, the trend will have profound impact on the society in terms of cultural values and ethical norms. Only governments can address such challenges through on time legal intervention. Works Cited Aaslestad, Katherine B. “Sitten und Mode: Fashion, gender, and public identities in Hamburg at the turn of the nineteenth century”. In gender in transition; Discourse and Practice in German-speaking Europe. 2006. (Eds. Glexiner and Gray). US: University of Michigan Press. Anderson, Margaret L and Taylor, Howard F. Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society. USA: Cengage Learning. 2007. Print. Kellenr, Douglas and Harms, John. “Toward A Critical Theory of Advertising”. Illuminations. (n.d.). web. . Leiss, William. Kline, Stephen and Jhally, Sut. Social Communication in Advertising: Persons, Products, and Images of Well-Being. New York: Metheuen.1986. Print. Steele, Valerie The Corset: a cultural history. Yale University Press. 2003. Print. Read More