Sex In Advertising

Madeleine Bellard, Anthony Capozzi & Olivia Lukasiewicz

International Marketing 38000-03
May 1, 2018
Introduction
“Sex in advertising is the use of sexual interest as a tool of persuasion to draw attention to
a particular item for consumption and it is considered one of the most influential tools of
marketers and advertisers.” (Hultin, 3). Sex in advertising is used by marketers and advertisers in
many countries for many different products and brands. It started being used to sell things like
cosmetics, lingerie, and alcohol but now it is seen almost everywhere. The sexual imagery may
or may not actually have anything to do with the product be sold but somehow it increases sales
all the same.
Sexual appeal in advertising covers a number of different subsections including nudity,
sexual behaviour, physical attractiveness, and “sexual embeds”. While nudity is relatively self
explanatory, in advertising it actually refers to skimpy clothing like lingerie or bathing suits. It
does not necessarily imply the models are completely exposed, though it can. Sexual behaviour
as stated by Lambiase and Reichert includes “sexually provocative behaviour” and interaction.
Physical attractiveness is the form we are most used to seeing in advertising especially when
using a lifestyle marketing tactic. This is most widely used by cosmetics and alcohol companies.
Sexual embeds are another area that though harder to detect, we as a society are fairly familiar
with. Sexual embeds are defined as “representation designed to be perceived subconsciously.”
This is a form most often used in the arrangement of items in a product shot. (Hultin, 6-7)

Shown here each of the subsections in the same order as defined in the above paragraph.

It is imperative that the use of sexual advertising in mass media is thoroughly discussed
in order to fully understand the way it is used and the implications it might have on any given
individual. Where did it begin? How is it used around the world? And why does it work are just a
few of the questions to be answered. Throughout this paper the use of sex in advertising will be
dissected to determine the usefulness of the marketing tactic and the effect it has on our society
as a whole.

Overview
The increasing globalization of the modern world has caused marketers to scramble to
find techniques that are usable globally. This means that the marketing executions used have to
fit the cultural implications of many very different regions with as little need for adaption as they
can manage.
This poses a few problems both socially and even for the brands using this marketing
tactic. Socially, the use of sex in advertising can perpetuate gender biases, and affect the
perceptions of the youth in the community. It perpetuates gender bias especially because most of
the sexual themes used in today’s advertising shows women as an object; something to be
fantasized about, even owned and used. It also can have a disastrous effect on young people that
are excessively exposed to this kind of media in many ways. It can lead to misguided perceptions
of sex and sexuality which has been shown to lead to disappointment and depression. This is
because there is also a lack of sexual education which serves to aid in the unrealistic body and
sexual expectations. Especially in young girls, there has been a significant rise in eating disorders
and dieting that has been shown to have a positive relationship with the increase in sexual
advertising across mass media. It doesn’t just affect women and girls, there has also been an
increase in pressure for boys to work out and maintain a ridiculously low percentage of body fat.
Aside from the social implications, using excessive amounts of sexual advertising can distract
from the product they are hoping to sell which completely defeats the purpose of the all the
marketing being done.
While sex is used in advertising all over the world with much of the same results, the way
it is portrayed varies drastically by country. China, for example, regulates all of it’s media by
banning any kind of unwholesome or clearly sexual themes. This is very much to the far end of
the spectrum however. Places like Thailand, only have a ban on overt displays of affection which
gives a little more leeway because they will allow ads that allude to sex as long as it is not
explicit. Many other countries are more used to seeing nudity and therefore, sexual advertising is
much more accepted.
History of Sex in Advertising
Sex in advertising is not a new concept. In fact, it dates back to 1871 with a Pearl
Tobacco poster of a naked woman advertising their cigarettes (Kay 5). While Pearl Tobacco was
the first to use this method of accompanying an unrelated product with the female body, they
were not the last. Shortly after, W. Duke & Sons included a trading card featuring pictures of
sexually appealing women in their cigarette packages (Kay 5). This is the first association in
which smoking cigarettes is a sexy thing though it was the advertisements connected to the
tobacco rather than the act of smoking itself.
Many followed the tobacco companies examples and used sexually appealing women in
advertisements. One example of this is the Spring maid, created by Elliott White Springs for the
Springs Cotton Mills. Through his advertisements Springs "needed to gain positive national
identification for a brand of an inherently uninteresting product, i.e., cotton fabrics, and later
sheets. To further add to the challenge, the generic product had long been in the maturity stage of
the product life cycle" (Taylor 42). Springs intended to accompany his rather bland products with
provocative images and gain recognition in doing so, thus releasing the Springmaid ads in 1945.
While the ads gained recognition, there was not an astounding amount of positive feedback from
consumers. In fact, scathing attacks of the advertisements were published, claiming the
Springmaid was the "Textile Tempest" (Taylor 44). The negative attention did not deter Spring
from releasing more ads that were provocative in nature-he went onto release an ad featuring a
two Native American's, a man and a woman, the man asleep in a hammock made of Springmaid
sheets while the woman is exiting the hammock. Of the advertisement it was said that it "'raised
a lot of eyebrows (and sold a lot of sheets)"' (Taylor 44). Although Springs methods of
advertising were controversial for the time, they gained him the recognition he needed to keep
his business alive. Once just a generic sheet brand, Springs made Springmaid a well-known
national brand name through his implementation of sexual advertisements.
 Since the time of Elliot White Springs, there has not been a decrease in sexual
advertising. If anything, it is more overwhelming than ever before. Though Springmaid ended
their sexual advertisements after the death of Elliot White Springs in 1959 (Taylor 44) other
companies tasked their agencies with creating ads that had sexual innuendos and sexually
explicit content. After the Springmaid advertisement, sexually driven ads became the new
"norm" and remain the "norm" in the advertising world today.

Cultural Implications
When introducing or advertising a product to a market, especially in a new, foreign
market, understanding and having a good feel for the identity of the market’s culture is extremely
important. This is a crucial part of the process when determining whether or not to use sex in
your advertisements when introducing your product. “Culture is very much an integral
component of a successful advertising strategy and a good understanding of the dynamics of a
particular cultural system serves as the bedrock for developing effective advertising strategy”
(Griffith p. 304). To help make this easier, countries usually fall under two categories, high index
cultures or low index cultures. “In high-context cultures, greater emphasis is placed on protocol,
and communication tends to move from the general to the specific. In low-context cultures,
communication tends to be more to the point, an approach that can come across to individuals
from high-context cultures as rude… Some cultures, mostly Western, are low-context cultures
that practice explicitness and directness in their communication style. They depend on the
people in the immediate communication situation to convey meaning and create a unique
context. High-context cultures, on the other hand, prize subtlety and indirectness... They depend
on a shared cultural context to carry meaning. Instead of getting down to business, high-context
cultures tend to rely first on existing relationships outside the business arena so that shared
understandings make explicitness unnecessary” (Batista).

Low context cultures are more open and accepting to the idea of sex in advertising and
studies have shown that it works in these cultures and it has also shown how it doesn't work with
high context cultures.
“The specific findings obtained in relation to the decision to purchase products advertised
with sex appeal were that a majority of respondents (35.3%) were ‘likely’ to make purchases as a
result of sex appeal advertising and an additional 12.9% are ‘very likely’ to make purchases of
those products (Table 7). About 11.9% and 26.1% respectively were ‘very unlikely’ and
‘unlikely’ to purchase those products. The cumulative effect of these results is that 38% of
consumers are unlikely or very unlikely to purchase products advertised by sexual appeal, while
48.2% are likely or very likely to purchase those products” (Anabila, pg. 47).
On the contrary, we have a study that was done in Turkey, a high index culture that
shares results in how they view sex in advertising. “211 Turkish citizens participated in an online
survey and the descriptive results show that sex appeals in advertising may not be very effective
in Turkey. Turkish citizens mostly consider sex appeals in advertisements to be uncomfortable.
Besides, although sexual appeals in advertisements make citizens remember the products,
services, or the brands being advertised, sexual appeals do not convince them to buy the
products” (Erkaya).
Determining the level of sex appeal to use and understanding the society’s view and their
level of acceptance or tolerance towards sex is necessary to take into account when thinking
about using sex to advertise your product. As more and more countries begin to use this
technique and countries continue to see results, other countries will begin to follow. There will
begin to be a trend towards homogenization of cultures due to globalization, thus making
cultures more open to things prevailing in other cultures. All in all, if the shoe doesn’t fit, don’t
wear it. Advertising a product through sex appeal will only work in low context cultures with the
right people viewing the ads. This is definitely something you don’t want to force on the wrong
consumers and something that needs valid research and logistical evidence before
implementation.

How is it Viewed Around the World?

Sex is great, and if there is one thing that everyone in the world can relate to and love all
together, it is sex. But, that doesn’t mean it is in every countries interest to allow and have sexual
ads everywhere and anywhere. Many countries have taken strides towards limiting or censoring
what can and cannot be put into ads that involve sexual content as seen with the following:

- China banned many ads they believe to be overtly seductive and tantalizing in nature. Chinese
regulations against unwholesome content and sexual themes is just one part of a larger attitude of
paranoia that surrounds advertising (Boddewyn, pg.30).

- In Brazil, sexual ads are thought to “reinforce an erroneous stereotype of women as sex objects
and ignore the progress made in ending sexist practices.” There is no political correctness about
them or their society (Boddewyn, pg.30).

- In Australia, 40% of all advertising complaints during the past year have been about sex and
nudity. The view has always been that sex can be used effectively only if it has some relevance
to the product. Women have been shown to respond negatively to advertisements, and are more
likely than men to comment on the motive of the advertisers (Boddewyn, pg.30).
- In the United States, sex in advertising is everywhere. There really aren’t any restrictions or
regulations on the principle as it is used so frequently that it almost bombards the consumers and
gives the companies the results that they want.

As noted, sexual advertising isn’t always at the top of the list in many countries around the world
due to the negative effects it can have on its viewers. For example, sex in advertising can be seen
as a distraction to some people and it is seen differently between men and women as nudity
attracts men and on the other hand personality attracts women. Further than that, sexual
advertisements play a strong role in self esteem and peer pressure and have a ton of effects on
children. After seeing beautiful women revealing themselves on TV or in a magazine, or even
seeing a very masculine man using a certain cologne or liquor to “pick up” the girl can lead to
many misconceptions in young viewers along with misinformation and unrealistic expectations
(LaRose). Young boys have never been so pressured to want to work out to become bigger and
stronger as young girls have never been so pressured to lose weight, diet, and to have the
“perfect body”. As a result, and increase in eating disorders and using tobacco and alcohol has
been seen in young children ages 8-18 (LaRose).
Knowing that sex in advertising isn’t as cut throat as it seems and it is one of the most
controversial topics in the world of marketing, it is amazing how frequently this technique is
used and how much it continues to grow.
 These ads are viewed differently around the world and affects people around the world
differently, in all ages. Understanding where you are in the world and the culture of where you
are goes a very long way in knowing whether or not certain advertisements will be successful or
not. Sex isn’t meant to be in advertisements everywhere which makes them that much more
special and unique. But, sex, through studies, IS actually seen to be everywhere and isn’t seemed
to have a negative impact whatsoever. Later on we will get into more detail and discuss impacts
and results from sex in advertising.

Media Platforms
The use of sex appeals is becoming an increasingly popular technique to sell products,
especially those that are image-based, such as candy, alcohol, cigarettes, jewelry, fragrance,
cosmetics
and fashion
goods.

This table
supports
the argument that sex in advertising is indeed everywhere. People are coming into contact with
sexual ads everywhere they look whether it is in a magazine, on a billboard, or on the TV. Taken
from the IOSR-JBM, 66% of prime time shows contain some sexual content, 40% of women
who appear in magazines dress provocatively, 17% of advertisements containing men and
women together contain a sexual element.
Apparel, alcohol, and fragrance companies are among the top platforms that use sex in
their advertising. Coors executive, Janet Rowe stated that the primary beer market is men aged
21-34 and the younger portion is a very important part of the market segment. “If you are trying
to interest men in that age bracket, obviously one of the ways is with women. I don’t think
women in beer advertising will ever go away.” "Sexual information does grab attention," says
University of Georgia's Tom Reichert. "As long as people desire to be attractive to others, and as
long as people desire romance, intimacy, and love, and all the wonderful feelings they involve,"
he says, "advertisers can show how their products help meet those needs and desires. Whether
we like it or not, products play a role in society's intimacy equation." Consumers aspire and
thrive to become what they are most oftenly not. Putting sex in advertising gives hope and
something to dream to become for a lot of consumers. If a fragrance or certain liquor is
advertised to help someone win over the love of their life, who isn’t going to want to try out that
product?

Does Sex Sell?

Sex sells. When asked the question, many will reject that they are affected by sexual
appeals through advertisements whether it is based on morality or stubbornness that advertising
agencies truly have an impact on their purchasing decisions. Despite the consumer’s perception
of whether or not sex sells, the reality is that sexual appeals do influence purchasing; if they did
not have an effect on the consumer, they would not be used through the advertising industry as
heavily as they are.
In a study exploring sex and consumer response, they explain that sexual advertisements
can influence consumer intentions positively. When discussing this Reichert writes:

“The pattern of advertising findings can be explained by the emotion-evoking

nature of sexual stimuli and its effect on cognition. For one, sexual information, by
its very nature, is motivating to humans…According to this work, once a stimulus
is recognized and interpreted as sexual, a response is evoked within the viewer hat
consists of feelings, thoughts, arousal (Fisher, 1986)-responses that encourage
movement toward the stimulus. For example, sexual images should result in
increased gazing and interest toward the erotic content…Simply, viewers who find
the information sexually interesting are motivated to ‘see more’” (Reichert 133)

As the audience is given these messages with sexually explicit and implicit content, it is their
primal nature that is being appealed to. Sexual advertisements are so successful in the advertising
industry because “consumers are motivated to move toward the stimulus as indicated by
enhanced favorability, increased interest and ‘wanting to know more,’ and the desire to possess
the object of the appeal [the product being advertised]” (Reichert 138). With almost all industries
using some form of sexual advertising-from cars to magazine subscriptions to food products- it is
hard to ignore the sexual stimuli targeted towards the audience.
For consumers that dismiss that sexual appeals in advertising affect their purchasing
decisions, the truth is that they may be impacted more. In one study that considers sexual
liberalism as a determinant of consumer response the study found that “the belief that sex in
advertising is not manipulative leads to a heightened (rather than diminished) evaluation of a
strongly sexual ad. Thus, free from apprehension that sex in advertising is manipulative tends to
make consumers relish the ads with high sex content” (Mittal 124). Even without cognitively
recognizing that sexual ads affect the individual, their purchasing behavior shows otherwise. Sex
does sell, and for those who dismiss that claim, it sells even more.

Implications On Consumers
Sex sells-but at a psychological cost for those responding to the advertisements. While
companies use sex in their advertisements to gain attention and spark appeal, there are
ramifications to many in the audience who perceive the individuals in the ads as the “ideal.”
Though marketers may not have this intention when putting out these advertisements, the effects
on many individuals viewing them can be noticed worldwide.
Many of these ramifications effect female consumers who are seeing the depictions of
women in advertisements and considering themselves not good enough. With factors like social
comparison, body image and self-evaluation, many women face detrimental ramifications to
their psychological state after repeatedly viewing advertisements of women that influence their
own perceptions of beauty and their perception of themselves. Social comparison falls heavily
into play when advertisements are on a global scale. This can be seen through a study done in
China, analyzing the effects of exposure of thin models to consumers and the reactions to them.
The study says: “Chinese women would also be expected to express higher self-esteem when
exposed to thin models, as a thin image is generally regarded as positive, attractive and
desirable…Prior research suggests that when exposed to ideal images, thinner women evaluate
their physical attractiveness more positively, while heavier women report more negative self-
evaluation” (Keh 180). In this test, the participants were only exposed to other Asian models but
in another test they were also exposed to thin, Caucasian models. The study explains the
differences in social comparison by saying:

“…Caucasian models appear more frequently than Asian models in fashion and
beauty magazines. Chinese women should therefore be familiar with Caucasian
models, and could perceive Caucasian models as a standard of comparison even
though they are not of the same race. Familiarity with Caucasian models
withstanding, Chinese women would be aware that Caucasian models have high
dissimilarities with themselves (e.g., skin color, hair color, bodyline, eye color)
which may produce standard-inconsistent information. Therefore, they are
likely to engage in contrast comparison…Thus, controlling for BMI, Chinese
women are expected to express lower self-esteem when exposed to thin
Caucasian models, as a thin image is regarded as a high standard” (Keh 180)

With thin, Caucasian models prevalent in Asian cultures-throughout beauty and fashion
industries- the comparisons seem to be inherent for the consumer. In either instance, the women
looking at both Asian and Caucasian models are comparing themselves in some way-whether it
is exclusively on BMI, attractiveness, lifestyle, etc. The study states, “Chinese women regard
advertisements with thin models more favorably than advertisements with heavy models” (Keh
188) which may be a development brought on by constant exposure, through advertising, of the
“ideal” body. As models are expected to represent the pinnacle of beauty, yet are underweight,
no matter what they are advertising, it is likely that there will be negative impacts on a
percentage of the consumer population.
Other implications spark with the portrayal of women in dated gender roles. Often
perpetuating the image of women being “arm candy” and a “cheerleader,” these portrayals are
both old-fashioned and sexist. Advertisements that display women through a sexist lens are both
damaging to consumers and can impact perception on the brand negatively. After analyzing a
selection of advertisements, researches in one study found that, “…[S]exism is largely prevailing
in these female-audience web pages…Particularly, in male-oriented websites, females are
represented in dependent (or non-traditional) roles…All these findings are likely to influence
female stereotypes internationally because the examined advertisements concern global products
and so are accessed by customers world-wide” (Plakoyiannaki 109). With the majority of
advertisements in the study holding some form of sexism- whether it was the women’s role in the
home or the women falling into a “sex object” stereotype-it is apparent that with the global
spread of these adverts, there is a negative perception of women created. There are numerous
implications to women, once again, impacting self confidence when they are unable to attain the
“…unattainable ideal of beauty. Viewed in this light, happiness and self-enhancement of women
may depend on material standards of living and purchases of products that promise eternal
beauty” (Plakoyiannaki 109), and when these standards are discovered to be unachievable, it
provokes negative self confidence. Plakoyiannaki claims that this stereotype portrayal can “limit
their future aspirations and expectations for equity in compensation…decorative images of
women in advertising have afflicted females with a range of problems including low self-esteem,
eating disorders, and binging, which arise from an attempt of women to adapt to a false self to
become more feminine” (Plakoyiannaki 109). While these problems impact women, there are
many other implications that arise concerning the roles between men and women in
advertisements. To this day, many advertisements depict women in a submissive role, which
often suggest to the behavior that these interactions are typical behavior. These depictions of
women make “women who identify with being defenseless and in need of help…the most
susceptible targets for the advertising industry…[T]he portrayal of women in traditional and
decorative roles treats women ‘as a commodity, as a means to something else, rather than ends to
themselves’…This suggests that the way women are depicted in advertisements will continue to
shape societal values regarding the ‘appropriate’ roles they undertake in society” (Plakoyiannaki
109). Advertisements have a great impact on consumers so with global advertisements, like the
ones analyzed, depicting women in dated stereotypes and abiding to constructed gender roles, it
is clear that these perceptions of women are being perpetuated worldwide. While the advertisers
move forward with their profits, they hold women back with the roles they have cemented them
in in popular media.

Conclusion
The evidence suggests that sex in advertising is here to stay. Despite the impacts it has in
various cultures and on the individual consumer, marketers have found an effective way to get
consumers to purchase their products. The numbers prove that sexual appeals in advertising are
an effective way to target consumers and get goods sold, thus making it one of the most effective
tools in a marketers tool belt. Sex in advertising is unlikely to depart from mainstream media
anytime soon, as advertising becomes even more widespread with the use of the internet. Though
censorship country by country may have an impact on the content that is shared, it is more than
likely that models in bikinis advertising hamburgers are here to stay. As the saying goes, any
publicity is good publicity; a statement that advertising agencies and marketers will hold onto as
they make ads more and more provocative, and expand sexually explicit messages to other areas
of advertising.
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