Sex, sex, sex. It is unavoidable in today’s advertising. Why is this you might ask yourself? Well the answer is simple. Sex sells. Fifty years ago, you could turn on the television and watch a show that had very little sexual content on the surface. In fact a T.V. show married couple, such as the Howells on Gilligan’s island, could not be in the same bed at the same time unless one of them had a visible foot touching the ground. Why the sudden change? Because sex sells, especially in advertising even if the add has nothing to do with the product.
In my first advertisement I chose this add by Patrick Cox. Look at the ad and what is the initial thought? What type of product is this ad selling? One might think its selling genes, or maybe underwear. Yet this advertisement is for shoes. The shoe that the woman is wearing is the product that is being sold. But what is this advertisement really selling? The answer: sex. The funny thing is the shoes are meant for women. There is a naked woman with a naked man, selling shoes. The reason for this is to subconsciously grab out attention and tell women that if they where these shoes they could be but in this situation. This is not to say this exact situation but that the person wearing these shoes will be sexy and look sexy to the opposite sex. It is also showing that the shoes must be comfortable enough to participate in the activities the girl in the ad is shown doing.
I have chosen several supporting ads instead of just one to illustrate the fact that it’s the image that matters, and not necessarily the product. These first two ads are also for shoes, Sketchers to be presences, and feature pop singer Christina Aguilera. The first has Christina sitting down wearing a sporty outfit and fishnets. This is a lower degree of sexuality than the Cox ad but it is also the same methods, just geared to a different age group. Instead of the shoes being sold to adult women, these are meant to be sold to preteen girls, who might wish to be “sexy” like Christina. The second ad is another Sketchers ad and had Christina as a nurse. This is more sexual than the first ad and might be geared to an early teen buyer. This ad has more focus on Christina’s breasts and less on her legs, which was the main sexual focus of the last one. She is wearing a nurse outfit, which is revealing and is not even close to what a nurse really wears. This is simply to sell the sex appeal of the shoes.
The last ad I chose because there is much controversy over this as. I also have included the video of this ad, which was banned from T.V. This is an ad for Calvin Klein’s Secret Obsession, which is perfume. In the original banned television ad we see Eva Mendes rolling around on a bed naked, and in the magazine ad we see a close up of her also naked. This ad is aimed to make one think that you can look as beautiful as Eva by purchasing this product, just as the Cox shoes where in the first ad.
It seems today that in order to sell anything one must use sex. Not only that but it also seems as though one must use women’s sex appeal because as seen in all of the ads the main focus is on attractive women. The ads all have the same formula, sexy girl cloths optional, ad in product name, equals ad. This formula seems to work because the sexuality in ads increase as time goes on, as seen in Eva’s television ad. It seems sad that in our world today you need to but sex in everything. Now don’t get me wrong, I do indulge in the viewing of such spectacles as much a the next person, but I still find it pathetic that in order to sell a product a company has to use sex, and can’t just relay on the products over all quality.
Here is the T.V. ad
Uncensored Eva Mendes Calvin Klein Commercial - The funniest movie is here. Find it
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