Sex and ... no just sex!


        It is amazing how good and effective advertisers uses sex to sell us something that we don't need whether it be underwear, lingerie, fragrance, and clothing. An article http://www.dailylife.com.au/dl-beauty/the-highly-sexual-art-of-selling-perfume-20120518-1yvd4.html by Daily Life writes about females being portrayed in a sexual way almost submissive in advertisements that tries its very best to sell to the public a fragrance they don't need. What can be question is that if advertisers are already making fragrance ads look like soft-core porn, what would be the future of advertisements?

        According to Gill (2009), this sexualization culture is turning into a 'pornified' culture whereby women and men are portrayed in a sexual way in advertisements. A Calvin Klein ad of its new perfume uses Eva Mendes as its spokesperson where Mendes is seen naked on the bed and half of her breast is shown to the camera. That would be a very good example of how advertisements are turning into pornographic business. The phrase 'Sex sells' is taken to a literal meaning by advertisers. This point of view is supported by Lazar (2009) when she writes that traditional media portrays women in a narrow, stereotypical passive and as a sexual object. Products as diverse as transmissions, after-shave lotion, liquor and hair dryers, to name a few,are being promoted by female models in various states of undress. (Reidenbach & McCleary, 1983) It is uncertain when did the sexualization of women began but it is widely used worldwide. Most advertisements, if observed, the camera becomes the male gaze
whereby the camera is position in a way how a male would see a female. Moreover, the reason why this has continued because is it actually effective on both sexes. Males would buy that fragrance because they like the model in the ad or a present to the girlfriend or wife. Females, on the other hand, has the desire to be the models in those ads as that is the most effective way to attract a male counterpart.

        To conclude, it is important to note the power of sexualization that is highly effective but it is good to understand the fine line between a classy advertisement or pornographic advertisement.

References


Gill, R 2009, 'Beyond the ‘Sexualization of culture’ thesis: an intersectional analysis of ‘sixpacks’,‘midriffs’ and ‘hot lesbians’ in advertising', Sexualities, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 137 - 160, viewed 3 June 2012, <http://sex.sagepub.com.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/content/12/2/137.full.pdf+html>

Lazar, M.M 2009, 'Entitled to consume: postfeminist femininity and a culture of post-critique', Discourse & Communication, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 371 - 400, viewed 3 June 2012,<http://dcm.sagepub.com.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/content/3/4/371.full.pdf+html>

Reidenbach, R.E, McCleary, K.W 1983, 'Advertising and male nudity: an experimental investigation', Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 444 - 454, viewed 3 June 2012, <http://jam.sagepub.com.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/content/11/4/444.full.pdf+html>