Essay On Sex In Advertising

You might have heard this phrase yourself once. Sex sells. It has been debated consistently and people are left wondering why oversexualized and often sexist ads still exist and are being produced. In the world of advertising, the idea of presenting sex in advertisements to sell more is one of the many clichés about the successes of advertising but one that, sadly, seems to be true. Tom Reichert, professor in advertising spent over 10 years of his life researching sexual imaging and the portrayal of this in advertising. His conclusion? Using sex in advertising often gains increased consumer interest and aided in the help of selling products. As the amount of sexual content featured increases, the memory you have of that specific brand increases so the whole

Yes, they sell, but at what cost?

Because the women are showed being submissive and often dressed provocatively, this image is being idealized. The effects can be harmful, resulting into young girls having a negative self-image. Women don’t dare to take the leading role, since this is not the norm in our ‘western’ world. Is this really how we want advertisements to make us feel? When you think of the western world, objectification and insensibility should not be the first thing that comes to your mind but by promoting the sexist advertisements, this concept is not uncommon. Most of the models in ads are shown as sexy and leave little for imagination, and this can result into women thinking they need to be alluring in order to get attention. It is not unusual to see naked body parts often even without a face, which wants to show a women’s body is more important than their ideas, knowledge and talents. Women are already not well-represented, and partly due to these ads, they have to fight extra hard against the idea that they do have brains behind their bodies.

Ads should empower women, so let’s hope that is what the future brings