Sexuality In Advertising

Advertising has become more than a means of selling products to customers. It creates a dream of which people aspire to the promise of something better. It comes in various forms and has been part of the culture for many decades (Cavendish, 2010). Throughout the centuries, there has been an increase in the use of sexuality in Advertising. It is known that sex, which appears in many Advertisements, is presented in various elements but is mainly presented in a visual manner, for example, the use of attractive models (Gould, 1994). The aim of this literature review is to examine the level of influence the use of sex has in advertisements. Although the literature covers a wide variety of such theories and explanations, this review will focus on

Similar outcomes by Alexander and Judd (1978) show how nudity has a negative effect in advertising a product. They demonstrated that the use of sexual illustrations might work in a complex manner. They organised an experiment using TV ads and programs that examined the effect of controversial sexual content on the effectiveness on sending controversial messages. This experiment measured the interest in the commercial, effect towards the product and the intention of the actual buying of product. The results indicated that both genders, male and female, found that a sexually controversial ad was more interesting than the non-sexual ad. However, the controversial content failed to improve the communication effectiveness of the advertising. In agreement with this, authors Courtney and Whipple (1983) made an extensive review of studies that also examined the effects of sexual imagery in advertisements and they found out that though attractive models lead to more attention. The use of controversial messages led to lower levels of brand recall and appeal evaluations as well as poorer product and manufacturer perceptions, and unless the product is sexually related the use of sexual appeals must be questioned. This is still apparent now as a study conducted by the University

Hyland (2015) states that proponents of sex appeal in advertising argue that society is capable of monitoring the marketing industry to ensure it complies with social norms. Because society does not always protest sex appeal in advertising, Hyland maintains that as long as society views a certain amount of sex appeal as acceptable, then the use of sex appeal in advertising is an appropriate form of marketing. On the other hand, sex appeal in marketing has been widely criticised for contributing to sexism and other social concerns. Scala (2013) explains that the majority of female respondents and half of male respondents believe that sexually explicit advertisements may contribute to sexual harassment. Gavett (2013) has accused sexually explicit marketing of contributing to distorted body images among consumers. Obsessions over the body seem to have increased in recent decades, representing a social concern that has plagued the younger generation in particular (Hultin and Lundh,