SEX SELLS
Gender stereotyping, body image, body image enhancement, Morality in advertising.
"Sex is the driving force on the planet. We should embrace it" - Hugh Hefner
Contents Page 1 -
Tobacco Industry
Page 2 -
Soap Industry
Page 3 -
Sexual Revolution
Page 4 -
Modern Day Adverts
Tobacco Industry
T
he idea of sex selling in advertising originated from the Tobacco industry, where in 1871 Pearl Tobacco created a poster to advertise their brand which was simply a naked female no relation to cigarettes themselves. Despite the advertising having no relation to the products they were selling, Pearl Tobacco seen a high increase of sales following this advertising move as this was extremely out there for the time. As people could see how successful this worked for Pearl Tobacco it was not long after where we can see other Tobacco companies were taking on board this strategy. The most recognisable use of sex in the tobacco industry at this point and time would have to be W. Duke & Sons. When Duke & Sons seen how much this strategy increased sales for Pearl Tobacco, they followed to create trading cards, which would be found in every packet of cigarettes purchased, these trading cards had provocative pictures of females on them. These cards became so popular that quickly W. Duke & Sons was launched into leading the Tobacco Industry. Looking back on these images we can see how much the idea of sex sells has changed back then these trading cards were highly provocative, compared
to this use of sex in modern day advertising, society would not recognise these as sexual images which shows how much society has progressed.
1
We all had a “bath…about
25 being under the hose at one time…It certainly seemed like home to rub in the mild Ivory lather from head to foot and then feel the delightful exhilaration following a brisk rub down”
Soap Industry
F
ollowing the kick-off for sex selling in the Tobacco industry in the early 20th century a large amount of soap companies began adapting this method of advertising. One of the most noticeably recognisable use of this was Pears Soap where the used the idea of “dirty” advertising by creating a poster in 1899 which featured a naked witch riding a broom stick. This advert has no relation to the product which the company is trying to sell, instead it is using the sexualisation of women to sell their products to make them more appealing. The idea of sex selling was on the rise with Ivory Soap creating their first sexual advertisement which was very out of place for the brand this advertisement portrayed multiple attractive men bathing together,
H
ere we can see the idea of sex selling also appealing to women and not only men, as before this point it was normally the sexualisation of naked females being used to sell products, this was a turning point showing that men could be sexualised also. Following the war, the premise of sex sells started to blow up, companies got more experimental in trying
to entice their audience, during this time there was also an increase in sexual innuendos so the advertisements became less blatantly sexual and more slogans which can be taken as completely inappropriate or inappropriate.
2
1970s & 80s
S
ex only became a more and more prominent feature in advertising, and from the 70s sex became the leading tool in the fashion industry. The fashion industry really profited from sex sells it was the idea if you sell people clothes on an attractive model people will believe that is how they will look and feel. In the 1970s it was really the beginning of the sexual revolution; sex had a serious impact on American society. This also became the time where the sexualisation of young women became an increasing issue. A
perfect example of this was in the 1980s when Calvin Klein started to find their brand from heavily sexualised advertisements, the first beginning with using the actress Brooke Shields who at the time was only 15 years old, with the tag line “Do you know what comes between me and my Calvin’s? Nothing.” This advert got severe backlash as the actress was only 15 years old which caused many U.S networks to ban the advert from being shown. However, Klein himself stood by his decision and did not see an issue with it whatsoever.
Jeans are sex. “The tighter they are the better they sell”
- Calvin Klein
“Do you know what comes between me and my Calvin’s? Nothing.”
3
Modern Day
O
ne thing which is widely debated in modern day society is whether sex still sells, there has been a drastic change in how we view sex in advertising. Has it lost the impact throughout its years? Or has the world we live in become to use to it where it has lost the affect it once held? With the rise in sex selling over the years our society has changed a lot with it, with the generation z being highly about female empowerment and body positivity, the cliché sexual stereotype is losing its affect as nowadays we no longer want to see these perfect men and women as it had a negative
impact on how we view body types. The traditional idea of sex selling in advertisement is becoming slightly outdated to the younger market, however this in no way means it is not still used. We still see sexual imagery being used especially in the fragrance market, and highly used in high end fashion with progression with the focus on using models with different body types, not just the stereotype of what was once thought of as beautiful.
Sex sells “because
it attracts attention. People are hardwired to notice sexually relevant information, so ads with sexual content get noticed.”
- Tom Reichert
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Designed by Siobahn Bourhill
