Forms of Advertising

These days everywhere we look there is some form of advertising, with a company trying to persuade us to purchase their product. These ads are found on billboards, TV ads, magazines, bus stops, pop-ups and even shopping bags with Company logo’s, just to name a few. Out of the ads we see every day about twenty percent of them contain some sort of sexual appeal. The problem is not that advertising is everywhere, rather it is the provocative ads that company’s use to sell their brand. The inappropriate ads are placed not just in places where the company’s target market will be, but also where people, mainly young consumers, cannot avoid them. The children seeing these ads can learn from them things, that can confuses there attitude, about the opposite sex as they mature. It is the company’s choice to use this type of advertising, but it should be my choice to view it or not.

What is considered sex or sex appeal in advertising is not always clear. Sex appeal in advertising is any ad containing sexually suggestive behavior, nudity and interaction. Tom Reichert’s “Annual review of sex research” explains the two types of appeal advertiser use in their ads. “Low association” where an attractive person is modeling clothes, is the most common form. Second is “High association” which usually contains nudity and explicit gesturing. These types are used to boost sales with false hopes of a good time or beautiful friends. One problem with these ads is that they are being used on products like bread and soda, which have nothing to do with sex. The company’s justification for using these types of ads is that a boost in sales is good for the economy and controversy creates brand awareness. Taking a walk down roads such as Sunset Blvd in Hollywood can lead to a fun day of shopping and hanging out with friends and family. It can also lead to a day of viewing one explicit ad after another. Putting these types of ads on billboards and in store fronts gives the consumer no option but to look at the ad, because it is too big to avoid. Children in these areas are subject to viewing these explicit ads without consent from the parent, exposing them to sexual things not meant for them. These ads show explicit images and most convoy a certain attitude that may affect how the child views themselves and others while growing up. Joe’s Jeans for example has a billboard campaign that shows bare bottoms of women to try and persuade females into thinking they will look that good in those jeans. Some forms of copy that is used in ads can also be just as sexual and inappropriate for consumers. In Richard F. Taflinger article ‘You and Me, Babe: Sex and Advertising” he discusses something as innocent as Clairol’s "Does she or doesn't she " tag line for their hair dyes. The ad is supposed to be questioning whether or not she colors her hair. If you take out everything but the copy for the ad, all you are left with is “Does she or doesn't she “and "Only her hairdresser knows for sure". This is obviously leading to the thought that women tell their hair dressers about things such as their sex life. The ad uses sex to convince women if they use the product they will have a sex life to tell about. Advertising can be done without the inappropriate and suggestive images and copy that is uses so much today. Consumers should have a choice if they want to view this type of material and where they view. Companies have a choice as to what type of ad they make and where they put, it’s sad the consumer has no choice on this