FIFTEEN Appeals L Needfor Sex In Advertising

Classification of content will be sufficient to reverseits hideouseffects.What is currentlyunder discussionin our nationalhysteriaaboutfailing academic performance misses the point. Schools teach exactly what they are intended to teach and they do it well: how to be a good Egyptian and remain in your place in the pyramid. F W QUESTIONS OREVALUATING RIT'ING l. ldentily the thesisstatement. Doesit tell thereaders whatthey will encounterin the essay? 2. Identify the supporting lllustrations. Does the writer .show the readers specificexamples illustrate pointf to his 3. Identify the placeswhere the writer is explaining.Doesthe writer clearly explain how the illustrationsprovided supporthis/her point (and/ormessage)? 4. Identify how the writer structures
Let's start with sex, becausethis is the appeal which seems to pop up first whenever the topic of advertising is raised. Whole books have been wriften about this one alone, to find a large audienceof mildly titillated readers.Lately, due to campaignsto sell blue jeans, concern with sex in ads has redoubledThe fascinating thing is not how much sex there is in advertising, but how little. Contrary to impressions,unambiguoussex is rare in these messages. Some of this surprising observationmay be a matter of definition: the Jordache ads with the lithe, blouse less female astride a similarly clad male is clearly an appeal to the audience'ssexual drives, but the sarnecannot be said about Brooke Shields in the Calvin Klein commercials. Directed at young women and their credircard carrying mothers, the image of Miss Shields instead invokes the need to be looked at. Buy Calvins and you'll be the center of much attention, just as Brooke is, the ads imply; they do not primarily inveigle their target audience's need for sexual intercourse. In the content analysis reported in Mass Advertising as Social Forecastonly two percentof ads were found to panderto this motive. Even Playboy ads shy away from sexual appeals: a recent
4. Needfitr guidance.The oppositeof the needto nurture is the need to be nurtured: to be protectetl shielded guided. We may be loath to admit it, but the child lingers on inside every adult-,and a good thing it does,or we would not be instructable our advancins in years.Who wants a nation of nothing but flinty personalities? Parent-likefigures can successfullycall up this need Robert Young recommends Sanka coffee, and since we have experienced him for twenty-five years as television father and doctor, we take his word fbr it- Florence Hendersonas the expert mom knows a lot about the advantages Wessonoil. of The parent-ness the spokesperson of need not be so salient; sometimes pure authoritativenessis better. when orson welles scowls and intones,"Paul Masson will sell no wine before its time," we may not know exactly what he means,but we still take direction from him- There is little maternal about Brendavaccaro when she speaksup for Tampax,but there is a certainty to her that many accept. A celebrity is not a necessityin making a pitch to the need for guidance,since a fantasy figure can servejust as well. people accede to the Green Giant, or Betty Crocker, or Mr. Goodwrench-Some advertisers get by with no figure at all: "When E.E Hutton talks, can peoplelisten." Often it is tradition or custom that advertisers point to and consumers take guidancefrom. Bits and