Sex Sells
Why did you
buy that article of clothing from the mall or why did you buy the make up and
deodorant? Most of us can live without
all of these goods that we buy everyday, so why do we spend our money on them? The answer the majority of the time is
because we want to look and smell attractive so we can catch the eye of
someone. It has been prevalent through
the semester and life that people want to be like these “picture perfect”
people they see in the media, because that is what people want in a significant
other. Why else would women wear corsets
and put on make up while men spend money on cars and clothes. While reading the chapter in Blaszczyk’s book
I was surprised to see the first ad to use sex to sell their product was for
soap. In chapter four of American Consumer Society, Blaszczyk
writes, “Helen Resor cut her teeth on the Woodbury’s Facial Soap advertising
and the memorable tag line, ‘A Skin You Love to Touch.’ The Woodbury campaign
was the first ‘sex appeal’ series in American advertising,” (Blaszczyk,
121). With this ad the soap company used
a couple holding and touching each other to push their slogan. What they are selling is just soap they had
been selling for years, but it suddenly became the mindset they were selling
that if you used their soap you will be desirable. Later Blaszczyk writes “, as Thompson and other
agencies fed on women’s unspoken longings, converting mundane convenience
products like soap, hand lotion, and perfume into tools for
self-transformation” (Blaszczyk, 123). These
advertisements are not selling us their product anymore, but more of what their
product supposedly will make us become.
In this more contemporary world that we live in now it was much more
prevalent. It is hard to drive down any
street without seeing a person half naked and completely photoshopped. These ads are trying to penetrate our minds saying
the person in the advertisement could be us if we purchase their product. The
slideshow and video show examples on how companies are distorting our mind on
how these products will benefit us.
Blaszczyk, Regina Lee.
American Consumer Society, 1865-2005: From Hearth to HDTV. Wheeling, IL: Harlan
Davidson, 2009. Print.
I find it fascinating that the first provocative ad was for soap! "Sex sells" is such a prevalent part of our culture now that I think often times we ignore it. Prior to reading this article I was flipping through my ESPN magazine and one of the very first pages is a man and woman, half naked, promoting cologne/perfume. Why do they have to be naked if they are promoting perfume? Just goes to show you that we feed off of sexuality. We all wear something that improves our smell. I guess I just did not really think about why I wear it and how important it is in our consumerist culture.
ReplyDeleteIt's this pervasive truism of American advertising that has led me to just avoid ads altogether. Turning a page or watching a program only to have a scantily clad woman or man pop up is not only distracting, but irritating. Knowing that the company that produced the ad is trying to appeal to my base desires makes it far less likely to purchase whatever the thing is trying to sell simply because I disagree with how they went about their ad. Now if they were using something cute or funny to advertise... that'd be a much different story.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for DVR. I don't watch much television but when I do it's something I have recorded. I skip through the ads because pretty much everything is either ridiculous or annoying. The pictures of these women eating McDonald's hamburgers on the beach are hilarious. Who goes to the beach lays in the sand and eats and hamburger?
ReplyDeleteAs for what we buy in terms of cologne and things of that nature I'm guilty of buying nicer colognes or something like deodorant that I've grown accustom to. The actual ads for them make no sense. Half naked people don't wear cologne, as far as I know.
I totally agree with you in regards to how popular culture shapes the image of what we percieve as 'picture perfect.' It's blatantly obvious when looking back on our class discussions about corsets and how they changed over time, in advertisements first, and how those advertisements affected consumer decisions. I remember hearing about one of those popular magazines getting in some trouble not too long ago because they were photoshopping the models so much. Actions like this just showcase how the 'picture perfect' image is constantly evolving; and has evolved to the point to where it's nearly unachieveable.
ReplyDeleteI was just reading a post on facebook today saying, "Did anyone else notice that the let's just call her "healthy" looking girl in the Wendy's commercials has been replaced by a skinny little redhead pushing the very same burgers?" It is so true! And as if that skinny little red head has ever eaten Wendy's a day in her life! But people, specifically young women, will see that and think it is the way they should look, even if they eat Wendy's. Then when she wakes up chubby and wonders why, will the depression fall on Wendy's? No, it will fall on that young girl who may, as dramatic as it sounds, end up with an eating disorder trying to lose weight. Aren't we just setting them up to fail?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, especially when you said that they were no longer selling the product, but they were selling the mindset. These advertisements are not meant to depict actual life and to some extent, the consumers know that. However, most see how that specific person is acting after drinking that beer or you see if you join the Army you automatically have job waiting for you after your duty is up. They are not selling products anymore; they are selling a feeling, emotions and then they stamp their brand on top of it so you remember who made you feel that way. So, even if we see that ad and think nothing of it, in the back of our minds when we go out consuming, we’ll think of that product unconsciously. However, the media has made it hard to live up to the standards they have set, with nearly perfect mean and women in excellent shape; however most are photo shopped so the bar is crooked. These advertisements have created a ridiculous standard that most people feel they have to live up to or they are not “in” or they are ugly. It is ridiculous how society’s standards can cause high or low self-esteem. If society changes its ideals and standards, marketing and advertising would have to change alongside it and make it more consumer-friendly. It was interesting to see that the first “selling sex” ad was for soap. Sex will continue to sell and sex will expand into all products. It’s crazy how advertisements can affect our moods and emotions and can get us thinking of something with a simple 30-second clip of a gnome promoting online purchasing of airline tickets. It seems that most advertisements use random topics to convey their message, like Sasquatch with Jack Link’s, which leads me to believe it is a reflection on us. We see a Sasquatch throw a man after making him wet the bed; therefore we want that brand of beef jerky. It just seems to make no sense when I see the ad, but when I go to purchase, I always choose items that I have seen and know because I judge authenticity off quality of commercial. Laughable, yes, but it makes sense. Some shady companies have horrible commercials and I would not trust them with my credit card information. So, I do fall prey to advertising, but knowingly mind you!
ReplyDelete