By : Will Foster
We
all see it. We are all enticed by it, but sometimes I wonder if in fact, sex in
advertising and media really does sell. Every time that I have ever heard “sex
sells,” I have never head validation for this “theory.” Don’t get me wrong, I
think that sex 100% sells. I just don’t think that it is the only means for
making money. I think that sometimes we are not even capable of really wrapping
our heads around this idea, because sex is everywhere in our media. Writer Tom Reichert’s studies on sex in
advertising stated that while sex does sell, if it is not relevant to the
product that is being sold, it can actually deflect consumers from buying the
product.[i] To
me, that makes perfect sense. Obviously if a Victoria’s Secret commercial comes
on, girls will be influenced to buy their lingerie, because that is relevant.
They see men attracted to those models, so they think if they wear the same
thing, men will be attracted to them. However, when Hardees uses an
advertisement like the one to the right, I think it is questionable if that
product will gain substantially. It will obviously not be hurt by the image. I
just don’t think that the success of that sandwich is decided by weather a
seductive women, or an elderly man holds that sandwich. Also, most people are
not under the impression (at least I hope not) that eating burgers makes you
sexy.
For
another look at this topic, I’d like to focus on album sales of two very famous
ladies in today’s music industry. Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus are two of the
biggest stars in the world, yet they present and “sell” themselves in polar
opposite ways. Swift presents a wholesome image. She rarely wears anything less
than modest shorts, and turtle necks. Miley on the other hand, is infamous for “twerking,”
and wearing barely any clothes in her performances. While I am not knocking
either, (I am a fan of both) Taylor’s latest album “Red” sold 1.2 million
copies in its first week of release according to Billboard Magazine (official sales
trackers of the music industry).[ii]
Meanwhile, Miley’s latest “Bangerz” only sold 270,000 copies.[iii]
Neither were a bad start, but both records were the fourth album by each. That
makes it a pretty even playing field. I think that these figures clearly show
that even though we are fascinated by sex, it does not necessarily mean that we
are going to buy everything we see because of this content.
It
seems that the answer to the question “Does sex sell?” is different for every
situation. You can’t simply dismiss the assumption in relation to such things
as apparel, and luxury things. However, I think that after digging into this
topic, I have found that you cannot simply but an attractive person in a
campaign and assume it will sell. It is an interesting find for me, as I
thought that the answer would simply be “yes, sex does sell.” It really
intrigued me to learn that it is not a definite answer.
[i]
Riechert, Tom, ed. Wiley
International Encyclopedia of Marketing. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2010.
s.v. "Sex in Advertisng." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com (accessed
January 29, 2014).
[ii]
Caulfield , Keith. "Taylor
Swift's 'Red' Sells 1.21 Million -- Biggest Sales Week for an Album Since
2002." Billboard, October 30, 2012.
http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/1083213/taylor-swifts-red-sells-121-million-biggest-sales-week-for-an-album-since
(accessed January 29, 2014).
[iii]
Caulfield, Keith. "Miley Cyrus'
'Bangerz' Debuts At No. 1 On Billboard 200." Billboard Magazine,
October 16, 2013.
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5755773/miley-cyrus-bangerz-debuts-at-no-1-on-billboard-200
(accessed January 29, 2014).
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