Today we had a really great discussion about visual rhetoric, and one topic that generated a lot of conversation was sexuality in advertising. "Sex sells" is a truism that we hear from time to time, but we went a little deeper than that today. We discussed what ads that appeal to human sexuality say about us. Do they reveal how far we've come, to a point where we can openly celebrate the human body and our sexual nature, or are they gratuitous appeals to base impulses that exploit and objectify the body? Do they promote unrealistic ideals to consumers, especially young consumers? Or do such images depict common fantasies and impulses that we no longer, in 2008, have to keep hidden? And, from a rhetorical point of view, do these ads work for you? Does this image at all persuade you to buy these jeans? I would love for any of you to sound off on this.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Are You Sold on Sex?
Today we had a really great discussion about visual rhetoric, and one topic that generated a lot of conversation was sexuality in advertising. "Sex sells" is a truism that we hear from time to time, but we went a little deeper than that today. We discussed what ads that appeal to human sexuality say about us. Do they reveal how far we've come, to a point where we can openly celebrate the human body and our sexual nature, or are they gratuitous appeals to base impulses that exploit and objectify the body? Do they promote unrealistic ideals to consumers, especially young consumers? Or do such images depict common fantasies and impulses that we no longer, in 2008, have to keep hidden? And, from a rhetorical point of view, do these ads work for you? Does this image at all persuade you to buy these jeans? I would love for any of you to sound off on this.
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9 comments:
Personally i am not(at least i dont think i am) sold on sex. However, i know people that are, and for these people, the company found the right way to advertise to them. Thats all its about it in the end, because any smart company will have more than 1 marketing strategy, so as long as 1 of there many types of ads appeal to you, they are happy and have done their job. Just because someone isnt influenced by one type of ad, doesnt mean that the next person wont be. So although i am not sold on sex, i believe that a fair amount of people(probably mostly guys), can be.
This kind of advertisement works for me... I don't see anything wrong with it either. The other ad that was shown with the woman in her bra and underwear with the controller in her belly was more revealing than this one so I'm not sure why people went off on this one and not the other. The girl in this picture has all her clothes on... jeans and a tank. It's just a sexy pose which equals that the jeans are sexy as well. The back round is rugged and edgy... good things for jeans to be. Bravo, Calvin Klein. Good advertisement work.
i think it works, honestly. i don't see anything wrong with it. skin is very big today, look at the actresses lindsay lohan, eva mendez, jessica alba, and the lead actresses in all the james bond movies except halle barry. their acting ability is less than acceptable, but their "beauty" is what get's them their fame, and makes the movies ok. same thing with advertisement. I buy axe products just because i love their commercials. i think the products suck, but i want to support a company that thinks like a guy, and has the stones to make male fantivision.
Advertisements today do nothing for me. I've seen this ad before and I didn't even think twice about going to buy the jeans. The only thought that went through my mind was that this was a sexy picture that is taking a risk. Good for them for taking that chance. Sex sells to some people, but not to me. And I don't have a problem with it.
hey remember that steve irwin comic we saw in class? and the kid wanted to play some violent video game? i think violence could also be a selling point, like has anyone seen the movie airheads? the whole reason the lone rangers ended up successful is because they held up the radio station, not because their music was good. and a lot of times that's how music sells, like when g unit betrayed the aftermath staff, and became another fad of the def jam label. they were popular for a while, but when people discovered that their music sucked, they started to slowly disappear, until only the game is left. or in video games, you don't show the moments of peace, and how much you can customize characters, or cars, you show how much they can destroy. EA games recently released a game call Bad Company, the thing that made this game special above all other games, (besides worms, and red faction) was the fact that you could completely destroy any house or building that you wanted, now in a perfect world, no one would want to do blow up a house, or anything of that nature, but to be honest that was the whole reason why i bought the game.
It is my opinion that when advertisers use sex to sell things wither its jeans or a video game, they exploit the carnal side of man. Men get these images of what the girl should look like or how she should act and girls start to think that the only way that a guy will like her is if she looks that certain way. I mean don't get me wrong, I would love to be with almost any Victoria Secret Model, but all of their ads are photoshoped and air brushed anyway . So unless you go through a lot of expensive cosmetic surgery, most girls aren't going to look like that. And I believe that's a good thing. Girls should be who they are and not care so much about their outside appearance.
dear troy,
i concur with the fact that victoria secret ads have hot women in them, however i don't think that they are beautiful as a selling point, i think their name brand stuff does that already, i think it could be just to make the ad a little more pleasing to the eyes, because you would not advertise a grandma in victoria's secret, you would also not advertise "muffin tops" because that would only cause drops in stock. Also when i was working on National Lampoon's Awesomest Maximus one of the torture scene's was a dude getting "rubbed up on" by two lovely ladies, who had an obvious addiction to food, not to be rude to them because they were really nice and didn't maul the craft service trucks like the entire transpo department or the grips. all i'm saying really is that slenderness and youthfulness sells better with undies, although i'm almost sure the male underwear models are gay, which could also be a counter selling point. and what are you doing looking through victoria's secret catalogues to find this stuff out? jk jk
Sex appeal in advertising is a huge success. Not that i personally agree with it but i think it was well thought out. Sex is a strong psychological appeal and cannot necessarily be controlled in certain genders. Im not saying that sex will sell to everyone and anyone but i do think it has its benefits for alot of advertisers.
In my own opinion i think its way past ridiculous at how much suggestive things are displayed in our world today. Anyone that has ever owned a pair of lucky jeans would know exactly what im talking about. I have worn lucky jeans since i was about 12. Right on the inside seam of the zipper, it says the words, "lucky you". Yeah its funny now but i know that if either of my parents would have known they were buying there elementary school daughter a pair of jeans that said that on the crouch hem, then they wouldn't have bought them for me, let alone let me wear them. That is just one of many examples of sexual things being implimented through advertising or products. I don't have a problem with it, but it just makes me more concerned about what the next step is. Like suggested in class, ads are shown with people hardly wearing any clothing. Whats the next step, nude advertising? I guess we will have to find out!
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