The mystery of sex in advertisingImagine you are walking down the street; there is a large billboard with a young woman in lingerie holding fast food food. Do you think it would catch your attention? Would it make you want to eat at that restaurant? What if he was an old man? The phenomenon of sold sex has been a widely studied topic in recent decades. It has been proven that one of the ways sex sells is within advertising. Companies often use advertising to promote their brand and influence consumers to buy their products. They use a variety of different ways and different media sources to influence consumers towards purchasing their good. Media sources include television advertising, billboards, print ads, product placement in films and television programs, as well as many others. Studies show that sex appeal tends to attract attention, which is exactly what companies want. Once they initially catch someone's attention, they are able to get that person to recognize the product, increasing that person's likelihood of purchasing the product. Someone might also directly attribute the positive feelings of that sex appeal to the product and, in turn, have positive feelings about the product, also increasing the likelihood of purchasing that product. Because of this, since 1983, the use of sexual imagery in advertisements has increased from 15% to 27%. However, even though sex has been proven to sell, it has its many drawbacks and underlying problems. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Burger King used sex appeal to advertise its seven-inch cheeseburger sandwich called the "Super Seven Incher." The image is of a young blonde woman facing the sandwich with her mouth open. There is a shadow along the right edge of the image, suggesting that there is someone standing in front of her. The way the sandwich is positioned perfectly in line with the woman's mouth makes it clear that Burger King is hinting at oral sex. The sandwich symbolizes erect male genitalia and the woman appears to be preparing to eat the sandwich while in a position reminiscent of oral sex. His eyes are wide and look almost shocked, which could refer to the size of the bun, otherwise seen as the size of the penis. The quote “will blow your mind” makes the underlying concept easy to understand. A commonly used slang term for oral sex is blowjob, that's why they used the word blow. Also, under the price, the quote reads "fill your desire with something long, juicy and flame grilled with the NEW BK SUPER SEVEN INCHER" with super seven inches which is a direct reference to penis size. The next line mentions "He craves more after tasting the mind-blowing burger that comes with a single beef patty" suggesting that one would receive as much pleasure from eating the bun as engaging in the sexual act. It was said that “One of the main function of an advertisement is to convey an appropriate tone to the target user of the product”. Considering that this advertisement has a very sexual tone and refers to a woman performing a sexual act on a penis, the target audience is the male population. This ad was recognized as highly controversial and considered degrading to women. The model in the photo actually launched a boycott against Burger King because she did not consent to the use of her image by the. company Burger King purchased the stock photo from a third party and hasused without the model's knowledge, making the advertisement even more controversial. The model said in a YouTube video “I believe in sexual expression in art and media; it is beautiful and necessary for a healthy society but it MUST BE CONSENSUAL otherwise it is RAPE”. Many people responded, agreeing with her. They agreed that since sex is a natural and normal human process it is healthy to display it to some extent within society, but this overt reference proved to be extremely degrading to women and promoted the idea that women are sexual beings existing for the sole purpose of serving men. The next advertisement was made by Evan Williams, a company that produces and sells Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey. The ad features two photos of a woman; one of a young woman from the 1950s and one of a young woman from the present day. Both women are most likely in their early twenties. The ad's caption reads, "The longer you wait, the better." This is yet another sexual reference in an advertisement. The quote refers to both bourbon and young women. The ad says that not only does bourbon improve with age, but women's sex appeal has also improved in recent decades. Beauty standards have changed tremendously over the years. In the early days of cinema, the ideal woman was portrayed as very innocent, with large eyes, small lips and curly hair. Society believed that women should always be ladylike and behave respectfully. As time passed, women increasingly came out of their shell and became more independent and less dominated by men. Tight curls transformed into big, voluptuous hair, and innocence transformed into sophistication. Over the course of the 20th century, beauty standards once again morphed into more than natural American beauty. She wore little makeup and the ideal woman behaved with grace. It wasn't until the late 1990s and early 2000s that makeup and plastic surgery began to emerge into what they have become today. Flawless makeup routines, perfect hair, and a perfectly sculpted body have become a must to make it in today's society. Referring to the advertisement, the girl on the right is portrayed in modest clothing in a dull and colorless painting. She has that old-time sophisticated look and is attractive but not overly sexual. Of course, the viewer is first drawn to the image on the left simply because as humans we read from left to right, but after just a quick glance, the viewer is then drawn to the bright image on the right. The woman on the right is highly sexualized and wears suggestive clothing that covers little of her ideal figure. She stands in a seemingly seductive pose and is clearly seen to be in a bedroom with a bed directly behind her. The brand also placed the quote to naturally draw the viewer to the right side. “More aspects” is strategically placed in the top left corner and the quote is cut right in the middle of the sentence. “…the more the better” is then placed in the bottom right corner so that the viewer reads the quote and has already scanned both images. Then attention is drawn to the bottom of the ad with the Evan Williams logo and a bottle of whiskey was placed. One quote reads “Aged longer to taste better” which, again, references both bourbon and women. Thanks to the comparison just made between the women, the viewer is now more likely to believe the claim that aged spirits are better. The advertisement creates the ethos that Evan Williams is an expert producer of tasting whiskey.