Use of Sexuality in Advertisement

Use of Sexuality in Advertisement

How would you explain the negative externality (social costs) of using sexually suggestive material in advertising?

 Theory

 A common phrase used in marketing today is “sex sells.” Indeed, it would appear that, in most cases, the use of half-naked women or barely dressed men in promoting products from soft drinks to luxury automobiles may increase the attention given to a brand or product and generate revenue. Still, it also causes damage in many ways. In advertising, there is an effect on the consumer’s perception ability, shaping and embedding a long-lasting impression in the consumer’s mind (Pratap, 2017).

Children seem to be the most vulnerable of our population to the adverse effects of sexually suggestive ads; it is for this reason that so much needs to be done about focusing on the ethical aspects of advertising and not just generating profit. Sexually suggestive ads can be viewed as highly offensive and leave demographics like children and teenagers open to subjection.

Research

Sex in advertising is “sexually provocative or erotic imagery, sounds, or subliminal messages specifically designed to arouse consumer interest in a particular product, service, or brand” (Suggett, 2019). Advertising is indeed one of the most integral parts of a business’s operational function. Each year billions of dollars are invested in promoting particular products, and advertising is the tool companies use to promote their brand globally (Mohammad, 2012). Companies use sex appeal and nudity in advertising to generate views and sales; however, it is not without cost. There are negative externalities that are related to sexually suggestive ads, such as them being very offensive and children being very vulnerable, these ads can be considered soft porn, and when children are surfing online, these types of ads or pop-ups leave a child a risk of unsolicited exposure (Pratap, 2017). When viewers are subject to constant exposure to sexually explicit advertising, it causes adverse effects as young boys are taught that they can objectify girls and see them as just sexual objects; girls are given a false example and sense of what natural beauty is. Children and teens, in particular, can be affected by their sexual beliefs and attitudes toward sex; it contributes to a rise in sexual behavior, early sexual behavior, unsafe sexual practices and activity, teen pregnancy, and STDs (Pratap, 2017). Additionally, teenage girls have to deal with poor body image issues that may develop into eating disorders related to media and advertising messages (Palmer, 2014).

The adultification of children is where “sexualizing messages are combined with the commercialization of childhood to constrict the childhood years” (Reist, 2012). Youth are unintentionally taking and absorbing sexually distorted messages about things such as their bodies, sexuality, and gender roles because the governing boards do not consider the objectification of women to be contrary to prohibitions on discrimination and vilification (Reist, 2012).

Analysis

The bottom line is that businesses want to not only make money but also large profits. It has been proven that due to the human nature of people, sexually suggestive advertising does increase the attention drawn to products and services being advertised; however, this advertising has adverse effects. Often businesses cross the fine line when they add sexuality to their advertising campaigns and insert sexual images into ads where the product or service does not warrant using sexuality. Even though consumers may initially be attracted to the product because of the ads, consumers are human and intelligent enough to realize when they are being manipulated by such ads (Suggett, 2019). In addition to the issues above instilled in children, sexually suggestive advertising cheapens the value of sex. Overall, unethical advertising never ends in a winning position for advertisers as there is a loss of trust between the business and customers.

Suppose an advertisement includes material considered a bit over the top (by most parents of young children), and it has sexual innuendoes, scantly clothed men/women, etc. Marketing research and many companies are convinced this content could help sell more products. What responsibility does the advertiser have for any effect on indirect targets, such as children?

Theory

Typically, the advertising industry operates under strict guidelines and federal regulations and is monitored closely by the Federal Trade Commission. However, no guidelines exist for sexually suggestive advertising (Ingram, 2019). Companies have more or less been self-regulating in this regard. Advertisers must be cautious about being ethical in their advertising, especially when marketing to children, selling potentially harmful products, or using “psychological tactics to stimulate demand” (Ingram, 2019). Honest advertising should be required for all businesses to ensure social responsibility for their actions and their impact on society (Anastasia, 2015). Being socially responsible may not translate into increased profit dollars, but it establishes brand integrity. Being socially responsible is when the “organization is concerned about people, society, and the environment with whom and where it conducts business” (Anastasia, 2015). Social responsibility entails taking moral actions that leave a positive impact.

Research

Unfortunately, many marketing companies find it almost impossible not to incorporate sexual innuendo into marketing campaigns. Research has shown that one of the main factors that lead to the over usage of sexual material in advertising is competition. The increased competition in the marketplace has led to companies and advertisers using sexually suggestive images and messages to capture consumers’ attention, even if it is not appropriate (Pratap, 2017). These advertising practices directly and profoundly impact people’s lifestyles, tastes, and personal and social values. In most cases, the goal of advertising campaigns is sales and profits increase for the company, and their focus is typically not on the importance of the product or it’s features and benefits. Instead, it is attempting to allure customers by using sex appeal.

Advertisers have options available to them other than the range of its-than ethical yet legal tactics, methods, and tools that are at their disposal, including the sexually splurged “subliminal advertising, emotional appeals, taking advantage of less educated individuals and other tactics that ethical advertisers consistently refrain from using” (Ingram, 2019). Research has been performed, and there is significant evidence that premature sexualization is more than likely to harm a child’s health and development, especially regarding body image and sexual health. Health experts have documented the adverse physical and mental health outcomes for numerous years, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, eating disorders, body image dissatisfaction, and poor academic performance (Reist, 2012).

Analysis

When companies and industries spend billions of dollars per year on marketing and advertising, it is difficult to rely on them to utilize good judgment in self-regulation when it comes to including sexuality in their marketing efforts. This is compounded even heavier when the effects of sexually suggestive advertising have a track record of increasing brand awareness and, at least for a limited time, increasing the sales and profits of the product or service. The organization should govern social responsibility due to morality. However, that is not the case. Therefore, official safeguards need to be in place to be watchdogs and ensure that this type of advertising is not being misused.

When it comes to the choices of adults being influenced by sexually suggestive advertising, it affects primarily behavior and cognitive thinking, such as self-esteem. When it entails young children, however, they are still in very impressionable stages of development, which could affect how young boys grow up to view girls. This can also hurt how young girls grow up seeing themselves.

How can advertisers protect themselves from this problem?

Theory

Even though advertisers were being self-regulated regarding sexually suggestive advertising, that does not seem to work, and industries and corporations appear to be getting away with whatever they want. Advocacy groups are campaigning against companies using exploitation practices of women and girls for profit (Reist, 2012). There are inadequacies in the present system that include a weak code of ethics, the voluntary nature of the code, a lack of pre-vetting, the Advertising Standards Board’s lack of power to order the removal of negative advertisements and also assign substantial penalties, and no consultation with child development experts (Reist, 2012).

Research

A study by the American Psychological Association found that even though sexualized programs or advertisements may pull a larger viewing audience than more neutral ones, the more extensive reach does not necessarily translate into greater or increased profits for advertisers (Addady, 2015). Within the study, the researchers were looking for the impact of sexually suggestive advertising on memory, attitude towards the brand, and buying intentions of the viewing audience, and the study revealed that sexually suggestive ads either hurt advertisements or had no impact at all.

We need more defined and targeted regulation towards advertising that includes sexually suggestive messages and images. We need an independent source that does not have a vested interest in the profits gained by the marketers and consists of experts in mental health and child health professionals to input their expertise on how messages affect different audiences. Aside from sexually suggestive advertisements affecting children, they also dehumanize women. Corporations promoting ethical causes, such as PETA, have used advertisements of scantily dressed women in images on their marketing pieces aimed at arousing men so that their positive reactions would become associated with the cause (Bongiorno, Bain, & Haslam, 2013). Infrahumanization involves seeing another as lacking uniquely human characteristics such as nationality, refinement, and culture. When campaigns have images that depict women as more animal-like, this can have damaging consequences for them. Men who dehumanize women by associating them with animals or objects based on advertising images are more likely to sexually harass women and have a higher rape propensity (Bongiorno, Bain, & Haslam, 2013).

Analysis

We need some requirements for corporate social responsibility, self-regulation is ineffective, and industries continue to show little willingness to be proactive in controlling content and images in their marketing campaigns. It is understood that the overall goal of advertising and marketing is to bring awareness to a product or service. This method increases the reach of the brand and increased revenue. However, it should not be achieved at the expense of morality. The phrase “sex sells” has proven true in most cases. Still, companies should have an ethical responsibility, monitored and mandated by a governing body that oversees the usage of such tactics so that it does not target innocent children and adolescents, especially with pop-up advertising or sexual innuendos placed in advertisements that do not warrant them. Even though the research is detailed that sex sales are an effective strategy for marketers, with its use being linked to the increase of purchasing intentions for a “wide range of consumer products, including sun tan lotion, alcohol, jeans, and sports shoesitst can still have negative repercussions on it’s consumer base (Bongiorno, Bain, & Haslam, 2013).

Even though the advertising industry has guidelines that generally impose certain restraints on whatitsketers cannot include in their campaigns, sexually suggestive imaging is not significantly regulated. Other than self-regulation, which is not considerably effective, there needs to be more federal rules and laws to protect children primarily from being affected. Corporate profit should not be more critical and prioritized above the welfare of children and society in general.

References

Addady, M. (2015, August 19). New Study Shows That Sex Doesn’t Sell. Retrieved from https://fortune.com/2015/08/19/study-sex-sell-advertisements/

Anastasia. (2015, February 6). Social Responsibility & Ethics in Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.cleverism.com/social-responsibility-ethics-marketing/

Bongiorno, R., Bain, P. G., & Haslam, N. (2013). When Sex Doesn’t Sell: Using Sexualized Images of Women Reduces Support for Ethical Campaigns. PLoS ONE, 8(12), e83311. Retrieved from https://link-galegroup- com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/apps/doc/A478229586/AONE? u=vic_liberty&sid=AONE&xid=362d05f3

Ingram, D. (2019, March 8). List of Ethical & Legal Issues When Advertising. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/list-ethical-legal-issues-advertising-11466.html

Palmer, K. (2014, April 16). How to Protect Kids From Powerful Advertising. Retrieved from https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/articles/2014/04/16/how-to-protect-kids-from powerful-advertising

Pratap, A. (2017, February 10). What are the risks of suggestive advertising? Retrieved from https://notesmatic.com/2017/02/dangers-of-suggestive-advertising/

Reist, M. (2012, April 8). Sex sells, but we’re selling out our children. Retrieved from https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/sex-sells-but-were-selling-out-our-children- 20120408-1wj7e.html

Suggett, P. (2019, June 25). Understand How Advertisers Use Sex to Sell. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/does-sex-really-sell-38550

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BUSI 612

Ethical Questions and Promotion Assignment Instructions

Overview

This Ethical Questions and Promotion Assignment aims for you to write a graduate-level essay that will challenge you to reconcile ethical issues associated with a Promotions course. The research questions should be the APA Level One Headings. You will conduct scholarly research on the three questions (RQ) below.

You must submit excellent work and content if you desire a grade above the minimum (B-) in grad school. That demonstrates your knowledge, application, and analysis/discussion of this Ethical Questions and Promotion Assignment.

Instructions

You will respond to the following research questions for this Ethical Questions and Promotion Assignment.

Here is the methodology to follow when addressing each Research Question (RQ): Theory > Research > Analysis/Discussion

RQ 1. How would you explain a negative externality (social costs) associated with using sexually suggestive material in advertising? NOTE: first, discuss the theory of negative externalities.

RQ 2. Suppose an advertisement includes material considered a bit over the top (by most parents of young children), and it has sexual innuendoes, scantly clothed men/women, etc. Many academics and companies are convinced that this content helps sell more products. What responsibility does the advertiser have for any effect on indirect targets, such as children?

RQ 3. How can advertisers protect themselves from this problem?

Using APA-level headings throughout your Ethical Questions and Promotion Assignment would be best.

· Length of this Ethical Questions and Promotion Assignment is at least five pages of text, excluding the title page and references.

· Format of Ethical Questions and Promotion Assignment is the most current APA Guidelines.

· At least four citations are required.

· Acceptable sources are Scholarly Resources (regardless of the date of publication), Popular Sources, Professional Trade Sources, and Books/Book Chapters

Note: The Turnitin plagiarism tool will check your assignment for originality.