One of the most important resources of a business is its advertisement team. Due to the fact that people can and will buy your product only if they know about it.

This is the reason that marketing and advertisement have the biggest budgets

in a business. This is the reason that places such as Amazon.com spend up to four million dollars on advertisement a year, according to “Dream-Biz.com” written by Burke Hedges. There is a saying that goes “Sex-sells” is this true? Most people would argue that it does. Since choosing this topic it has forced me to see everything different. When I sit and watch television I can’t help but notice all of the strong sexual messages that are being thrown at me every second. This project will touch on many venues of advertisement, from television to radio and even printed advertisement. It seems to me that sex is being used to sell everything. It has become custom to see promotions for a movie that would have a hot and seductive scene, or even in a music video; which have become short movies themselves. I feel that the use of sex in advertisement has gone a little too far, when sex is used to sell juice that’s were I draw the line.

Snapple had a campaign to reach ages 18-24 year old consumers. Their previous commercials targeted consumers in their 30’s and 40’s. Their new campaign was supposed to reach a broad spectrum of demographics while continuing to appeal to older Snapple fans. So what did they use “Sex”. Fruit sex, that is. These commercials have the familiar fruit faces of Snapple’s prior commercials; just a little racier depiction of these ads with references to sex and jail. One of their commercials goes a little something like this, “It’s time we had ‘The Talk.’ At Snapple, when young fruits ripen, they may want to combine with other fruits. These urges are perfectly natural. So experiment. Explore. Even play the field. When fruits join together, it’s a very special thing.” Cadbury Schweppes’ the owners of Snapple feel so strongly about these commercials that they have invested over 33 million dollars. They obviously must be working but advertisements are supposed to expose the consumers to your product. Maybe I’m just a little uptight when I expect the commercial to tell me something about the product.

tank one man

For years music videos have been venues in which artist can show off other performing skills may it be acting or dancing. They were originally created for promotional purposes. These promotions are generally used to show the artist in a different light. Of course there are commercials for artist’s records as well. One commercial in particular bothered me. There is an R&B artist by the name of “Tank” it is obvious that he cares about his appearance because of his well chilled physique, but he has one commercial where he is working out; doing sets of bench-presses, push-up, pull-ups and so forth. What bothers me about the commercial is that you don’t hear any of his music and just watch him work out. From my understanding what the consumer is buying is his music and not his body. I know that sex sells but it seems to me that advertisers no longer want to do any work, just slap an attractive body on screen or paper and call it a day.

By: Vanessa Foote

“Much has been made of the fact that many young people have greater knowledge of some alcohol beverage brand labels than of former US presidents” (Alcohol). Is this the impact television advertising has on our teenagers? The controversy of alcohol commercials includes the idea of who these ads are appealing to and the impact they have on their viewers. There is a special focus on teenagers

and adolescent of our society. Adolescence is a hard and confusing time for almost all people. The advertisers persuade the consumer that they need the product by making them “feel dissatisfied or inadequate” (Foster). As adolescents, everyone is trying to fit in and belong. They are looking to meet new people and discover new ways to have fun. Alcohol and the idea of drinking and being drunk have some how appealed to our children and caught their interest. Teenagers are the focus of television alcohol commercials ads. Why would advertisers purposely appeal to an age group who cannot legally purchase their products? Even though advertisers claim they are not trying to appeal to teens, it does not mean they aren’t. Advertisers use techniques such as, humor, social prestige, appealing to fears and insecurities, a sense of belonging, and a desire to be noticed to make their commercials appealing (Congress). Alcohol commercials use these ideas to push people to believe that their products will rank them higher on the social scale, give them a sense of belonging, and make them desirer able. These are all examples of things teenagers are hoping to find.

Most alcohol commercials are set in the middle of parties and fun. Every one in the commercial seems like they belong and have friends because they are all have something in common, the type of drink they have in their hand. Teenagers are shown that alcohol gives them the feeling of acceptance, which is a goal many teens strive for through their adolescent years.

Commercials for beer, such as Bud Light and Coors, are prime examples of how advertisers correlate alcohol to fun and sex. Both are sponsors of the NFL and their commercials show tons of people having fun drinking beer. They are at NFL parties, bars watching the games, and hanging with friends. There is also a strong sexual over tone in many alcohol commercials. Sex is a topic that catches 99% of all people’s attention. At these parties in the commercials almost all the girls are wearing tight, or revealing outfits. Advertisers try to make people believe that beer with put you in a group of attractive people. In a commercial for Coors, there is a young couple on a date that gets naked and jump in the pool (Cummins). Sex is another way that alcohol commercials appeal to teens. Teens are in the age where everything is sexual. They are just learning about their bodies and exploring new ideas. In these commercial, advertisers are showing teens that it is okay to drink and in addition life would be better if they did.

Whether or not advertisers are trying to appeal their products to teens, they are doing so. It is probably not there goal, but advertisers of alcohol on television need to become more aware of their viewers. Alcohol commercials should not be banded, the way cigarette commercials were, but there should be restriction on the time and days that they are allowed to air. Television is by far the #1 source of advertising, so advertisers should be cautious about the age group to which their ads are appealing and examine and edit the content and meaning of their commercials.

Television Advertisement

By: Julie Dutkowski

Off a black background, a large white font covers the entire television screen from edge to edge. A word for each shot spells out a very interesting question. “What is sexy?” This phrase is followed by a series of young women, all in their mid-twenties or so and no larger than a size two, wearing nothing but their bra and underwear. One woman leans on her office desk with nothing but a blazer to cover her under garments. Another woman lay across a car wrapped in a sheet. And many more scenes follow. All of this is used to simply sell the new Victoria Secrets lingerie line.

Victoria Secret commercials seem to stand out the most because some commercials are not quite that forward. Advertisements for Trojan condoms sell sex without even showing a person on screen let alone a woman half naked. Simple voiceovers of a young man and woman insinuating they are ready for sex will bring out the “Trojan Man.” Most recent Trojan commercials set the scene in Yellowstone national park. The couple flirts around the idea of having sex on their picnic and the Trojan Man comes to help by informing them of proper protection. The final scene as the voice of

Trojan Man exits, the geyser explodes as the final innuendo.

Although some commercials do not make direct sexual reference or show any nudity, we all know that perfume does not turn us on and that shampoo does not make us moan and groan. Advertisers continue to use these tactics because companies are aware of the impact sex has on consumers today. It does not matter if the commercial was intriguing or offensive; either way the advertiser held the viewers attention long enough to market the product.

Dale Kunkel and his colleagues from the Department of Communications at the University of California at Santa Barbara analyzed sexual content on both network and cable channels in 1999. “Across the composite week sample of 942 programs, more than half (56%) of advertisements contained some sexual content. (Gunter, 2002)”

The world has heard the phrase time and time again that Sex Sells. The idea behind this may never change as long as the product continues to move. Advertisement companies will copy the format of other companies as their revenue continues to go. So it is inevitable that commercials with sexual content will continue to flood our television screens.

Alcohol has always been and always be a big part of the social life in America, especially for those in their lower twenties to lower thirties.

Alcohol definitely impairs ones vision and judgment and can cause people to do things that sober, they would never do. One particular example of this would be when two intoxicated people decide to hook up and go home together. It is a widely known fact that when drunk, people often hook up with other people that they would not usually hook up with and often regret it the next day. Even though this does not seem like a very good trend, advertisers of many alcohol companies are taking advantage of this and it is very clear to see in their ads.

            Many alcohol companies are using sexually explicit images in their ads, or they are giving the impression that alcohol makes people appear better than they normally would. While looking at the December issue of playboy magazine I noticed many alcohol ads that were using this technique. The first was and ad for Evan Williams Bourbon Whiskey, an aged whiskey. The ad has two sides; one side has a label of before aging

and the other side has a label of after

aging. In the before aging side, there is a picture of a plain looking girl in black and white, and on the after aging side, there is a picture of a very attractive female in scandalous clothing. It is clear to see that the ad is giving the impression that females will look better if you drink this, and is only adding to the problem. Another example of this kind of advertising is was found in the October issue of Maxim magazine. It was an ad for Michelob beer, and it had a picture of their bottle of beer, but as the bottle turned into the neck of a bottle, the bottle turned into a female and the bottle becomes her shirt with a very low cleavage line. This just gets to the point that when you drink this beverage, girls will be more beautiful.

            Many companies are using this technique in order to sell their products. But the alcohol company is abusing this technique and it is building a bad image for the drinks. They may think that it is a good advertisement, but it just promotes people hooking up with each other while drinking, and they may end up regretting it because they were making decisions on impaired judgment.

By: Danielle Galloway

“Advertising and graphic design services play a crucial role in the fragrance market. Visualization is the key (Annette Green, Fragrance Foundation President).

While advertising and graphic design services have a huge impact on the fragrance market should advertisers go as far as they have chosen to? Much controversy has surrounded the sexually explicit images used in fragrance advertising. The results of a 2000 study suggested that advertisers’ sexy messages are getting through to teens. More than 200 young adults, ages 18-25, demonstrated no hesitation when asked to name an ad they considered “really sexy”. Over 60 ads were mentioned, and among those mentioned were Calvin Klein and Candies (Reichert, 2001). Unfortunately these advertisements are more sexually explicit that most movies, however ads contain no ratings and are available to people of all ages.

Calvin Klein and Candies fragrances are two of the most highly controversial fragrance companies of today. Both companies use beautiful, thin, sexy models and celebrities to advertise for their product. This tactic as attracted the eyes of many young adults. The ads display these celebrities and models in provocative clothing and acting in a sexual manner.

Consider for instance the advertisement for Candies perfume. Actress Alyssa Milano was used in Candies ads for the female audience. She transitions her role as the good

girl from Who’s the Boss? to the sex vixen in Candies ads. In one of the more controversial Candies advertisements, Milano is shown in her bra looking into a medicine cabinet full of condoms. Among the condoms are bottles of Candies cologne and perfume. The reaction of the ads was exactly what Candies was looking for from their consumers. The instant recognition and sexy trademark boosted sales for the company. The Candies’ company was launched in August of 1999 and by February of 2000 it was ranked among Americas top 10 most major markets (Ptasznik, 2000). This proves that Candies risqué advertisement has paid

off.

Calvin Klein perfume advertisement has also created much controversy. In the recent years the designer company had to deal with the issue of using youth in provocative print ads. The ads had to eventually be pulled due to their content of minors. Many have found Calvin’s sexually explicit advertising to be degrading, immoral, and offensive. Calvin does not want to come across this way but rather as a company that teens will want to buy their fragrances because it will make you more sexually appealing.

Youth adults are susceptible to advertising promises. If you wear our cologne the women will flock to you, or if you wear our perfume all the men will want you. Advertisers have taken advantage of teens being an easy target. Companies spend millions of dollars each year to captivate the teen audience and make them believe their product can change their lives.

In the Future Should There Be Regulations? By: Mike Gallagher

In conclusion we believe that our government is already beginning to regulate ads that companies can show to consumers, but the regulation is not finished yet. Examples of such regulations are the banning of certain cigarette ads which could be in easy access for a child to Joe Camel, Camel Cigarettes Spokescamel see, or ads that intentionally may appeal to children. The clothing company Abercrombie and Fitch has also had its advertisements reviewed because of its very mature content. We believe that further regulation of product ads is necessary for society to stay good on its responsibility to the children and adolescents in our world. The steps that have already been taken to regulate advertisers is a good start, and we all believe that the government will still do even more to keep offensive and dangerous material away from our youth and others who may be offended or easily impressionable.

Congressional Record (2001). Proceedings and Debates on the 107^th Congress.

Available online: http://www.house.gov/bernie/town_meeting/2001/Rutland.html (accessed November 1, 2002)

Gunter, Barrie (2002). Media Sex: What Are the Issues? Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, INC.

Playboy (November 2002). Bourbon Whiskey, an Aged Whisky Maxim.

Star Tribune (2002). One Minnesota Family Loves Watching the Vikings on TV. But, whew! Those Ads! Available Online:

http://www.startribune.com/stories/565/892703.html (accessed November 14, 2001)

Visual Art Trends (2000). Weight Loss or Candy? Available Online:

http://www.visualartstrends.com/Ea/Ea4/candy(eS7.html (accessed November 12, 2002)

USA Today Magazine (May 2001). Sexy Ads Target Young Adults.

BY: Danielle Falvy