The mystery of sex in advertisingImagine yourself walking down the street; there is a large billboard with a young woman in lingerie holding food from a fast food restaurant. Do you think this would catch your attention? Would that make you want to eat at this restaurant? What if he was an old man? The phenomenon that sex sells has been the subject of much research over the past few decades. It has been proven that sex sells through advertising. Companies often use advertising to promote their brand and attract consumers to purchase their products. They use different ways and different media sources in order to encourage consumers to buy their product. Media sources include television commercials, billboards, print advertisements, product placement in films and television shows, and many others. Studies show that sex appeal tends to attract attention, which is exactly what businesses are looking for. Once they initially catch someone's attention, they are then able to get that person to recognize the product, which increases the likelihood that they will purchase the product. Someone may also directly attribute the positive feelings of this sex appeal to the product and, in turn, have positive feelings about the product, also increasing their likelihood of purchasing that product. Because of this, the use of sexual imagery in advertisements has increased from 15% to 27% since 1983. However, while sex has been proven to sell, it has many underlying drawbacks and problems . Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on 'Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned'?Get Original EssayBurger King used sex appeal to promote its seven-inch cheeseburger sandwich called the 'Super Seven Incher'. The image is that of a young blonde woman facing the sandwich, her mouth open. There is a shadow on the right edge of the image, suggesting that there is someone standing in front of it. The way the sandwich is perfectly aligned with the woman's mouth makes it clear that Burger King is hinting at oral sex. The sandwich symbolizes the erect male genitals and the woman appears to be preparing to eat the sandwich in a position reminiscent of oral sex. His eyes are wide and appear almost in shock, which may refer to the size of the sandwich, otherwise considered penis size. The quote “this will blow your mind” makes the underlying concept easy to understand. A commonly used slang term for oral sex is blowjob, which is why they used the word blow. Additionally, placed below the price, the quote says "fill your desire with something long, juicy and toasty with the NEW BK SUPER SEVEN INCHER", the super seven inch being a direct reference to penis size. The next line quotes "Aspire for more after tasting the mind-blowing hamburger that accompanies a single beef patty", suggesting that one would experience as much pleasure from eating the sandwich as from engaging in the sexual act. It has been said that "one of the main functions of an advertisement is to convey an appropriate tone to the intended user of the product." Since this ad has a very sexual tone and refers to a woman performing a sexual act on a penis, the targeted user audience is the male population. This advertisement was recognized as very controversial and considered degrading to women. The model pictured actually called for a boycott of Burger King because she did not consent to the company using herpicture. Burger King purchased the stock photo from a third party and used it without the model's knowledge, making the ad even more controversial. The model said in a YouTube video: “I believe in sexual expression in art and media; it’s beautiful and necessary for a healthy society but IT MUST BE CONSENSUAL otherwise it’s RAPE.” Many people responded, agreeing with her. They agreed that since sex is a natural and normal human process, it is healthy to display to some extent within society, but this blatant reference proved extremely degrading to women and promoted the idea that women are sexual beings existing for the sole purpose of serving men. The following commercial was created by Evan Williams. , a company that produces and sells Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey. The advertisement features two photos of a woman; one of a young woman from the 1950s and the other of a young woman today. Both women are probably in their twenties. The ad's caption says: "The longer you wait, the better." » This is yet another sexual reference in an ad. 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 enormously over the years. In the early days of cinema, the ideal woman was depicted as very innocent, with big eyes, small lips, and tight, curly hair. Society believed that women were supposed to always be ladylike and act respectfully. Over time, women increasingly came out of their shells and became more independent and less dominated by men. Tight curls transformed into voluptuous, voluptuous hair and innocence transformed into sophistication. During the 20th century, beauty standards shifted again to natural American beauty. Little makeup was worn and the ideal woman carried herself with grace. It wasn't until the late 90s and early 2000s that makeup and plastic surgery began to emerge into what they are today. Impeccable makeup routines, perfect hairstyle and a perfectly sculpted body have become must-haves for success in today's society. As for the advertisement, the girl on the right is depicted in modest clothing in a dull, colorless image. She has that old-fashioned sophisticated look and is attractive but not too sexual. Naturally, 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 very sexualized and wears suggestive clothing that barely covers her ideal figure. She stands in a seemingly seductive pose and it is clearly seen that she is in a room with a bed directly behind her. The brand also placed the quote to naturally draw the viewer to the right. “The longer you wait” is strategically placed in the upper left corner and the quote is cut off right in the middle of the sentence. “…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 advertisement with the Evan Williams logo and a bottle of whiskey has been placed. One quote says "Age longer to taste better" which, again, refers to both bourbon and women. Due to the comparison which has just been made between the.