“Sex Sells”
Article inspired by listening to this song I Just Had Sex Feat Akon thanks to a good pal who wanted to make my day. It’s definitely made my day, can’t stop listening to it. The song has over 70m hits since it got posted on 19th Dec, 2010 on You Tube. It has sold over 250,000 digital copies in the USA, in its first two weeks.
It made me thinking, the word “sex” sells. Use the word on an advert, movie, song or gossip; automatically it captures people’s attention. Few of our artists here at home have used it to get ‘fame’ and its proved to have worked.
The question I pose, did the use of “sex” to promote products and bring fame start recently or was it there before our parents thought they’ll end up together???
Sex in advertising started since the beginning of advertising. The first companies to cash lots of money with the use of “sex” advertising were; W. Duke & Sons introduced in 1885 thanks to the advert become the leading cigarette brand by 1890, Jovan Musk Oil introduced in 1971 promoted with sexual entendre, revenue grew from $1.5 million in 1971 to $77 million by 1978.
Use of sexual imagery in advertising has been criticised on various grounds. Religious conservatives often consider it obscene. Some feminists and masculists claim it reinforces sexism by objectifying the individual. A company that has been on the forefront of such criticism is Calvin Klein The company’s first controversial jeans advertisement was when a 15 year old boy, in Calvin Klein jeans, remarks "Want to know what gets between me and my Calvin's? Nothing."
The question one should ask is; If advertisers were suddenly banned worldwide from using “sex to sell”, how would they advertise? And would this be a better world? It was done in the 80s and big money was made, why not just continue with the tread.
Some celebrities worldwide and back here at home have benefited from the publicity of the release of a “sex” tape or explicit photos which were often released without consent of their knowledge. The release of Paris Hilton's sex tape in 2003 as well as Kim Kardashian's sex tape in 2007 brought them to a new level of fame, leading to magazine covers, book deals, and reality TV series.
Clearly “Sex” sells. It can make a company rich, a product sell and a person famous.
“ In advertising, sex sells. But only if you're selling sex” Jef I. Richards
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