Sexual Advertising on Television

Sex in Television Commercials An advertisement is a message printed in a newspaper or magazine, broadcast radio or television sent to individuals through the mail, or sent out in some other fashion that attempts to persuade readers or listeners to buy. Television commercials are another media vehicle that has caused some controversy over the use of sex in selling or promoting products and services. This site will explore the effectiveness of using sex in television commercials as well as the offense sex brings to some viewers.

Over the years Television has undergone many transformations, this can be seen through television shows as well as television commercials. Advertising history ranging from the 1940's to 1990's exemplifies these transformations. This history provides a background for understanding and exploring advertising techniques today.

Many commercials aired on television today incorporate sex appeal in the message. Examples include, vacation promotions and beer commercials. The study of 40 beer commercials exploits men and women and their bodies to make the purchase of beer more desirable. The top 100 commercials may also give insight to sexy advertising on television commercials have been effective.

The Obsession Fetish commercial has been a focus of much debate. "the 30 second message grooves to a catwalk-ish soundtrack and features an uncanny collage of images" OBSESSION FETISH discusses both Calvin Klein's feeling that there is nothing unacceptable about airing this commercial as well as CBC's viewpoint on airing this "uncommercial" and whether it violates the standards of taste and policy.

This example emphasizes the ideathat sexy advertising on commercials is seen as both acceptable and unacceptable. Sexual advertising is viewed acceptable because it encourages awareness of the products and in some cases increases the desire for the product. On the other hand, viewers also feel that using sex appeal to sell a product is not acceptable. Viewers and members of the broadcast industry such as the executives of CBC felt the use of sex in television commercials is in bad taste and should not be aired.

Today television commercials cover a wide spectrum of topics. In order to grab the attention of the viewer advertisers must appeal to some human aspect whether it be, humor, emotion, or sex. Using sex as the appeal advertisers run the risk of offending viewers while at the same time accomplishing the goal of getting the attention of other viewers. There are many examples of sex in television commercials that range from showing bare skinned people, showing sexual movements, gestures, and words. We can explore many of these by viewing the following commercials that range from pharmaceutical commercials, retail and fashion commercials to beverage commercials.

Those in opposition to using sex in commercials have argued that ratings have become a necessity for television programs, yet there are some problems with the rating system. "The current plan leaves news, psuedo-news (World's Scariest police Chases), promos, commercials, sports and other shows unrated and warning- free. They are often worse than prime time programs. "(Grossberger, "Ratings Rut").
Those that feel sex in advertising is acceptable such as the publisher of Family Circle Magazine say that sex in advertising can be relevant because it has to have a function and really sell a product. Sexual advertising tries to aid in sales by making the product more desirable.

- Hayley Fite

Sex in Television

Through the years, sex has grown dramatically on television. Sex has become an open topic on television sitcoms, as a result sex is among the biggest attractions on television. It has become the center of our most attractive television shows and is a main topic for television. As sex continues to grow on television so do the viewers. To see the top 100 sitcoms of all time visit Ultimate TV's website.

The sitcom Friends, ranked #6 on The Top 20 American Nielsen Ratings, involves middle-aged adults who use sex as an open issue on their show. As sex continues to become more open on these types of shows their ratings continue to grow. These types of shows continue to take over our televisions, but others can argue the other side of this issue as well.

As sex draws the recognition of the majority of our viewing audience, there are some television shows that are moving in a different direction. For several months Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, has held the #1 spot among television shows. This fact alone supports the other side of this issue. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire has been by far the most watched program in prime time television, drawing in over 26 million viewers! So we can see here that there is one thing that attracts people more than sex...MONEY!

As time goes by television broadens its horizons and opens up new doors. Television draws in audiences by portraying what's on people's minds and what's going on around them. People will continue to be attracted to money and sex on television, because...SEX SELLS!
By: Sara Smith

This page was created by: Hayley Fite
Copyright April 5, 2000 mediaadvertising@yahoo.com