*Warning* this post shows my disgust with some company's lately using sex to sell their products. Pictures are suggestive (but nothing you wouldn't see on TV, magazines, etc. since that's where I got them from) so use your discretion :) My family has been boycotting Carl's Jr for a couple of years now due to our disgust with their sexual tv ads that are on regular tv when my kids can see them. And recently I shared a Kraft dressing ad that shows that they are willing to go down the same path. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed the increasing trend in selling sex in order to sell products? After doing a search online I found quite a few ads that were shocking to say the least. Not willing to post most of the ads I chose a few of the less vulgar ones to get my point across.
There are some products that you would expect a certain amount of sensual advertising or showing more skin on models such as soaps, perfumes, clothes (especially underwear). So I don't want you to think I'm a prude. I've had medical training, I'm a mom and wife, I can handle a naked body. But it's the context that bothers me lately. Half dressed to show how a bra fits vs girl in a bra to sell a car are two different things. One is selling a related product and is merely showing the product while the other is degrading a woman to her underwear to promote selling an unrelated product.
To me, this type of advertising shows weakness. It tells me that they don't think their product can stand on it's own feet and is good enough for people to buy unless they think of sex first. Since society is getting more and more sex driven advertisers want a piece of that pie and want their products to relate.
Is this really what we want our kids to associate everything with? So they can learn that as long as something (including themselves) is sexy it's ok, and in fact they will obtain a certain image by owning that item. And people wonder why sex crimes against children are rising!?!?
Let me explain a little logic here- in everything when we experience something on a regular basis we can become desensitized to it. Eventually things lose a shock or thrill factor and it leaves people looking for something to fill that void. So lets take sex in advertising- it wasn't long ago that showing a woman's arms or legs at all was a shocking sex factor, now there are ads practically showing people in the actual act of sex itself. How much longer until other ways are found to create a new shock factor once people are desensitized to this?
Not to make a huge leap here but all sex offenders (and child molesters) started by viewing pornography. (I'm not saying all who view pornography are sex offenders, but it's a stepping stone down that path) And now we are enticing the world of pornography to the public and worse of all our children.
Think I'm over-reacting? Lets look at some recent ads. And keep in mind these are the more mild ads since some pushed it a little too far for me! But all of these pictures are actual ads.
KitKat candy bar
Like I said- there are TONS out there. Please pay attention, I bet you'll find that you've already been desensitized to a lot of them. We have recently chosen to no longer have regular TV at our home, and we don't go to Carl's Jr and now we wont be buying Kraft products either.
Love this post JoDee. My daughter saw one of the Kraft Ads this weekend in one of my "mom" magazines. She said "oh he is naked Mom"...it was a picnic ad and he was barely covered in the right spot. I was floored and embarassed *she is 6. I respect this post so much and really feel that this ad world has it's priorities mixed up!
ReplyDeleteThank you! That's exactly why this post was made :)
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