Does sex really sell in advertising?

Rosie Baker
By Rosie Baker | 21 November 2016
 

This is a free excerpt from the AdNews November issue. To read the full article download a digital version of AdNews or subscribe to the print edition here.

Using scantily clad women in ads to sell everything from beer, to tyres, cars and cologne has been commonplace and provocative, with suggestive images in ads certainly able to get people's attention. But sex so easily turns into sexism. Should advertisers be looking a little further than the bedroom for their inspiration?

Ogilvy Sydney managing partner Sally Kissane says: "In a society which is forever battling gender issues, we are advertisers have a responsibility to get it right."

1 Kent St creative director Simon Collins: "Identity politics has made sex such as a mindfield for marketers that many are wary."

Lavender ECD Marco Eychenne: "I understand why women are pissed off seeing their gender depicted as objects and advertising has been an unmistakable culprit." 

Volley Australia marketing manager Maria Doubrovski: "Sex and sexism aren't interchangeable. They exist in and of themselves and to assume otherwise is fundamentally wrong." 

To read more from the creatives, download a digital version of AdNews or subscribe to the print edition here.

Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop me a line at rosiebaker@yaffa.com.au

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