Use of Women and Sex Appeal to Increase Sales - Essay Example

Use of Women and Sex Appeal to Increase Sales

Claim: It is unethical for firms to use women and sex appeal to increase sales

Adverts have become part of our lives as firms compete in the use of various platforms like billboards, TV commercials, magazines, radio and the internet to communicate with their consumers. This intense competition for the attention of the consumer has necessitated that companies become creative in their adverts. To get that competitive edge, companies thus use women and sex appeal and this has been a part of marketing for a long time. Business ethics questions have however risen over the use of women and sex appeal in marketing. In this essay, I will argue that using women and sex to sell is wrong for the social values.

Explanation of claim

In today’s world business firms as objects that serve to draw the customer’s attention to the product being sold are increasingly using women. Either women are used as a sexual object in commercials or to pose next to a product as an attractive material that catches the attention of a buyer. Other companies look for sexual saleswomen as a way of facilitating sales. This strategy of using of women and sex in advertising however has adverse effects on individuals and the society, especially teenagers. Social values provide the rules and guidelines on what is right and wrong. They also dictate how individuals should conduct themselves. Social values such as involvement in non-marital sex, violence against women, and the dignity of women are easily eroded by objectification of women and glorification of sex appeal in commercials.

Reasons in support of claim

There are various reasons to support this claim:

1. Most commercials only use models as use of unattractive individuals would result in the product being seen as average by the target audience. When slim and attractive individuals are used in adverts, women and men view these individuals as the “ideal woman/man.” They therefore make it their mission to have such flawless skin and celluloid free bodies for the ladies and muscular and toned bodies for the men. This may result in eating disorders among other complications as ladies strive to get slim. For men, especially teenagers, when they engage in body building exercises they risk having stunted growth due weight lifting at a young age.

2. Individuals featured in adverts are depicted as having an enhanced sex appeal and attracting many partners. A popular ad by AXE runs like this; an old man after use of their product, which is a deodorant, is able to attract much younger ladies. These portrayals of random acts of sex have the effect of devaluing the sanctity of sex. Young men and women are impressionable and are thus more likely to experiment with sex if they see the endorse of their favorite product doing it. The depiction of characters in commercials having multiple partners also undermines the institution of marriage. It implies that non-marital sex among young people is okay and this is unethical.

3. Use of women as materials for attracting customers and objects that create a sexual appeal in adverts lowers their dignity. This portrayal of women creates the impression that women are only good for their beauty and nothing else. Their contribution to the advancement of society in more serious sectors like sports and education is overlooked. Teenagers therefore learn to idolize the models with “the perfect body” instead of the scientists and great sports women. When this happens, the society loses, as females will be more concerned with their appearances and material possessions rather than excelling in school and extra-curricular activities that contribute to the society in a positive way.

4. Exposure to sexual content at a tender age leads to increased violence against women. This is because it has been established that there is a relation between being exposed to sexually oriented stimuli and aggression and violence (Zillmann 41-44). The sexual stimuli created by sensual adverts can lead to physical aggression in men. This aggression can be among men or directed at women. Through this increased aggression and violence, cases of rape are likely to be rampant. In addition, the objectification of women devalues their dignity as well as their role in society and young men are more likely to be violent against them.

Reasons against claim

On the other hand, proponents of the use of women and sex appeal in adverts targeting teenage consumers have various reasons:

(I) A common argument by proponents of use of women and sex appeal is that it creates a competitive advantage for the firm through brand recognition, increased attention and recall among consumers. Therefore, due to the power of sex appeal in enhancing a firms sales, it is only wise to apply this strategy in marketing (Reichert and Lambiase, 263). The main reason for any firm being in business is primarily to make profits. Furthermore, this strategy has been used to promote products since the 1800’s and has always proven to be effective in improving sales.

(II) Marketing targeting teenagers and the youth in general is unique because the more traditional form of direct marketing does not appeal to them. The youth are not excited by the same content as the older generation. It is therefore upon firms to be creative and come up with strategies like use of women and sex appeal. Firms that apply conventional forms of marketing are less likely to attract the attention of the youth.

(III). Proponents of the use of women and sex appeal argue that , there are regulatory bodies that have the mandate to reign on the firms that have commercials that seem to be unethical. They further argue that the society can also reign on firms that are seen to defy business ethics in their adverts to remove them from the media. This has been done before like in the case of Pepsi’s efforts to promote its AMP Energy Drink. The firm came up with a mobile App, which gave men clues on how to score with a lady. Men were encouraged to have multiple partners and post it on social media platforms like Facebook. This campaign was however stopped due to protest by activists (Bauerlein and Vranica).

(IV). Finally, use of women and sex appeal is not meant to be taken literally but mainly aimed to be an appreciation of beautiful things like food, novelty and love. Puffery, which is legal, is the strategy being applied when individuals in adverts are portrayed as having the “perfect body.” This strategy therefore capitalizes on the natural human instinct of liking and wanting beautiful and flawless things. A customer is therefore likely to purchase an item that is associated with beauty and great quality.

Decision

After examining both the reasons for and against use of women and sex appeal in adverts, the reasons for this claim outweigh the reasons against. It is my opinion that the reasons against the use of women and sex appeal are stronger because erosion of social values has detrimental effects on the development of the society. The monetary gains from application of this strategy to increase sales are not enough to ignore the effects they have on teenagers’ physical and mental development as well as appreciation of women.

Rebuttals

(I). While the philosophy held by most marketers that “sex sells” has been proven to be true, it is unethical for businesses to value enhanced profits more than the well-being of the larger society. The Kantian theory of ethics demands that an act is ethical only if it brings joy and satisfaction to the maximum number of people possible. A few firms may have the benefit of enhanced profitability but the harm use of women and sex appeal to sell causes to social values is greater compared to this benefit. Violence against women increases, the number of women dissatisfied with their bodies also increase. Therefore, the damage to society outweighs the gains this strategy brings. In addition, a firm’s sales and profits may be affected negatively by a tainted reputation and negative recall of the product caused by [portrayal of women as sex objects.

(II). The argument that firms can only run an effective marketing campaign that involves women by exploiting their attractiveness and sex appeal can also be rebutted. Numerous firms have used women in their commercials without using slim and attractive models. A perfect example is Dove who through their “Campaign for Real Beauty” have used average women in their commercials (Drewniany and Jewler 50). This campaign features every day women who are dressed decently in their commercials and public reception of their products has been excellent. Other firms have also used sports women without exploiting their sexuality but only capitalizing on their achievements and achieved marketing success.

(III). Although adverts that seem to be unethical may be removed from the media, the damage might already have been done by the time they are pulled down. The media has in recent years become a critical player in setting social values. The influence of the media is immense especially on teenagers and the images they portray have a far-reaching effect on their behaviors. Glorification of irresponsible sexual behavior is likely to undermine parental teachings as these messages are everywhere; from billboards on their way to school to the video games that they play at home. Pulling down of such effects cannot reverse the damage already done to their minds.

(IV). Although a little bit of exaggeration and praise is legally acceptable, there is a thin line between what is ethical and unethical such as use of outright lies used to promote a product. It is unethical for a business to put into the heads of young men and women that an ideal woman is the one who has a slim body or an ideal male should be muscular. This has moral implications in that people develop a low self-esteem when they consider themselves as not as beautiful as the models in ads. Such exaggeration is also unethical because customers are duped into buying products that are supposed to make them sexier but instead end up being disappointed.