The purpose of advertising is to convince people that the products being featured are of use to them. Advertising is quick, it does not have the time to go into great detail within an ad as to why the consumer needs to purchase this product; they need to capture their intended audience quickly. There are sexual undertones within almost any advertisements. Using sex within advertising a product is an effective way to draw in the consumer. Majority of the time using sexual ad’s works better on men than with women, it is easier to set up a sexual connection with men. Men have minimal criteria for sexual desire. If the ad has a physically good looking woman in it, men will associate purchasing the product with getting the woman as well. In advertising it is easier to get a man’s attention with a woman’s body, this is playing on his instinctive rather than his intellectual. On the other hand women are less concerned with mere anatomy as opposed to men. Women are looking for more. Now let me not say women do not have a sexual connection to ad’s featuring half naked men. We all remember the Calvin Klein ad featuring Mark Wahlberg. See below for exhibit A, doesn't he look great?
He made every woman want to run out and buy a pair of Calvin Klein briefs for their significant others in hopes that they look the same way in the briefs. Women have an instinctive sexual reaction but their intelligence has a strong affect on their decision buying process. Sexual desire for a woman is a mixture of factors; this is quite difficult to put all into an ad in that time. It is more effective to get in touch with a woman’s desire for romance through an ad. Take for example ads for jewelry. The jewelry is intended for women and bought by the men in their lives, but ultimately the woman has the purchase decision. It is not likely that a woman will purchase a diamond ring for herself. Knowing your audience when creating your advertisement is key.
Advertisers need to feed into their consumer’s mind of what will draw them into the stores. An ad for beer will not capture a man’s attention if it is just men within the ad; almost every beer ad features beautiful women being attracted to the man drinking the beer of preference. Regardless of what your brand is, always know who you are selling to and find a way to feed into not only their instinctive nature but as well as their intellectual.
- Amanda C
