SEX SELLS, BUT GOOD TASTE BUILDS BRAND REPUTATION

One of the most controversial American adverts in contemporary times, one which I personally find disgusting, was a Television commercial which showed American heiress and socialite, Paris Hilton, clad in a thong-bikini, and sensually washing a luxury sedan, before biting into a Barbecue burger, and declaring in a sexually stimulating voice: That's hot!

It was an advert for a new burger concept which American fast food restaurant, Carl's Jr was launching. The American watchdog group, Parents Television council denounced the ad as 'Soft core pornography.' Subsequently, the ad was banned from television.

Another disturbing ad I saw sometime in the United States was on a billboard where a beautiful blonde model, clad in a bikini with a downright sexual pose, was seductively winking at the camera. I imagined that the product being advertised was a condom, at the least. When I looked beneath the model, for the product being advertised, I got a shocker.

It was an ad for the latest model of a luxury sedan vehicle.

I still cannot explain the relationship between a sexy blonde model and a luxury sedan.

Ads like this are commonplace these days. While these kind of ads are very common and well established in the West, slowly but surely, they are finding their way into our African media. So often on all sorts of media channels we encounter ads desperately angling for our attention. However, we are inevitably drawn to ads that show scantily dressed models, in sexually-suggestive poses that somehow aim to persuade us to purchase a new product or try out some new service. It's almost impossible to ignore an advert where a handsome young man is in a sexual pose in bed with another attractive model. It is sure to get your attention any day.

And it does work. Sex is actually one of the most powerful tools of advertising and marketing today. Post ad sales responses from research organizations have shown it works.

Sex in advertising has been the subject of controversy for several years and an advertiser must take caution when incorporating it into an advertising or marketing campaign. Advertisers should not only consider the attention-grabbing power of an advert, but must also put into consideration, the kind of response it is likely to evoke in the minds of the potential consumer. Studies have shown that while sexually exciting ads may draw the attention of a viewer, the viewer's disposition towards the product or service may not be so favorable at the end of the day. A parent who watched the Paris Hilton burger ad swore she would forbid her children to ever buy a burger at Carl's Jr. Several parents vowed to boycott Carl Jr's burgers.
To this end, advertisers must ensure that sexual content in advertising is strictly appropriate to the product category and have a proper underlying message. The idea of Paris Hilton seductively washing a car was uncalled for in an advert for a mere Burger. I for one would not buy a car simply because a bikini-clad model is seated on it.

Furthermore, adverts with sexually suggestive content should be reserved for hours when children or minors may have little or no access to them. These may include running such ads in late night television programs that children are not likely to watch, or in specialized adult magazines. Ads with sexually explicit content should be banned completely from billboards as they are easily accessible to all sorts of people, regardless of age.

Much as I do not personally encourage sex in advertising, I will acknowledge that sex sells, and most advertisers are tempted to use it in their campaigns. However, it should be used in good taste, and not indiscriminately. Advertisers and marketers must work towards building advertising campaigns that would not only grab the attention of potential customers on a short-term basis, but that will build a good brand reputation in the long term.

Mfonobong Nsehe is a communications student at Daystar University, Kenya. Email: [email protected]