by Terry Marsh

Created on: January 25, 2010

Sex will always be a part of advertising because advertisers know that sex sells. It may not sell to everyone, but market researchers know that sexual content in advertising grabs attention. As long as they have your attention, they can market their product. Even if the product has nothing to do with sex.

Advertisers do not market products to offend moral conscious. They advertise to sell their product. But, even individuals who find themselves offended by sexually explicit advertising still talk about them, and marketing executives still believe the old axiom, “there is no such thing as bad advertising”. Even when an advertising campaign generates controversy, it is still considered effective.

Targeted advertising

Manufacturers hire advertising companies to market products to those individuals most likely to purchase them. And advertising executives conduct extensive market research to determine who fills the target demographic of the manufacturers products. Ad campaigns are then developed to reach the greatest number of potential customers within that demographic group.

In a perfect world, advertisers reach their target customers, those customers purchase the manufacturers products, the manufacturers profit from their relationship with the advertising agency. At that point, everybody is happy.

But what happens when such intangibles as advertising reach, competitive market share, and an ineffective ad campaign effects the manufacturer’s advertising investment? Then, advertisers broaden their demographic scope in hopes of reaching a greater population. In such situations, men may have to sit through ads for feminine products, or women may end up viewing scantily clad beauties bouncing on the beach. The target demographic is still being reached, but non-target consumers may become uncomfortable by the ads.

Selling sex to men vs. women

Most people understand that women in bikinis have nothing to do with selling beer. But advertisers target beer commercials to their core demographic, who just happen to be beer drinking males between the ages of 21 and 36 years old. That isn’t to say that women do not drink beer, but research indicates that while a woman may have a beer or two, young men drink considerably more, usually consuming four to six beers in a sitting.

Advertisers also know when to sell sex to both men and women. Condom ads were once found only in male oriented magazines. But with the heightened awareness in safe sex and the

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