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Using sex to sell products is a well-worn technique for improving a given product's sales. To quote the oft-cited advertising maxim: "sex sells!". It is clear from the average magazine on showbiz gossip, a prime-time television ad break, or from an array of billboard posters that scantily clad armies of attractive women are used to portray more than the mere informational content of the product. Indeed, despite increasing sophistication in the advertising industry, it is surprising (and possibly saddening) that sex is still one of the main factors that serve as a primary enhancement tool in the generation of strong brands. The question is, therefore, not about whether adverts use sex, but about whether women in particular are degraded to a greater or lesser degree than men.

One of the arguments in favor of women being exploited is that models are degraded because they are objectified. This degradation of the woman's original goodness by advertisers is exploited in a pornographic way that debases the model involved. There are two recourses against this type of argumentation. Firstly, to suggest that all models are exploited generalizes and objectifies models in the same way as the adverts tend to do; models are seen as a convenient victim of evil marketeers (usually male) whose flesh is corrupted by an insidious male gaze. However, what this does is it compartmentalizes all models as dumb victims. As such, the argument is itinerant to the whole objectification process. Secondly, if models do not have a choice, step into advertising and are exploited by it, then why is advertising in particular to blame for the degradation of women? Surely society should be the focus instead. Indeed, advertising, in this case, merely offers female models opportunities in the absence of an escape-route into nobler, more dignified professions.

A counter-argument suggests that men are exploited to a greater degree than women because they are the main people who are targeted by the ad. A recent survey in Adweek (October 17, 2005) suggests that different genders operate very differently regarding advertisements with sexual content. While 48% of men like ads with sexual content, only 8% of women do. Similarly, 63% of men say that ads with sexual themes make them look while only 28% of women say they react in the same way (p. 17). As such, it is clear that men are targeted directly by these advertisements and that, when it comes to the bottom line, men are being exploited for their proclivity

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