Example Of Advertisement Using Women As Sex Symbols Critical Thinking

Marketing

Module
Introduction 3
Relation between Women and Sexuality 5
Relationship between female and advertisement: 5
Effect of Sexually Portrayed Women in Media Advertisements 7
Theories used in advertising 8
Effect of Fashion Magazines on Young and Adult Females 11
The Use of Fashion Magazines 12
Ethical Considerations in Advertising 12
Young Educated Consumers Perspective in Using Women in Advertising 12
Corporate Social Responsibility in Advertising 13
Technological Issues in Marketing 14
Conclusion/ Theories 15
Introduction
Advertisements come up everywhere and every time as a part of our daily lives.
Television advertisements, print advertisements in newspaper, magazines and billboards, radio advertisements and even on internet which feature women in sexy clothes to sell products.
The use of scantily-clothed women represents “advertisement human beings” in various parts of the world. These advertisements attract the personal or social perspectives of adult and children.
Advertisements have power and the ability to change the perspective of individuals on certain events and options that may be affecting the society and norms (Gudekli & Celik, 2014).
For understanding the effects of advertisement using sex symbols it is necessary to understand the advertisement and its stereotypes to know the criticism of advertisement that will help for further study on this topic (Richard Van Oort, 2008). The criticism is as follows:
Figure: Showing advertisement and stereotyping

But in most cases we can see portrayal of female as sexual object in advertising.

Portrayal of elderly and children can also be seen in advertising and gender discrimination is also viewable in advertising.
All this portrayal has its own significance and effects in the field of advertising and in the society.
The effects and the relationship between female, sexuality and advertisement are discussed in this report in details.
Relation between Women and Sexuality
The symbols used in the advertisement are conceptualized with social relations since advertisements are the important part in the reconstruction of the social lives of people within a community.

Advertisements have an effective influence on changing or describing the daily life routines and habits of a person.

It can also affect the sexist behaviors based on what is seen or portrayed in the advertisements (Gudekli & Celik, 2014).
The role of woman in advertisement has been an attractive and controversial topic for several decades.
The use of women as sex images can they stir up the emotion of dissatisfaction of the audience of the society.

Relationship between female and advertisement:

Female used in advertisement is mostly liked by the audience. This can be seen from the graph below that shows the rating of liking of female and male and the relationship between the comments ratting.
Figure: How much people like the advertisement
The above diagram shows that how the male broadcast in the advertisement receives positive comment, but the negative comments received are more than that of positive comments.

In case of female casting, rate of negative comments is quite less than that of male.

Criticism is a part of human nature and it cannot be replaced by any measures. Hence, advertisement is always followed by criticism.
The diagram below shows that in advertisement more percentage of females wear sexual outfits than that of male because it attracts the human nature and helps in changing the attitudes of the audience that works in favour of the company.
Figure: percentage of character in advertisement wearing sexy outfit
The above figure shows that about 28.3% female wears sexy outfits to attract the viewers than only 8% male because of the changing generation and taste of the viewers (Basu and Chanda, 2011).

Effect of Sexually Portrayed Women in Media Advertisements

Advertisements showing scantily-clad women suggest that they are portrayed to sell every different type of product whether in magazines, television and online websites (Zimmerman & Dahlberg, 2008).

The male audience may experience a sexual response to print and media advertisements.

Advertising studies have found that males experience arousal when viewing images of partially clothed female models in advertisements.
The sexual response and procedures should be in place to limit the excessive sexual imagery of women in media.
Media literacy materials that contain sexual imagery must be shown to male respondents (Cramphorn, 2011, p.147).

The role of involvement of women’s sexuality may be tested in many ways.

One would be to focus on male stereotypes.
Another approach is to conduct a discussion session or interview with men on their perception of women being sex symbols (Cramphorn, 2011, p.147).

Theories used in advertising

Advertisement must answer to few questions of marketing:For whom the product is made for?How is the market segment divided?Quantity of product to be produced.What is the need and preferences of the consumers?
For answering the question it is important to understand the mind of the consumers for whom the actual product is developed and the advertisement is created to attract the consumers.
It is really important to understand the consumers’ behavior and the need of the product in consumers’ life. If the product is related to human life, it is basically marketed with the use of sexual advertisement. This is because; it attracts the eyes of the consumers and helps them remembering the product. This further leads into increase in sales of the product.
Advertisement is made to change the attitudes of the customers towards the product through proper communication strategy. There are different styles of advertising should be applied for both men and women (Browne, 2005).

Different models are used to understand advertisement theory in details. This models are described as follows:

Figure: Traditional Communication Model
Figure: Interactive communication model
It is important to understand the response of the audience towards the advertisement to get a feedback on the success of the communication.

Advertisement theory is divided into three stage:

Cognitive stage: In this stage the knowledge and awareness about the product of services is spread among the consumers through advertisement.
Affective Stage: This stage shows how the advertisement effects the attitude of the consumers and changes their liking and preferences that acts positively towards the product and service (Ince, Yee and Desorgues, 2012).
Behavioral stage: At this stage the effects of the advertisement can be seen on the sales of the product and revenue earned by the company.
Most of the theory depicts the role of advertisement on the human behavior, but it does not show the effects of sexual portrayal in advertisement (Rodgers and Thorson, 2012).
Though it is known that men are mostly used in advertisement because of the high ratio of men, but now a day sexual portrayal of females are used to attract more consumers because of attracting more customers and increasing the sales of the company.

Men do not respond more negatively, rather they respond positively when the appropriate stimulus is presented.

Males are often attracted to advertisements which feature young and beautiful models in skimpy outfits.
In the case of females, fashion magazines that showcase skinny models in trendy outfits have affected the female body satisfaction (Cramphorn, 2011, p.147).

Effect of Fashion Magazines on Young and Adult Females

Adolescent girls tend to respond to fashion images in such a way that they develop high body dissatisfaction after seeing young and skinny female models (Shaw, 1995).

The advertisements that show skinny models in fashionable clothes can influence the young girls to patronize superficial beauty.

Female models promote obsession to physical attractiveness.
Ads increase the sensitivity of adolescent body image to fashion magazines.
Older and heavier adolescent girls have a greater tendency to become anorexic or bulimic compared to their young and thinner counterparts (Goodrich, 2014).
As a result, young girls are exposed to the idea that they will be judged based on their physical attractiveness and body image (Cramphorn, 2011, p.148).

The Use of Fashion Magazines

Fashion magazines act as a psychosocial stimulus that triggers body dissatisfaction (Shaw, 1995).
Fashion magazines encourage weight control behaviors among women, especially young girls.
The fashion images motivate girls to showcase a body image that will win the approval and acceptance of the community (Cramphorn, 2011, p.148).

Ethical Considerations in Advertising

Media outfits and advertising companies must also consider ethical considerations when using women as sex objects to attract the consumers to buy goods and services.

Women who are being stereotyped as dumb blondes in several advertisements can be offensive to the moral senses.

Educated women realize that advertisements do not reflect reality and cannot be as offended by them.
These women represent more sophisticated consumers and may understand that advertisements are merely creative art that attempt to sell products and services, and not depictions of real life (Zimmerman & Dahlberg, 2008).

Young Educated Consumers Perspective in Using Women in Advertising

The present college females evolved and had been raised in a highly sexualized world, wherein the sexual content dominates the media (Zimmerman & Dahlberg, 2008).
The sexually objectified portrayals of women in advertisements may affect views of sex and sexual behavior of women, especially the young girls.

The new feminists will only regard female sexuality as power in the 21st century (Zimmerman & Dahlberg, 2008).

Advertisements normally portray women as sex objects.
Such portrayals must not be offensive to young, educated women because this culture is continuously evolving.
As sex becomes commercial, recreational, and exploitational, some of these young girls become sexually active for having been exposed provocative images of women in advertisements.
Sexual experimentation of these young girls start earlier that can affect the pregnancy rate for adolescent girls aged 15 to 17 in US and in other industrialized nations (Zimmerman & Dahlberg, 2008).

Corporate Social Responsibility in Advertising

Advertisers are expected to assume moral responsibility in the creation and dissemination of images and messages to the consumers as part of the corporate social responsibility (Zimmerman & Dahlberg, 2008).

Provocative images must not only focus on the women’s body parts to sell products.

It is enough that the women had served as a decorative model to sell particular goods and services (Zimmerman & Dahlberg, 2008).
Corporations are considered as moral actors that have obligations and responsibilities to the people in their community.
Corporate firms must be able to distinguish the fine line between the happiness of the stockholders and doing what is ethical and just (Oliver, Ford & Meyers, 2014).
The objectives and goals of the advertising companies should not only focus in creating adequate profits, but doing what society perceives as morally fair for the consumers.
It is their social obligation to remain ethical in supplier selection, giving all possible vendors the chance to compete fairly for a business opportunity (Oliver, et al., 2014).
They must develop policies that provide their dedication to engage in supplier diversity and mandate that promotes corporate culture of social responsibility.
Advertising agencies must not view approach diversity out of a negative sense of obligation, but by looking at it as a positive and aggressive search to engage with partners that match their capabilities (Oliver, et al., 2014).
The crux of corporate social responsibility is for the advertising companies to provide clients with world class creativity which will allow the diverse suppliers to deliver their needs and wants, thereby creating a win-win scenario for all (Oliver, et al., 2014).

Technological Issues in Marketing

Advertising companies possess the potential to reach more customers through information technology (Berisha-Namani, 2013).
Companies are able to introduce new products and services instantly and collaborate with global suppliers and business partners wherever they may be (Berisha-Namani, 2013).

The use of Facebook and Instagram makes it more convenient for advertising companies to implement global reach.

Internet is the cheapest form of advertisement through the use of websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to sell and promote goods and services.

Pictures of women can easily be posted online to reach out to the companies’ targeted international market.

Conclusion/ Theories
Advertisements had been criticized by presenting women as stereotype for years that resulted to the difficulty in understanding the changing role of women in society.
Critics disapprove the act of the advertisers for frequently using a woman’s body in advertisements to attract attention and target the public.
Profitable brands including Victoria's Secret, Calvin Klein, and Gucci are famous powerful brands to show the sexual identity of women and sell the image of a woman as decorative good (Cramphorn, 2011, p.147).
The dynamics of the development of information technology and its expeditious usage brought major changes in modern business development and marketing activities (Berisha-Namani, 2013).

References:

Cramphorn, M.F., 2011, “'Gender effects in advertising”, International Journal of Market
Research, 53(2), 147-170.
Berisha-Namani, M.,2013. “Information Technology, Internet, and Marketing”, International
Goodrich, K., 2014, “The Gender Gap: Brain-Processing Differences between the Sexes Shape
Attitudes About Online Advertising”, Journal of Advertising Research, 54(1), 32-43.
Gudekli, I., & Celik, I., 2014, “Using Woman in Advertisement as a Symbol of Sex:
Cosmopolitan Magazine Example”, Journal of Yasar University, 35(9), 6129-6137.
“It’s All About the Dress What I Learned in 40 Years About Men, Women, Sex, and Fashion”,
2011, Kirkus Reviews, 79(14),1230.
Oliver, S., Ford, R., & Meyers, Y., 2014. “'Corporate Social Responsibility: Ensuring
Supplier Diversity in the Advertising Industry”, Business Studies Journal, 6(1), 121-130.
Reichert, T., LaTour, M., Lambiase, J., & Adkins, M., 2007, “A Test of Media Literacy Effects
and Sexual Objectification in Advertising”,Journal of Current Issues & Research in
Advertising (CTC Press), 29 (1), 81-92.
Shaw, J., 1995, “Effects of Fashion Magazines on Body Dissatisfaction and Eating
Psychopathology in Adolescent and Adult Females”, European Eating Disorders Review,
3(1), 15-23.
Stith, M. & Goldsmith, R., 1989., “Race, Sex, and Fashion Innovativeness: A Replication”,
 Psychology & Marketing, 6(4), 249-262.
Yoon, H, & Kim, Y., 2014, “The Moderating Role of Gender Identity in Responses to Comedic Violence Advertising”, Journal of Advertising, 43(4), 382-396.
Zimmerman, A., & Dahlberg, J., 2008. “'The Sexual Objectification of Women in Advertising: A
Contemporary Cultural Perspective”, Journal of Advertising Research, 48(1), 71-79.
Basu, P. and Chanda, I. (2011). Locating cultural change. New Delhi: SAGE Publications.
Browne, R. (2005). Profiles of popular culture. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press.
Ince, C., Yee, L. and Desorgues, J. (2012). Bauhaus. London: Koenig Books.
Richard Van Oort, (2008). The Culture of Criticism. Criticism, 49(4), pp.459-479.
Rodgers, S. and Thorson, E. (2012). Advertising theory. New York: Routledge.