A Little Peek-A-Boo Which is Apparently Too Much

The assumption of ‘Sex Sells’ (Reichert & Carpenter, 2004) is still embraced by media as a topic that draws human attention. However, several institutions believe that a line should have been drawn for it is applied on advertising industry- to which extends usually exploits female as a sexual objects and often portraying a figment of woman as a submissive creature. On The highly sexual art of selling perfume, Author Sarah Oakes (2012) is questioning the method on marketing perfumes by many high-end brands which are considered inappropriate, since most of the targeted audiences are young costumers.

Blair et al (2006) agreed that sexual approach indeed helps lifted marketing chart on particular segment of products, such as beer, car and ironically female necessities. Aside from products, these pictures also serve as a fantasy for consumers, shaping a thought that they could imitate what is portrayed by the ads after purchasing the certain items (Blair et al, 2006; D’Enbeau, 2010; Rachel, 2009). For example, by wearing a specific attires or cologne, a woman could mirror their public figure since she felt they are using the same products. This is a main reason behind a celebrity endorsement system on media. However, these images often are portraying a misinterpretation on stereotypes and society system which possibly leads on forming a widespread misunderstanding regarding the roles of woman should perform within home, workplace and even surrounding (Gengler, 2011). This kind of advertising might provides the idea of being sultry or dressing provocatively in order to be respected and accepted on community.

I opine that controversy within advertising is inevitable, since advertising industry’s main goal is to create sensation and attractiveness. While it is true that a perfume is merely grooming us on our smell senses, a different concept in creative industries are highly recommended (Sheehan & Morrison, 2009). As for the negative images in media, I believe consumers have to be selective on absorbing the imageries presented and setting a roper mind-set towards the illustration. 

References

Blair, J, Stephenson, J, Hill, K & Green, J 2006, ‘Ethics in Advertising: Sex Sells, but should it?’ on Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, vol. 9, no1.

D’Enbaeau, Suzy 2010, ‘Sex, Feminism, and Advertising: The Politics of Advertising Feminism in a Competitive Marketplace’ in Journal of Communication Inquiry, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 53-69.

Gengler, A. M. 2011, ‘Selling Feminism, Consuming Femininity’ on American Sociological Association, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 68-69.

Oakes, Sarah 2012, ‘The highly sexual art of selling perfume’, Daily life, viewed 31 May 2012, < http://www.dailylife.com.au/dl-beauty/the-highly-sexual-art-of-selling-perfume-20120518-1yvd4.html>.

Reichert, T., & Carpenter, C. 2004, ‘An Update on Sex Magazine Advertising’ in Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, vol. 81, pp. 823-837.

Rachel, 2009, ‘How has feminist media theory discussed media representations of women? Which of these theoretical observations do you find most convincing?’, rachaelx.jigsy, viewed 2 June 2012, http://rachaelx.jigsy.com/entries/general/how-has-feminist-media-theory-discussed-media-representations-of-women-which-of-these-theoretical-observations-do-you-find-most-convincing.\

Sheehan, K. B. & Morrison, D. K. 2009, ‘The Creativity Challenge: Media Confluence and Its Effects on the Evolving Advertising Industry’, Journal of Interactive Advertising, vol. 9, no. 2.