I was reading a blog today that said "sex sells". Wow. Since when is that news? Sex has been used to market everything from dish soap to dentures for eons and it's been the main tool of Madison Avenue from the get-go.
Holy Pornography, Viagraman! Every good ad person knows that to sell product or services you have to appeal to basic human emotions. Fear and sexual desire are two of the strongest emotions and are, therefore, the most effective as advertising tools.
You can see the use of sex as a selling tool from the beginning of radio and television. Sure, we might not recognize it as "sexy" by today's standards, but believe me, the sex was there under the surface in just about every program or commercial or print ad. Do you remember those models used in car ads? Ever seen a just a woman's mouth eating a piece of fruit? Have you ever noticed the dilated eyes of female models? Do you remember the Noxema ads? How about the slow ketchup?
In today's world the sexuality is blatant, recognizable and aggressive but there is no more sex in today's marketing world than before. In the recent past sex was "suggested" and "implied", today it is out in the open. But let's face it, we all knew what they were talking about then and we can't miss it now! Heck, I'm convinced the cavemen were drawing those naked animals on those caves in Lascaux in order to sell their newest wheel!
No, sex is not new as a marketing tool. Just ask Cleopatra about the time she rolled herself up in a carpet and then had it unfurled in front of Julius Caesar - that woman new how to market herself! And for a brief moment in history she had the entire Roman Empire, a Roman Emperor, Egypt, and the use of a couple of pretty outstanding military armadas for her marketing efforts! And we just use it to sell soap?
And now a word from our sponsors - (that would be, uh, me)
TEN HAVE SEX - WHEN NINE IS NOT ENOUGH!
