Does SEX Sell?

Would marketing collapse if you took SEX out of the picture? Once again sex has hit the headlines as Girlguiding UK joins the campaign to end page 3 topless models in The Sun. And at the same time, women in Germany staged a topless protest in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin, deliberately using their breasts to draw the attention of the world’s media to their cause. So, is it ok to use sexuality or nudity to sell your message? Or, perhaps a more relevant question to ask is - when is it ok to use sexuality or nudity to sell? And have we become so accustomed to sex in selling that we no longer really see it for what it is? Whether you like it or not sex has become an intrinsic element of selling. Look at the myriad of perfume ads, Nigella Lawson’s cookery show, the latest Diet Coke TV ad, or David Beckham’s underwear ad for H&M. The common element is the use of sex, masculine and feminine, to sell. Which brings me back to the Girl Guides and their objection to page 3…where do we draw the line on what is acceptable and what is not? And how do you make that decision? We’d like to know what you think about sex and marketing so please click on the link below to take part in our short survey. Take the BlackChilli survey by clicking here