Why Sex Sells Are More Than Ever By Jeanette Mulvey

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Recommended: Sexualization of women in advertising

Between 1983 and 2003, the percent of ads using sex to sell products rose from 15 percent to 27 percent according to a study from the University of Georgia found in the article "Why Sex Sells... More Than Ever" by Jeanette Mulvey. As disturbing as this statistic is, almost 13 years have passed since 2003. Therefore, we can only assume the rising pattern of sexualization has continued to be even more present in the advertisements of today 's time. The image portrayed in the advertisement by 7 For All Mankind is outwardly alarming. It operates on notions trying to convince females to buy into sex appeal, femininity, and gender roles. It accomplishes this by the use of a focal point, colors, and text.
The creator of this advertisement makes it clear that the audience of intent is young women, and females in general. The brand does this by showcasing a woman in the advertisement, and referring to how wearing this 7 For All Mankind jeans will make you not only intelligent, but also sexy. Furthermore, 7 For All Mankind is making the assumption that they will successfully sell their jeans by selling sex and intelligence to females.
At first glance toward the advertisement, it becomes very obvious that 7 For All Mankind is selling sex appeal to females. By using images of equations and text of scholarly terms, they conform to the stereotypical idea of intelligence as sexiness. Also, the woman in the picture is wearing glasses, which is sometimes associated with being smart. On the other hand, stereotypically, intelligence can also portray negative thoughts when perceived of in a "nerd" way. To avoid this, the brand chose to highlight a woman. According to society standards, an intelligent woman is thought to be more sexy than a male. W...

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...ptable for a woman to be a teacher than a male. This goes with societal norms. In today 's time, this aspect is changing more and more.
In my opinion, this is unrealistic to the actual teaching profession. I believe they would get more support and purchases if they created an ad that appeals to all shapes, sizes, and careers. Although they were using advertising techniques, I think it is blatantly obvious there is more than just the jeans to be looked at here.
As a whole, 7 For All Mankind uses this advertisement and many sales techniques to sell their jeans. What is needed to be looked into, is the impacts it has on the female society. By creating an advertisement with gender roles, femininity, and sex appeal, this brand has taken print advertisements to a new level. By putting all the thought into the techniques, the creator left no room for thought of women.

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