Sex sells

[GreenMunchkin]

I just saw an advert that was borderline pornographic. Admittedly the watershed was hours back, but still... why is it used to much as an advertising device?

Surely it's had a hand in society's desensitization to sex, and it's partially responsible for what makes the concepts of no sex before marriage, and staying faithful within a marriage seem out-dated and fusty.

Why is this?

 

[Time2BCounted]

I just saw an advert that was borderline pornographic. Admittedly the watershed was hours back, but still... why is it used to much as an advertising device?

Surely it's had a hand in society's desensitization to sex, and it's partially responsible for what makes the concepts of no sex before marriage, and staying faithful within a marriage seem out-dated and fusty.

Why is this?

If you note, its the one vice continually shoved down our throats in every facet of society and entertainment, 24/7... it may have something to do with all the 'pleasing to the eye, touch, etc thing i dunno lol

I believe though these things are intended to blind us and put us into an unrealistic state in which it is inconvenient to consider God, and almost unthikable to deny ourselves for anything.

 

[GreenMunchkin]

If you note, its the one vice continually shoved down our throats in every facet of society and entertainment, 24/7... it may have something to do with all the 'pleasing to the eye, touch, etc thing i dunno lol

I believe though these things are intended to blind us and put us into an unrealistic state in which it is inconvenient to consider God, and almost unthikable to deny ourselves for anything.

That's the thing. I don't wanna sound puritanical, but there's no doubt it takes an awful lot of the focus off God. Despite its being something God has given us.

I'm just not sure why it's the tool used in advertising, and why people respond to it.

 

[SoundCard]

Probably because it's something wired into our very DNA. We must face it, men and women were created for one another, so someone takes that approach, pushes it to an extreme, and you get something that's like a giant spotlight. It's in no way right, and the people who think up such things should feel ashamed for bringing temptation on others, but that's what I think of it anyways.

 

[Sketcher]

Short answer, people are horny.

 

[GreenMunchkin]

Short answer, people are horny.

Sweet... What's the long answer?

 

[Sketcher]

Sweet... What's the long answer?

I'd rather not try and get into a long answer. The short answer is good enough for me.

 

[GreenMunchkin]

I'd rather not try and get into a long answer. The short answer is good enough for me.

Heh, kinda like the teacher who doesn't need to give the answer cos they already have it. Yah, s'fair enough

But any time you're willing to share, am still at a loss, so I'll be grateful, if n when.

 

[Rhamiel]

here is something about guys, we respond a lot more to visual stimuli then women, so that is one reason sex sells

 

[GreenMunchkin]

Interesting. What's the correlation?

 

[Rhamiel]

Well when some one becomes sexually stimulated, even if it is just by an image or sound, it feels good, and the advertisers are hoping that you associate that feeling with their product

 

[Simon_Templar]

Well when some one becomes sexually stimulated, even if it is just by an image or sound, it feels good, and the advertisers are hoping that you associate that feeling with their product

bingo.

I actually once read about a guy who used a similar technique to pick up women. When he would talk to a woman he would at some point early in the conversation find a pretext to ask the woman to think about a time when she felt really good, or felt really sexy or something like that, and he would try to direct the conversation such that when he got her to think about memories that made her feel good, he would move his hands up.

the object was to get the woman to subconciously ascociate the position of his hands with the feelings evoked by her memories. Once that occured, he could subconciously get her to feel good simply by moving his hands to the ascociated position.

Now, I read this, so I don't have any idea if it actually works, but supposedly it did.

 

[FriendsFellowship]

Sex is used in advertising as an attention grabber.

An advertisement can't sell anything if no one is paying any attention.

 

[GreenMunchkin]

It has to be more complicated than that. Has to be. It's had a hand in irrevocably altering society. It can't be as simplistic as that, surely.

 

[FriendsFellowship]

Even simple things can have a dramatic effect on society.

 

[Tenebrae]

We have a channel here called c4, we have had to tuned the tv at work several times so it doesn't pick up this channel. Its a music channel, however I think sometimes theres not much difference between that and porn. You know, girls dressed in nothing or almost nothing, and eekk.

Theres also a burger king at the moment which has girls prancing round in tight singlets and short cutoffs. I don't consider myself to be a prude, however it really icks me the manner in which sex is used to sell, specially with ones like the burger king add, I mean for goodness sakes, women in revealing clothing just has nothing to do with burgers and especially seeing that burger king tries to promote itself as a family restaurant

 

[Simon_Templar]

It has to be more complicated than that. Has to be. It's had a hand in irrevocably altering society. It can't be as simplistic as that, surely.

People are ruled by their desires. If you can make their desires work for you, its just that much easier to manipulate them.

An extension of that is the fact that the easiest people to control are those who are most interested in their 'animal' impulses. Its easy to control people if all they care about is food, sex, and comfort.

 

[Rhamiel]

It has to be more complicated than that. Has to be. It's had a hand in irrevocably altering society. It can't be as simplistic as that, surely.

it is that simple, our economy, our culture is based off of people being efficient and making money and consuming goods and services.
Look at all the stuff we buy from China, a communist nation with a horrible human rights recored (forced abortion, no freedom of the press or religion)
This nation was founded by rich white guys who did not want to pay more taxes to england, why are you surprised a marketing gimick has changed the fabric of the nation (the womens lib movement of the 1960's/70's did not help either)

 

[GreenMunchkin]

People are ruled by their desires. If you can make their desires work for you, its just that much easier to manipulate them.

An extension of that is the fact that the easiest people to control are those who are most interested in their 'animal' impulses. Its easy to control people if all they care about is food, sex, and comfort.

How depressing. So, basically, we're just cattle who are very much in touch with our id. Super.

I guess, actually, that would make Frei's example especially potent. Get sex, food and comfort on one lick, and you're golden. Isn't it odd, though, that we like to think we're so incredibly developed and savvy, but we really only care about our basest desires. Borderline embarrassing

it is that simple, our economy, our culture is based off of people being efficient and making money and consuming goods and services.
Look at all the stuff we buy from China, a communist nation with a horrible human rights recored (forced abortion, no freedom of the press or religion)
This nation was founded by rich white guys who did not want to pay more taxes to england, why are you surprised a marketing gimick has changed the fabric of the nation (the womens lib movement of the 1960's/70's did not help either)

Heh, well, as a woman and an Brit, am doubly offended

No, I'm not talking about the economic change. Like I said in the OP, that it's gradually led to the west being completely sexually desensitized; as if it's something cheap and throw-away. It's affected the way we live, marriage and divorce rates, STDs... all because in tiny increments, we've been exposed to sex in every possible media. And there's really no way to reverse it, because it's out there now, and if anything, it needs to keep on the same road it's going, or people lose interest and stop buying...

Ack!

 

[EternallyPierced]

Hey Green!

Did you hear about the senator who wants to make all marriages temporary?