Marketing Blog

In order to make advertisements grab the attention of the masses, advertisers often rely on provocative imagery — commonly, sex or violence. Ads that imply questionable values or messages also seem to be frequent. For example, far too many fashion advertisements are overly sexualized and perpetuate both male and female stereotypes, as in the examples presented here by Business Insider.

I think relying excessively on shocking and provocative imagery for marketing is unethical. These types of ads can promote or glorify dangerous notions, such as that of sexual aggression shown in the image above. Of course, it catches one’s eye, but is it necessary to achieve this in such a tasteless and frankly offensive manner? Should it be acceptable to make viewers uncomfortable and to glamorize something like gang rape for the sake of selling a product?

“Oh, it’s just a silly fashion ad,” one might say, “Everyone knows it’s not real. I won’t let that affect my thinking.”

Perhaps because it is so pervasive and ingrained into our daily lives, many seem to dismiss the significant impact advertising has on us.  Advertising agencies hold huge power over us and the messages that they convey become hammered into our consciousnesses, without us realizing it. This is especially true for this age of widely available media and information. Advertising may be one of the biggest forces that shape our ways of thinking and values, so the damage that can be done through even seemingly insignificant fashion ads is huge. Although it is the marketer’s job to sell products first and foremost, consideration should be taken into how their methods may affect viewers. It is important that companies take the responsibility of thoughtfully evaluating what they are feeding to the public through ads and commercials.