Advertising_at_Its_Finest

Like death and taxes, there is no escaping color or sex appeal. When looking through the glossy ads in a magazine for clothes, shoes, liquor, or water, what is the first thing one tends to look at first' It's the appearance, color scheme, and the person or thing selling the item. Advertisements today aren't there to just show off an item, they're used to target our subconscious. When doing so, the advertisers use beautiful, elegant, and sexy people along with great colors to make consumers think that if they, too, purchase the product being sold; they’ll look just as great. People are misled to think like this because of the all over attractiveness and the colors that surround these individuals advertising a product. It has always been the looks that draw someone in, but in reality it’s how the advertisement makes an individual feel that will persuade them to accept or deny a product. The way colors and sex appeal are used today is a terrible thing, but yet everyone is so numb to it, that most overlook the obvious, that sex appeal and using a variety of colors to sell products is what really leaves a lasting impression hidden deep in our inner most thoughts. With this is mind, effective advertising is key to any company’s success. If the self-promotion, advertisement, contains an element of sex appeal with a variety of sensual colors, the more interesting the advertisement becomes for a broader base of consumers. To clarify, figure 1, Absolut CitronTM, (Cosmo 84) is a prime example of effective advertising promoting both sex and colors. When one takes a quick glimpse at the advertisement, they will first notice, the color yellow, then instantly their eyes will be distracted to the woman’s chest. The color yellow has been known for enhancing concentration (Johnson); this being the reason why the female in this advertisement is the main focus for anyone viewing it. She is the ideal blonde hair, blue eyes, big breasted kind of girl; this of course is one of many male fantasies. One could be attracted to her legs which look chic, yet slightly opened, and while being in a robe, this photo leaves a lot of thought to the imagination. As a result of the sex appeal and the way the color yellow was used in this advertisement, the product is the last thing that gets noticed. The selling of Absolut CitronTM has now made one think of a sexy, yellow, blonde hair, blue eyed vixen. When selling this product the advertiser wasn't just thinking about one kind of audience, they were trying to sell it to everyone. The way this female looks is ideal. Doesn't every woman want to be this appealing to the male population, and doesn't every man want their woman to look this good while sitting in a robe' By combing sex appeal and the color scheme, this advertisement has done exactly what it was supposed to do, not only to sell the product, but make this image part of the product. Over time the standards of beauty have become harder to achieve. As advertisers, the need to sell products to consumers has gone up over the years. In order to sell their products with ease they must keep the consumers entertained and wanting more. A very wise actress, Helen Mirren, once said “Flesh sells. People don't want to see pictures of churches. They want to see naked bodies.” Ads promote products with women and men who have sex appeal; but one must not forget how important colors are to an audience. If the colors are not attractive then the product may not sell as well. A great example is figure two (Shape 31), a SmartWaterTM Ad. The woman promoting this bottle of water is Hollywood star, Jennifer Aniston. Even though the photo itself is in black and white and the product being sold is in color; the first thing someone is going to look at is her elegant and flawless face, then her naked body and finally the colorful bottle. Although the bottle is blue, more eyes are attracted to the female body because of the way she's looking at the camera. Not only is she looking at the camera provocatively, but the way her hand is gently placed over her breast draws attention to that area of her body. Also, the SmartWaterTM bottle is an elongated bottle which is sitting underneath her mouth; this can be interpreted as a male’s copulatory organ. While blue is said to cause the body to produce calming chemicals (Johnson), this ad does no such thing. This ad isn’t only promoting the bottled water, it’s selling sex too. Just like figure one, AbsolutTM, the use of colors and sex appeal is what really leaves a lasting impression in one’s mind. There's one thing that will always be certain, no matter how old someone becomes, sexual advertisements with attractive colors sell. When flipping through the pages of a magazine; the one thing that is bound to cease one from continually flipping is a naked body with sensual colors surrounding it. As in figure one, AbsolutTM, (Cosmo 84) and two, SmartWaterTM, (Shape 31), figure three, If you’re A Girl, (Allure 203), uses both sex appeal and color scheme to sell the product in the photo. As seen below, the female in the photo is attempting to sell a black dress. This woman sells this product well, while using her looks as an advantage. One way she’s doing so is by leaning up against the pole; the first thing someone will notice when glancing at the photo is her chest, which is in fact popping out of her dress. Simply because of the way her back is arched against the pole, making her chest seem bigger than what it really is. If her chest isn't enough to make you believe this ad isn’t selling sex, then maybe the way her hands are conveniently placed behind her body will. This leads one to believe that, quite possibly, her hands are tied behind her because she just took part in sexual pleasures. The female's hair doesn't deny this interpretation either. As for the color scheme of things, the use of the color black in this figure is outstanding. As Johnson said the color black makes one think of power and mystery. This is perfect seeing that the way this female is standing makes it seem like she is trying to hide something behind her, which causes a bit of mystery, but her body language alone is sending off a powerful tone. But just like the other ads leave a little more thought to the imagination; figure three, If you're A Girl (Allure 203), does the same thing. The first thing one looks at is indeed the female goddess modeling this form fitting black dress, but the last thing they're going to see is the little pink quote to the left of her body. The quote says "If you are a girl who cannot walk in heels, it doesn't matter how beautiful you are" (Hayek 203). With this being said, if you are a female who can't walk in heels, you're ugly. Why must women be objectified by the kind of shoes they do and do not wear' The quote on page 203 may change the viewpoint of the consumer. If they believe that they don't have to wear heels to look beautiful, then they may overlook the ad all together and simply continue on browsing because they feel offended. The advertiser has to always make sure that they're not saying anything that is going to hurt the consumers’ feelings, because without the consumer, they will not make profit from the product they’re trying to sell. Besides, if it wasn't for the great sex appeal and color scheme, this advertisement would be looked over. Without a doubt, there's no way to eliminate death or taxes from anyone's life. Sex appeal and color schemes are the same exact way. If these two items aren't present in an advertisement the chance of the consumer overlooking the ad goes up. People may never know what drives them to buy certain objects, but the advertisers do. It's all due to how the product is being sold. Without sex appeal, consumers become bored. This is why ads have become so provocative. Females used to wear clothes in magazine ads; now all they wear are their smiles. If the consumer would take a moment to realize what kind of world their forced to live in maybe they'll learn to change their wants and needs. Works Cited Absolut Citron. Advertisement. Cosmopolitan October 2011: 203. Print. Johnson, David. "Color Psychology — Infoplease.com." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free Online Reference, & Research Help. — Infoplease.com. Pearson Education, Inc, 2007. Web. 19 Sept. 2011. Mirren, Helen. "Sells Quotes - BrainyQuote." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. BookRags Media Network, 2001. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. SmartWater. Advertisement. Allure September 2011: 31. Print. Yves Saint Laurent dress. Advertisement. Allure September 2011: 203. Print.