Sex as an Advertising Appeal: A Review of Its Ethical Basis, Functions and Effects

The use of images of youths (especially females) in advertising without connection to the product being sold has become a trend in advertising. These depictions regarded as Sex Advertising aims at attracting the attention of potential consumers or users but carries with it certain values and attitudes towards sex that are „sold‟ along with the products. There is this believe that a product will attract minimal audience attention if its advert lacks features of sex. This ranges from relatively explicit display of sexual acts, to the use of basic cosmetics to enhance attractive features. This paper therefore, reviews studies carried out on Sex Advertising with particular focus on its ethical basis, functions and effects so as to ascertain the rationale for such appeal and if such advertising techniques in actual sense produce the desired result. This review used secondary data of five (5) related studies on Sex Advertising. From the findings of these studies, we conclude thus: there is no ethical basis for sex advertising; its function of attracting the attention of potential consumers is limited to the sex images used as less attention is paid to the product which is what advertising should aim to achieve. Lastly, the effectiveness of sex advertising on products depends on the type of product as well as the strength of its demand among other competitors in the market.