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Imagine that...sex still sells
By AprillBrandon in Pop Goes the Culture
August 6, 2008

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But have some companies taken their racy marketing campaigns too far?

That's the question being brought up by bloggers, media experts and parents recently after a slew of sexy ads have popped up advertising everything from TV shows (hello "Gossip Girl") to back to school clothes.

According to blogger Caroline McCarthy, American Apparel ads, which feature jail bait-esque girls in nothing but panties, has the most clicked on ads online. 48,887,000 unique visitors to be exact.

And according to ABC News, in one ad, "a girl wearing only American Apparel underwear can be seen crawling between a man's legs. In the next shot, the model is licking the crotch of the man's underwear, glancing seductively at the camera."

Now using sex to sell products (even hamburgers...remember the Paris Hilton Carl Jr's. ad...shudder) is nothing new. I remember back when I was 16 and shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch (you know, the retailer where the good-looking associates won't even look your way until you physically stop them and shout "Hey you, Ms. Size 2, can I get some help here?") . I wanted to buy one of their ridiculously overpriced catalogs that they only sold in store but for some reason they wouldn't let me. I figured it was because I wasn't one of the "beautiful people" but after convincing my mom to buy it for me, I quickly discovered otherwise.

Their catalog was full of nude photos. In fact, I think in the entire 200 page catalog, there were maybe three articles of clothing.

It was obviously a marketing ploy but still, considering the store catered to mostly teenagers, it was a bit on the skeezy side on their part.

So have marketing campaigns gone too far? Or is it just a sign of the changing times?

It's a question definitely worthy of debate but one thing is for sure. Using sex to sell isn't going to go away.