The old adage “sex sells” may
no longer be true for certain industries and cultures, but it certainly is true
when it comes to the arts, media, and books.
At least I think it does.
Of course, this is all subjective. Who is to say
what even constitutes sex in an ad? For instance, is an image of merely being
pretty or youthful a qualifier to say they are sexy -- or is it about using
their sexuality to sell something?
There is no one standard of look for being sexy,
attractive, or fit.
Perhaps a form-fitting dress crosses the line
for some, while others need overt images of revealing body parts. Regardless of
what one wears or doesn’t wear, context and intentionality are important
elements for an ad selling sex or using sex to sell something. What they say,
how they say it, how they move or position themselves, their surroundings, and
lighting can figure into things.
A June Business News Daily story says: “Magazine
ads featuring sex are on the rise.”
Advertisers know sex can sell. Some brands have
been built around it — beauty and health products, fitness, clothing, perfume,
shoes, lingerie, jewelry, vacations, some cars, music, film... shall I go on?
Is all of this sex imagery good or bad — or
neither?
You certainly don’t want to objectify women and
you don’t want to sexualize things unnecessarily. We have body images, eating
disorders, and mental health to think about — both for models and actors, but
also consumers. One should be able to sell something without a pair of 36D’s
popping in your face.
On the other hand, sex, sexuality, and the human
body form is naturally craved. We are all animals. Regardless of our
educational degree or roles in society, business, or family, in the end, many
of us just want to feel loved and sexually gratified.
What sex sells now is sex itself. Sex is the
product.
Music is sold with sex. The bigger the ass, the
more downloads.
Newspapers are sold with sexy images of
celebrities.
National TV news outlets. Many, many news
anchors and talk show hosts are beautiful. They flash teeth and legs. Even the
weather person is attractive.
Magazines attach themselves to images of beautiful
people.
The movie industry at times is just a few shades
away from the porn industry.
Ballet? It is a dancing sex show.
Look at most new streaming services like
Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, and Amazon. So many have gratuitous scenes of sex or
sexual situations. It is clearly part of a quota system that bakes nudity into
their equation for viewership. I am not complaining. Free speech. Plus, I never
tire of seeing naked bodies. No apologies there.
But even a discussion like this blog post of sex
and beauty can be taboo today. A guy complimenting a woman on her dress could
be grounds for firing. We are in sensitive times, seeking to weed out centuries
of bad practices, but risking throwing out the baby with the bath water.
Social media can work both towards promoting sex
and sexuality, as we see an explosion of porn and instafluencer beauties, while
it also shuns anything sexual and goes into attack mode on just a rumor of a
tiny incident. We live in a paradox of extremes.
In the #metoo era we rightfully shun casting-couch
practices in all industries and settings. We abhor hearing models and actresses
who feel pressured to sleep their way into roles and we revile the people in
powerful positions who rape, assault, or marginalize the people they should
treat with respect and fairness. But an expression of open sexuality in our
arts or ads does not necessarily conflict with a get-tough attitude on behalf
of #metoo reformers valiantly seeking a reasonable end to despicable, criminal
behavior.
You certainly can have sex and sexuality
displayed in the arts, advertising, and elsewhere. The key is to have
boundaries — legal and moral ones.
Certainly charities, government agencies,
schools, hospitals, and many others do not need, nor should they ever use, sex
to sell anything. Sexy imagery is not what sells feeding the homeless, encouraging
vaccinations, or choosing a private school — but it seems to fit right in when
you sell a dress, romantic getaway, or beer.
The book world sells sex — and sex sells books:
Let’s start with book covers. Have a nice body
or pretty face? Splash it on the cover.
Marketing tools, from videos, social media, and author
web sites use attractive people to fill their screens up with their images.
Subject matter. How many books involve sex,
whether they be fiction or non-fiction? Many.
In most cases where sex, sexuality, and beauty
are used to market something, it seems that an image of a woman is used. Why?
This is true even when more women are the ones purchasing the products.
Women, it seems, buy because they want to see
themselves as the woman in the ad or who is associated with a brand. They want
to feel as desired as the woman in the ads are desired by other men. The women
consumers see beauty and sexuality as an empowering tool. They are not feeling
objectified by it; they are owning it. Their body, their choice. They define
feminism as having the power, right, and confidence to be sexual on their
terms.
Sex in ads and the arts, provided it avoids
exploitation and doesn’t body shame, is going to be around a long time.
It has been going on for a long time. As early
as 150 years ago, in 1871, Pearl Tobacco used a topless woman’s image on its
packaging. She must have been smoking hot.
“In terms of capturing attention, sex works,”
said a Psychology Today article in 2017. We can showcase sex and
not be sexist. We can admire beauty by recognizing it comes in many forms.
But there is no denying sex is on our brains:
Pornhub, the leading porn website, gets 130
million visitors daily.
The Journal of Sex Research says men think about sex 19 times per day and women
10 times.
Millions of people hourly stream sex-laced
content on Netflix and the like. Sex is everywhere.
Look at a Kim Kardashian. She has a
billion-dollar butt simply because she has made a brand out of it. She is not
my type, but someone values her ass-driven lifestyle. Power to her!
So, when in doubt when it comes to writing or
marketing your book, throw some sex into it. You won’t regret it.
Need Book PR Help?
Brian
Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com He is available to help authors promote their story, sell
their book, and grow their brand. He has 30 years of experience in helping
thousands of authors in all genres.
Catch Up With These Posts
Will You Take The 30-Day Book Marketing
Challenge?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/08/will-you-take-30-day-book-marketing.html
How Do You Improve Your Elevator Speech,
Authors?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/08/how-do-you-improve-your-elevator-speech.html
Are
We Winning The Battle For America’s Mind?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-battle-for-americas-mind.html
15
Ways To Increase An Author’s Blog Traffic
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/08/15-ways-to-increase-authors-blog-traffic.html
Will
You Protect Books Against Bans, Censorship, & Cancellations?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/08/will-you-protect-books-against-bans.html
Authors,
Blog For Profit! Now!
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/08/authors-blog-for-profit-now.html
The
Author As Entrepreneur: 17 Tips/Resources
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-author-as-entrepreneur-17-tips.html
Top 100 Book PR Blog Posts
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-best-100-book-marketing-pr-blog.html
How
Do Authors Recharge A Stalled Book Marketing Campaign?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/07/how-do-authors-recharge-stalled-book.html
Will
You Send 25 Book Marketing Emails Today?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/07/did-you-send-25-book-marketing-emails.html
How
Should Authors Spend Their Book Marketing Dollars?
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/07/how-should-authors-spend-their-book.html
Great Book Marketing Podcast Interview With Savvy Book PR Pro
Brian Feinblum
https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/04/great-book-marketing-podcast-interview.html
About Brian Feinblum
Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This
is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2021. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he
now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab
rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and
IBPA’s The Independent. This was named one of the best book
marketing blogs by BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018
as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by WinningWriters.com
as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity
for Book Expo America. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.