Nicole Elise Sampang Baysa

Communication III

Informative Speech Plan

Title: Sex Here, There, and Everywhere
Specific Speech Purpose: To inform my Comm 3 audience on why sexual themes are prevalent
in advertisements and its effects on society
Statement: Using sexual themes in advertisements is an effective strategy in increasing a brands
appeal to the consumers.
Introduction
I.Attention Step: In 2004, one billboard advertisement that sparked controversy was the brandy,
Napolean Quince, with the tagline Nakatikim ka na ba ng kinse anyos?(Have you ever tasted a
fifteen-year old?). This advertisement earned strong disapproval from the protestors for its
subliminal message of the appeal of engaging in a relationship with young girls.

II. Clarification Step: Using sexual themes in advertisements has always been a go-to strategy of
advertisers to draw attention to their brands. In our Philippine society, media continues to
bombard us with images of women in provocative outfits and suggestive poses in television or
the billboards of EDSA. So this poses the question: Why is sex a prevalent theme in
advertisements?

Body
I.Sexual themes in advertising redirect our biological and psychological needs.
A. Humans are hardwired to pay attention to sexual cues.
1. Our evolutionary ancestors who paid attention to sexual cues were open to
mating opportunities, thus increasing their chances of survival.
2. Sexual stimuli are able to quickly capture the attention of humans because of its
arousal capacity.

B. Sexual themes in advertising work on the pleasure principle.

1. The pleasure principle is the instinctual drive to seek maximum pleasure and
minimum pain.
2. In Freudian psychology, pleasure is the force that governs the id or the
personality component that seeks to satisfy our urges and desires including sex.
3. Exposure to product advertisements with sexual imagery gives the consumers
the message of gaining pleasure through the acquisition of products.

II. The prevalence of sexual themes in advertisements poses negative consequences to how men
and women are perceived in society
A. Women are reduced to sex objects.
1. More women than men are portrayed in advertisements with suggestive
behavior.
2. Feminists often categorize advertisements as a locus of oppression, the carrier
of images denigrating women by representing them as passive objects of the male
gaze
3. The female body is viewed as a mere commodity.
 B. It invokes feelings of inadequacy for both genders.
1. We tend to glorify images that emphasize physical appearance as a central
criterion for assessing masculine and feminine worth.
2. It creates a negative sense of self for women and this in turn helps to create
how women think they should be treated and viewed by others.

Conclusion

Now that I have elaborated on the causes and effects of using sexual themes as a common
strategy in advertising a brand. I hope that this challenges everyone not to fall trap into buying a
product simply because it appeals to your senses. Always remember to have a critical eye when
it comes to viewing these advertisements because the messages they convey dont just achieve
the purpose of selling a brand but it can also distort how societys perception of women.

Lull, R. B., & Bushman, B. J. (2015). Do sex and violence sell? A meta-analytic review of the
effects of sexual and violent media and ad content on memory, attitudes, and buying
intentions. Psychological Bulletin,141(5), 1022-1048. doi:10.1037/bul0000018

Burton, G. (2007). Media and Society. Maidenhead. McGraw-Hill International (UK) Ltd
.
Pages, T. (2017). Sexual Objectification (Part 1): What is It? - Sociological Images. [online]
Thesocietypages.org. Available at: https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/07/02/sexual-
objectification-part-1-what-is-it/ [Accessed 16 Jun. 2017].

Servidio, C. (2002). Sex in Advertising. Retrieved from

http://dspace.nelson.usf.edu/xmlui/handle/10806/4507?show=full.

Pages, T. (2017). Sexual Objectification (Part 1): What is It? - Sociological Images. [online]
Thesocietypages.org. Available at: https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/07/02/sexual-
objectification-part-1-what-is-it/ [Accessed 16 Jun. 2017].