Sex appeals increasingly used to sell plastic surgery

Want to look and feel sexier? Consider plastic surgery.

According to a recent study published in 2011, this is the message physicians are increasingly using to promote cosmetic surgery. In fact, some of the most invasive procedures--breast augmentation and liposuction-- are more likely to include sex appeals compared to noninvasive procedures. The lead author and primary contributor was University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill professor Heidi Hennink-Kaminski. The study appeared in the journal Sexuality & Culture. I know this study fairly well because I am a coauthor.

Dr. Hennink-Kaminski trained coders to examine 2,400 cosmetic surgery ads in big-market city magazines published over a 20 year period; from 1986 to 2007. Overall, 20% of the ads contained a sexual appeal but three times as many sexual ads appeared in the second decade (1997-2007).

Sexual appeals are more likely to emphasize the sexual enhancement of one's self-esteem (e.g., "feel sexier"). A little over a third of sexual appeals emphasize enhanced sexual attractiveness, and about 10% of ads make the claim, either implicitly or explicitly, that increased sexual behavior is an outcome of cosmetic surgery (e.g., "more sex/better sex").

It should come as no surprise that women--many of them partially dressed or naked--appear in 97% of the sexual ads. Given the target audience these ads are not designed to promote sexual arousal but are designed to serve as aspirational and instructional, with sexual behavior and feelings used as reasons for considering a cosmetic procedure.

There are plenty of implications. For one, should an emotion-based appeal such as sex be used to sell surgery? Doing so certainly violates norms within the medical community that advertising should be limited to information about the practice, not compelling emotional benefits. Please comment about implications you feel are important.

Consumer Reports determines Dial's "sex appeal" claim comes up short

Will Dial “Magnetic” body wash for men enhance their sex lives? Not according to research by Consumer Reports. In its February 2011 issue, CR investigated Dial’s claim that the pheromone-infused wash would attract women. The scientist they interviewed said, “no way.”

Dial joins a long line of male targeted soaps, deodorants and body sprays positioned as sexual enhancers. Think of brands such as Axe, Tag, and Old Spice that employ the sexual benefit trope: “Use our brand, and get the attention of the opposite sex.” In advertising, this strategy was first used in 1911 by JWT to sell Woodbury Facial Soap to women. The appeal was so successful that JWT and hundreds of other agencies have used it to sell almost every personal care product imaginable, and continue to do so today.

CR does neglect to consider that simple bathing, an act some young men find abhorrent, may indeed enhance one’s prospects. But then any deodorant soap will do.

Abortion-services TV ad/campaign to air in UK

Ad Age reports that an ad for abortion services will air May 24 after 10 PM. The ad is sponsored by Marie Stopes International, a sexual health charity. According to the Ad Age report and BBC, government regulators approved the spot, the first ever TV commercial for abortion services.

"To allow abortion providers to advertise on TV, as though they were no different from car companies or detergent manufacturers, is grotesque," said a spokersperson for an anti-abortion organization in response to the upcoming commercial.

The spot will run after 10 PM to minimize exposure among children. Abortion is not directly mentioned in the ad but viewers are asked, "Are you late?" Viewers are encouraged to call a 24-hour hotline. No doubt that callers on both sides of the abortion issue will be making their voices heard.

Sex and the Census

Since we're in the midst of a census, thought you would find this tobacco ad intriguing. The headline reads: "Should a gentleman offer a Tiparillo to a census taker?" Which begs the question, has anyone ever seen a census taker who even closely resembles the twins in the ad?

Readers could mail in the coupon for a 1968 Tiparillo pin-up calendar featuring the twins and 11 other sexy shots. Otherwise the ad offers a fairly standard sex-related promise: Offer Tiparillos and you're sure to gain the favorable attention of sex kittens.

Beauty sells insomnia meds

This direct response ad for Nocturnix, an insomnia supplement, recently running in Newsweek probably attracted a few eyeballs. It got our attention: An oversized closeup of a beautiful woman's face will stop traffic whether it has any connection to the product or not.

A quick analysis of this ad's strategy, using a woman for decorative purposes, might bring our attention to the "beautiful is good" paradigm. Developed by social psychologists and marketers, this theory says people's interpersonal relationships, judgments, and beliefs might be affected by their own beauty and their perceptions of beauty in others. When advertisers use this strategy, they are counting on this "benefit" to their products or services. So, when viewing this ad, the consumer might think this equation: beautiful woman = good product.

Using the "beautiful is good" theory, companies combine physically attractive employees with sexualized contexts to attract attention, brand products and sell merchandise. Read more about it in "Erotic Encounters: Female Employees and Promotional Activities" in Sex in Consumer Culture: The Erotic Content of Media and Marketing (2006), co-edited by Tom Reichert and Jacqueline Lambiase.

Want to read more the role of physical attractiveness in marketing? Check out these scholars: Ashmore, Solomon, & Longo, 1996; Dion, Berscheid, & Walster, 1972; Patzer, 1985; and Reingen, Ronkainen, & Gresham, 1981.

--Guest post contributed by Jacqueline Lambiase

Manscaping: Men managing their body hair

Are you worried about your hair down there? Are you insecure about how it looks? No, these aren’t questions directed to women, but to men. Taking care of “hair down there” is typically a concern for women. Remember the recent Schick Quattro videos urging women to “mow the lawn?”

But Gillette is tapping into the male landscaping theme. A comparison of two studies shows that since 2005 the percentage of men engaging hair removal increased from 63% to over 80% (Boroughs et al., 2005; Nytimes, 2009).

Gillette’s art of manscaping has gained a lot attention for its informational website. It tells men how to groom their armpits, head, chest, legs, and groin. In one scene, it features a young man in a towel swaggering into an animated forest while the narrator states, “If you want to see the tree you shouldn’t have to blaze a trail to get there. Trees look taller when there is no underbrush.” Near the man is a scantily dressed “girl scout” seductively eyeing him up and down.

The Web site not only tells men why to shave their groins, but how to shave them. This section states Gillette’s catch phrase, “trimming the bush to make the tree look taller,” twice as a cartoon man illustrates the step-by-step process to looking larger, but warns to be careful and not “put the equipment at risk.” The phrase “make the tree look taller” and the imagery allows for the male audiences to make a logical connection between the product and their personal size.

The “groin” how-to video has garnered over 2 million views on YouTube and over 2,000 comments. The comments—by both men and women—reveal mixed feelings about overly groomed men. Overall, Gillette does a good job identifying and voicing reasons men may want to consider manscaping. At the very least, Gillette is effectively tapping into the male grooming trend.

--Posted by Allison Einsiedel

SoBe's Ashley Greene dons skinsuit in 2010 Swimsuit Issue

In the upcoming 2010 edition of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, the movie star Ashley Greene (of the "Twilight" series fame) will appear nude, in a sense.

The young actress has stripped down to her birthday suit for a photo-shoot to feature prominently in the famous sports magazine, however it isn’t quite Playboy. No, Greene is sporting a bathing suit, a painted on bathing suit.

The photo shoot is actually an elaborate advertising campaign for drink manufacturer SoBe’s “Lifewater” drinks.

In fact, when I visited the SoBe website, the homepage has been redesigned so that the entire background is one of the pictures from Greene’s photo-shoot. On the website you can view numerous pictures of Greene sporting a various painted-on bathing suits. The style of the bathing suit is obviously supposed to resemble scales, a reference to SoBe’s lizard mascot. A video the photo shoot can also be found on online.

This blurring of advertising and content isn’t the first time that Sports Illustrated has featured a woman wearing nothing but paint. In fact, as recently as the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, not one, but multiple women wearing nothing but the painted skin on their backs. So what makes Ashley Greene doing it so special? Well, a couple things.

First of all, Ashley Greene is best known for playing the character, Alice Cullen in the insanely popular, book-turned-movie franchise, "Twilight." I know very little about the "Twilight" series, and while I have never actually seen any of the movies (or read the books from that part) I am aware that her role is prominent. The headline “Twilight Star to appear nearly nude in Magazine.” Is bound to attract some attention due to the popularity of movie franchise.

Secondly, this is not the first time that, Greene has appeared naked on camera. In August of 2009 amateur nude photos surfaced on the internet. While legal action was taken by Greene and her attorney in order to remove the pictures, the images had already spread across the internet.

So here is a young, attractive actress who is a part of a massively popular movie-franchise who also has gained a bit of a status as a sex symbol due to an nude picture incident. It’s not an original tale, not by a long shot, but it is one that people seem to be fascinated with. And it’s a tale that SoBe is implementing to read the rewards of market share.

--Posted by Zachary Taylor