Does Sex Sell?
Before you read this post, I want you to answer the question “Does Sex Sell?” Sex is used to sell almost every product on earth, from cars to shoes, to ice cream and soda. In many ways, North America, for all of our vices, is behind the ball on using sex to sell things: ads in Europe and South America are much more risque than anything that you will find on tv or print in North America. But does it work? Are ad execs using sex because it works, or simply because they enjoy spending time with the sexy people they have cast in the ads?
I’m sure that I can find studies that say sex does sell, and I’m sure there are studies out there that claim sex doesn’t sell. Typically studies are notoriously biased, depending on who did the study, who paid for the study, what the product was, and how good the ad was. I prefer to use my own real world experience to base my conclusions on. Since I’m not in the visual field, my chances of running a campaign with scantily clad women and men are pretty much nil, so let’s reflect on my experience as a consumer. In particular, my experiences this past weekend.
I spend the weekend in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, enjoying the Rock 102 Cruise Weekend. This is the largest automotive event in Western Canada, something like the Woodward Dream Cruise for Canadians. The weekend caps off on Sunday when downtown Saskatoon is closed to vehicular traffic and and hundreds (thousands?) of cars line the streets for a Show ‘n Shine.
In case anybody was wondering, the concept of sex selling in the world of automobiles is alive and well. The streets were full of young women in tight tank tops, emblazoned with the logo of the sponsoring company. One company, a Porsche dealership, even went so far as to bring in a whole team of young women in teeny-tiny bikinis to stand around the cars. They had a professional photographer there, and you could have your picture taken with the entire group of beautiful, scantily clad ladies.
Now, to contrast this, another company had a small tent set up at the other end of the car show. Their product was not as sexy as a Porsche. In fact, they recycled used oil and oil filters. Rather than having bikini models, they were giving away products that were made from their recycled materials-namely small footballs and a plastic pouring spout that would screw onto the top of any oil jug to make pouring it easier.
Let’s talk about efficacy for a moment. The football was an immediate hit with my son, who was at the event with me. It has the company logo on it, as well as a reminder of what the company does. Being a toy, my son is sure to hang on to this toy and keep it around the house for some time. The oil pour spout is genius. Long and slender, it’s just the thing for reaching into a tight engine compartment and pouring oil without spilling. As a car guy, I love the product. It is going into the top drawer of my toolbox, and I hope it stays there for a long time.
In Canada, a new Porsche 911 Carrera GTS coupe sells for about $132,000. In order to consider a vehicle like this, you probably need a household income of around $250k per year, an achievement that is most commonly found in those people who are over 40 years old. Yet, the lineup at the bikini photo place was full of young males in their early 20s. This is not surprising – hot cars and beautiful women are the two things that young men think about all the time. But what benefit did this bring to the dealership? Certainly there was no way that even 5% of the men in line were in the market for a Porsche, and I’m pretty sure that most doctors, dentists, and business owners wouldn’t wait in line to have their photo taken in this manner.
In the end, this speaks to knowing your audience and ad effectiveness once again. The used oil recycling company correctly targeted their audience (people who do their own oil changes) and provided them with a product to make their lives easier and that keeps the company on the top of their customers minds. The Porsche dealership created a lot of attention, but from people who probably can’t afford their product. In fact, all the attention may even have kept people who ARE interested in the product from exploring them a little closer.
So, what do you think? Does sex sell? Are there products where adding a sexy model actually does increase sales? Can you think of a case where sex is used to sell something that it has no business being associated with? Let’s hear your comments below.
