The Built-In Sexual Overtone

Summary:

The Built in Sexual Overtone describes the evolution in using sex as a marketing tactic. Simple ‘Get Your Man’ advertisements led to disappointment for women when the perfume bottle or the cosmetic product did not, in fact, lead to a man. Women wanted to be respected by men as partners, which was more tricky to elude to in advertisements. However, sex continued to be used as an eye-stopper, becoming more bold as viewers became more accustomed to it. Merchandising analysts looked into ways marketers could use our deeper sexual yearnings to sell products. Dr. Dichter came up with “Mistress versus Wife” for Chrysler Corporation. He theorized that men view convertibles as a mistress because it represents youth, romance, and adventure. Men usually bought more sedans because they were more reliable, so to speak “the wife”. After this study, the hardtop was created and it was very successful because it merged both the wife and the mistress. Another tactic was reassurance. Women were taking on more male roles and had to fight hard to be seen as equals in the workplace, at the expense of being “tender.” Apparently, this is an inherent feminine trait. Marketing for lingerie and things of that nature began to try to reassure women of their femininity and cut male approval out of their ads. Men also needed this same reassurance in their masculinity, with women wearing trousers and working jobs. For men, this is accomplished through magazines that inflate the male ego and products like cigars, that assert male dominance. This article then takes a turn and focuses on Freud’s theory of oral fixation and how merchandising analysts use this primary impulse to advertise for milk and other foods.

Personal Example:

This article immediately reminded me of things that are marketed for women or men that are generally universal, like razors. Men’s razors will work for women and women’s razors will work for men. However, often, women’s razors are priced higher.

Connection to reading:

After I realized that women have the capacity to use men’s razors, I wondered what the purpose was of selling two different razors. However, this marketing tactic would make sense to reassure men and women of their masculinity or femininity, respectively. Women’s advertisements for razors seem more soft and use less harsh, more stylized font. Men’s advertisements use dark colors like blue and black and try to appear more industrial. However, there has been a push by the feminist community for a change in this type of advertisement.